A very useful tool - and cheap
08-11-12, 07:30 PM
#1
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A very useful tool - and cheap
I thought I'd share this. It would be probably the most useful tool I have. My plastic vernier caliper. I use it again and again for measuring things. It's light and I can take it with me when I go to the shop to buy something and make sure things I buy should fit when I get them home. It cost me about $3.
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08-11-12, 08:11 PM
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For those who find vernier calipers unfamiliar or daunting, electronic digital calipers which measure and convert inches and millimeters (some do fractional inches as well) can be had for as little as $12.
08-11-12, 08:41 PM
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Concur!
I have an inexpensive set of plastic electronic/digital calipers that I love; I use them all the time while my very nice stainless steel calipers languish in the drawer.
The cheapies get used because they are plenty accurate and are always out and available; no getting them out of the drawer, opening the case, etc.
-TH
I have an inexpensive set of plastic electronic/digital calipers that I love; I use them all the time while my very nice stainless steel calipers languish in the drawer.
The cheapies get used because they are plenty accurate and are always out and available; no getting them out of the drawer, opening the case, etc.
-TH
08-11-12, 09:12 PM
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Harbor Freight has nice digital calipers and dial calipers for under $20 My eyes are not good enough to use a vernier any more.
08-12-12, 12:27 AM
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When I first started working on bikes and heard of people using these, I had the idea they were for the anal retentive or the frame builder. I finally got one and found it's easier and more accurate than a ruler in so many cases. Here's a few that come up often.
Seat post, handlebar, and tube diameters.
Inflated tire width and heights
Measuring the distance from rim wall to seat stay. If you suspect your wheel is not dished properly, or you know your wheel is dished properly and suspect your frame is out of alignment.
Any bolt diameter or length
Rim widths
For wheel building data- spoke hole diameter, spoke diameter, hub shell width, center to flange measurements.
Headset stack heights
Space between fork legs, to see if those 27mm tires are gonna clear on the stupid narrow spacing of the modern carbon forks.
Axle to locknut measurements when building or rebuilding a hub axle from scratch.
Seat post, handlebar, and tube diameters.
Inflated tire width and heights
Measuring the distance from rim wall to seat stay. If you suspect your wheel is not dished properly, or you know your wheel is dished properly and suspect your frame is out of alignment.
Any bolt diameter or length
Rim widths
For wheel building data- spoke hole diameter, spoke diameter, hub shell width, center to flange measurements.
Headset stack heights
Space between fork legs, to see if those 27mm tires are gonna clear on the stupid narrow spacing of the modern carbon forks.
Axle to locknut measurements when building or rebuilding a hub axle from scratch.
08-12-12, 01:19 AM
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I concur, a very useful tool to have.
Mine is digital/LED and was €12 from Lidl, of all places.
Mine is digital/LED and was €12 from Lidl, of all places.
08-12-12, 01:30 AM
#7
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When I first started working on bikes and heard of people using these, I had the idea they were for the anal retentive or the frame builder. I finally got one and found it's easier and more accurate than a ruler in so many cases. Here's a few that come up often.
Seat post, handlebar, and tube diameters.
Inflated tire width and heights
Measuring the distance from rim wall to seat stay. If you suspect your wheel is not dished properly, or you know your wheel is dished properly and suspect your frame is out of alignment.
Any bolt diameter or length
Rim widths
For wheel building data- spoke hole diameter, spoke diameter, hub shell width, center to flange measurements.
Headset stack heights
Space between fork legs, to see if those 27mm tires are gonna clear on the stupid narrow spacing of the modern carbon forks.
Axle to locknut measurements when building or rebuilding a hub axle from scratch.
Seat post, handlebar, and tube diameters.
Inflated tire width and heights
Measuring the distance from rim wall to seat stay. If you suspect your wheel is not dished properly, or you know your wheel is dished properly and suspect your frame is out of alignment.
Any bolt diameter or length
Rim widths
For wheel building data- spoke hole diameter, spoke diameter, hub shell width, center to flange measurements.
Headset stack heights
Space between fork legs, to see if those 27mm tires are gonna clear on the stupid narrow spacing of the modern carbon forks.
Axle to locknut measurements when building or rebuilding a hub axle from scratch.
08-12-12, 01:32 AM
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JPMacG - I struggle reading vernier calipers out of workshop light too. I often do work for a contract bike maintenance company - sometimes in undeground carparks or basement rooms etc - I wear a little petzl headtorch and can still use verniers.
08-12-12, 07:44 AM
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+1 Excellent summary. Another very useful tool is a bolt diameter and thread pitch gauge set. thes make it easyto sort out closely matched SAE from Metric bolts and fine thread from coarse thread pitch. Here is a low cost one that really works: https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg...&item_id=IR-MM
08-12-12, 08:14 AM
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McMaster-Carr and others have "Thread-It Nut and Bolt Gauges" available in metric and inch-metric combinations. They consist of a series of male and female threaded "plugs" strung together so you won't lose them. Handy for telling the M8X1 and M8X1.25 (like canti posts) components apart, and inch from metric on older bikes. At about $25 they are not cheap nor overly expensive but are great time savers.
