DIGITAL CALLIPERS @ LIDL

Clever chap Ruskin. He also said: 'A thing of worth is what it can do for you, not what you choose to pay for it.'

He's absolutely right though: price proves nothing. It's our job to avoid paying too much or too little. Almost impossible to go wrong with a Lidl Caliper though: money back if it's junk.

Dave

I agree Rob. I use inexpensive Digital Calipers most of the time - they're more than good enough for rough work and there are no tears when I break one. (I'd need counselling if I dropped a pricey Mitutoyo on a concrete floor and then stood on it as happened to my poor Lidl!)

I suppose 50% of my caliper work is just confirming sizes: checking drill diameters and making sure set-ups aren't grossly wrong. I also use them to mark out key reference points on work as a double-check; the actual cutting is done with DRO or machine dials, but the extra sanity-check catches silly mistakes. (I make lots of silly mistakes...) I can abuse cheap calipers too, for example by using them as a scribe.

Judging by photos and comments, the latest batch of supermarket calipers are below par. But all three of those bought in the past by me are acceptable. Their accuracy is in the same ball-park as more expensive models, but there are differences:

• Cheap calipers don't hold zero as well the better ones so the operator wastes a little time checking and resetting zero between measurements. Main problem is remembering to check!
• The feel of cheaper slides is OK rather than silky. Apart from feeling nice, silky movements make it easier to apply consistent jaw pressure which speeds up measuring. Doesn't make much difference for what I use calipers for, which is ±0.05mm or 4 thou.
• The battery compartment is more likely to be sealed. Keeping cutting fluid out is one benefit but I suspect the way cheap calipers tend to flatten batteries quickly may be due to condensation and dirt causing the battery to discharge prematurely. The idea is unproven, but the battery in my sealed caliper seems to last longer than the same battery size in an unsealed caliper, even though both calipers draw the same 'off' current - a few microamps.
• Cheap calipers don't come with extras like 'Absolute Zero', which can be useful.

Although I have a more expensive caliper I don't use it much. The type of work I do doesn't call for high-accuracy, and when accuracy is needed I prefer a micrometer. Inexpensive calipers do what I need without breaking the bank. The exception is taking many measurements off an object I'm going to copy. Then the extra reliability and speed of the silky instrument pays off. When dozens of measurements have to be tabulated my better instrument clips about 33% of the total time.

Dave

In case it wasn’t obvious … What prompted me to roll out ‘my’ Ruskin quote was the fact that people were commenting that the year-on-year quality of the Lidl products is reducing.

In my opinion, IKEA is often guilty of the same sin.

In this context; maintaining a price, but presenting a poorer product for that price is equivalent to Ruskin’s “sell a little cheaper”

MichaelG.

Um, I know what Michael means, but have trouble with the concept of 'price' as a stable entity. At the moment inflation is running at CPIH=8.8%, CPI=9.9%, and RPI=12.3% (Consumer Price Index with Housing, Consumer Price Index, and Retail Price Index).

As the pound in our pockets is worth less now than it was last year, we get less for our money in one way or another.

Maybe Lidl/Aldi are indeed maintaining prices by selling us extra cheapo calipers, but it's not necessarily a permanent slide to the bottom. Consider Mars Bars and similar. Their size changes over time for the same reason. When the value of the pound drops the manufacturer keeps us happy by making the bar smaller for the same price. This goes on until the bar gets too small, at which point they jump back to a full-sized bar at a corrected price. We're happy with the new price because the new bar is bigger, yum yum.

Petrol prices are different - they vary with currency value because changes can't be hidden. Petrol prices are governed by the pound/dollar rate because oil and gas are bought wholesale in dollars, not pounds. Someone, somewhere in the UK buys dollars to pay for oil, and whoever sells dollars to the UK judges how much they think the pound is worth, which varies constantly. Although prices are smoothed, currency movements soon appear at the pump because it's illegal to alter the fuel's specification or the size of the litre. The confectionery packaging trick doesn't work on petrol.

Manipulating consumer expectations isn't a con-trick exactly, though we are a bit thick! I see it more a way of managing price expectations as the value of our currency changes. The reason I say consumers are thick is pricing stuff at £4.99 really does cause it to sell disproportionally much faster than charging £5.00. Many motorists drive several miles to get a penny off the price of a litre of fuel without bothering to compare the cost of the extra mileage with the cash 'saved'.

Unfortunately value, specification and price are all different and a bit unstable.

Dave

Trying to span two threads at once, the Lidl Powerfix and the earlier Dasqua one, I have some photos of the last Powerfix that I bought in the last 2 years, the Tesa, the Mitutoyo, and the brand new Dasqua. The Mitutoyo is 33 years old and has recently developed electrical problems making it somewhat unreliable. I have dismantled the board and gently lubricated every contact with Servisol switch cleaning lubricant, there are about 40 very delicate spring contacts, plus the switches, but have not entirely fixed the unreliability. This resulted in my buying the Tesa which is of comparable quality, but not a cheap instrument. The earlier Powerfix digital calipers were much better mechanically, smoother running than the most recent. I have swapped the reading heads between the recent one and the oldest to get the absolute reading option. One of the pictures shows the poor finish on the slideways on my latest Powerfix.

The Dasqua cost £31, but is much better finished and smoother than the Powerfix, comparable to the high end calipers, it came with a test certificate, serialised and two 2032 button cells, is IP54 protected and the box is excellent, and what will be of interest to older people is the very large display, including fractions, and the digits are 14mm high. I think it is worth the money.

That Dasqua looks a very good buy 

MichaelG.

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https://www.dasqua.co.uk/product/dasqua-0-150-mm-0-6-absolute-digital-caliper-22108110/

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 11/10/2022 17:24:20

I read the Dasqua thread before deciding to get one from RDG. I am very pleased with the calipers, 1/3 of the price I paid for the Tesa. They will be my best calipers at the museum. The Mitotoyo's would get a replacement reading head if I could find one to fit. The head would probably have a smaller cell, the current 2032 size heads will not interchange.

 I looked at the link in your post, Michael,  and the ones that RDG are selling are not quite the same model.

Edited By old mart on 11/10/2022 18:20:01

I have some Dasqua callipers and they have been excellent so far.

Well my two pennyworth -- I purchased one of these **LINK** some years back as a "jobbing" caliper and its worked very well even though the glass cover on the display got broken --- no idea how ! still works OK. My workshop is in a U shape lathe and mill back to back and invariably the calliper was in the wrong place so a couple of weeks ago bought another. For the price i think they are excellent and better than the "standard" imported ones many suppliers sell.

Auto on and auto shut down, slightly gritty feel but works very well and over time they do get smoother plus no plastic so for the money ? Still prefer my Mitutoyo caliper or Etalon vernier

One factor which runs counter to Ruskins notion:

Several firms supply exactly the same goods as each other, but at different prices. In that case, the trick is to look at the service offered by each firm - honoured guarantees, prompt supply, response to queries, that sort of thing. Then a choice can be made - otherwise cheapest, in this case, is best.

And history shows that Ruskin himself was able to charge too much for 'worse' products.

Cheers, Tim

John Ruskin may have been a polymath but he didn't know much about the female form!