Thickness calipers

[Darren Kern]

Yeah, that helps, thanks. My first one I just put a heavy duty wood screw through the loop hole in the back and into the end of the wood, and even with it screwed in tight, the gauge pivoted easily.

[craigw]

Okay guys, I just cut a square notch large enough to accomodate the mounting hole that is at the top of the machinists gauge then mounted the gauge with a round head machine screw. Most wood screws have a tapered head and won't give you a positive bite on the mounting flange when tightened. I used 3/4" plywood for the caliper so there is enough thickness to mount the screw after drilling a pilot hole. To give the gauge a little more stability so it fits tightly I mounted a garden hose washer on the back side of it by fitting it over the mounting flange before installing the mounting screw. It's really a pretty simple setup.

[Larry Simonson]

I join the many who have bought IV Kits and built a thickness measuring device. In building this tool I suspected I'd have a problem fitting the top with its ribs already attached into the measeuring position and decided to build one that swings open. The key part was a spring loaded screen door hinge that is not very visible in the two pics. So far it works very well and yields results within a couple of thousandths of my good caliper. Well within the nearest 1/64" generally regarded (I think)as the Luthier's standard.

[Larry Simonson]

Here it the open view.

[Jim Rowland]

Hey Newt.
At first glance it looked like a screwy idea,but now I see some real advantages to your design. Mainly,it solves the aggravating problem of having to pull up on the little topnot in order to slide the plate in. That,in addition to easy admission of a mounted top makes this look like a worthwhile project. Good thinkin',my man.
Jim

[Larry Simonson]

Jim, Thanks for your vote of confidence. I just happened to find a spring loaded door hinge in my junque box and quickly recognized this is what I needed to minimize the mechanical slop in the pivot shaft. In a test of about 50 openings and closings it faithfully returned to the same dial indication plus or minus .001", so I too have confidence.

[martinedwards]

Just bought a gauge in my local independant toolstore. Cost a good bit more than $6.99, but it's still a heap cheaper than stewmac's offering.....

[Yonkle]

CRAIG W. #I really like the high figure plywood you used, is that a (1) piece caliper? #Looks like you used a French Polish Finish too. Great work, really has some good "mojo" to it, some real "eye candy!" if you will!

[PepCJim]

Here is a digital version I stumbled on at Harbor Freight site. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93295
I haven't made mine yet but all of your ideas look right on. I'm wondering about a release arm to bring the cal. shaft up. It doesn't seem to be too complex??

[craigw]

JD - Thanks for the kind words. They are actually pretty utilitarian. The birch plywood is just from an "off the shelf" handyboard from Home Depot. The vertical or "caliper" section is one piece and the finish is some left over Deft from my furniture repair/refinish days. I still have three sets of calipers including guages that I blanked out but haven't yet assembled or finished. One already has someone's name on it but the other two could find good homes for about $60 and shipping if anyone is interested.

[buddyellis]

They are on sale again for $7.99 + 6.99 shipping.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...Itemnumber=623

[g_mc]

Here's my attempt. Thrown together from what was handy, two piano keys and a couple of pieces from the scrap bin. Really like the digital calipers. Had just a metal scale originally, like some of the others, but this saves me lots of time squinting and second guessing. ...Just hope the missus don't notice the keys missing off'n her piano. :-)

[Burner]

Here's my little gauge

[Stephanie Reiser]

If all y'all promise not to laugh, here is my first thickness gauge that cost me NOTHING except a scrap of pine and 4 inches of 5/16" dowel. I calibrated that dowel with a pen mark for various areas of the top, and a second dowel was calibrated differently for the slightly thinner back plate. Nowadays it sits on the shelf while I use my dial gauge, but I built the first two mandos this way.

[Stephanie Reiser]

Another view.

[PaulD]

If all y'all promise not to laugh, here is my first thickness gauge that cost me NOTHING except a scrap of pine and 4 inches of 5/16" dowel.

Ha... ha... ha.. (I never promised!).

Seriously, that's a great starter caliper! Low investment but it got you building and got the job done. As far as I'm concerned you get extra points for ingenuity and "doing it" rather than letting resources and excuses slow you down.

Paul Doubek

[carleshicks]

Here are a couple I just built out of aluminum. One is complete I need to finish the other

[Antlurz]

Stephanie...

I'd bet that over the years, many instruments have been built with very similar gauges. A fine enough line, and a smooth enough fit, and there is no reason why you can't get within just a few thousandths of where you want to be. Even the thickness of the pencil line can be part of your measurement.

Great ingenuity!

Ron

[buddyellis]

Here's my first go. Poplar frame with the Harbor Freight $13 analog dial indicator. Wish I'da noticed the $19 digital one, but this will work. I think I will make a new frame out of something more stiff than poplar, (or maybe add some laminations to the back end of it to stiffen it up a little) and make the mouth a bit deeper on the bottom side, but overall it works great.

The 'adjuster' is just a heavy wood screw with a blob of solder on the top of it to 'round it off'. The stock is just 1x4 poplar board, cut a dado into the bottom support.

[Avi Ziv]

Buddy,

I also had some problems with the frame flexing. I went to HomeDepot and bought some steel plates (stright and L shaped) and placed them on both sides of my frame, bolting through. The plates come in various sizes and have 1/4" holes in various places - very convenient. This added stiffness significantly! There's a picture of it on my blog.

Avi

[Stephanie Reiser]

Buddy, I solved the flexing issue by making the frame of the unit from 3/4" scrap plywood. Here is a picture, albiet poor.

[Gibson A5]

Stephanie, what's in the cup? Ebony flakes ? #I know I have drank some ebony, spruce, purple heart, and maple now and then. #It's hard to work and remember to keep your refreshments clean. #I keep a piece of sand paper over my cup when makeing chips (if I remember that is). What do the rest of you do?
Bill P.

[Stephanie Reiser]

its actually inlay filler gunk.
Just kidding. Hot chocolate.
pretty grundgy-looking, huh...

[buddyellis]

Does anyone know where to find one of those topo maps that are out there that show plate thicknesses? I could have sworn I've seen one on the board, but darned if I can find it now.

Thanks

-b

[grandmainger]

Does anyone know where to find one of those topo maps that are out there that show plate thicknesses? #I could have sworn I've seen one on the board, but darned if I can find it now.

The ones created by Andrew Mowry are in the MIMF Archives. Lots of explanation about how to get them on these threads
Germain