Always thought digital calipers were better until I grabbed a Mitutoyo dial one from 1985

I was digging through a parts bin at my local shop in Tucson and found an old Mitutoyo dial caliper from 1985. Everyone I know swears by digital for speed, but I ran some comparisons on a set of steel brackets and the analog one was dead consistent within 0.001 inches across ten measurements. The digital ones I use drift by 0.002 after a couple hours. Has anyone else found older tools surprising you like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_patricia2mo ago

Man my digital caliper makes me look like I'm measuring with a wet noodle sometimes.

jennyp192mo ago

Oh man, tell me about it. I can barely get my digital one to agree with itself after lunch, it's like it gets hangry or something.

jordang321mo ago

Wait aren't digital calipers supposed to make things easier lol? @the_patricia I feel like mine has a personal vendetta against me after 3pm. It'll read 10.00mm one second then 10.04mm the next for no reason. Makes me wonder if the battery is secretly draining itself just to mess with me.