Bad Mitutoyo Calipers!

rwm

Robert
H-M Lifetime Diamond Member
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This seem crazy. I bought these 4" Mitutoyo calipers brand new from Amazon about a year ago:
61Ok9wLOAML._SL1500_.jpg

I have been having a lot of trouble fitting shafts into bearings recently and I could not figure out why. I was having to give the bearing extra clearance by trial and error to make it fit. It thought I was doing something wrong but I could not figure it out.
Finally I decided to check my calipers. On a precision ground .750 shaft the Mitutoyo reads 0.745. My cheap-ass Northern tool caliper reads .749. Even more distressing is that the inside and outside calipers are ground wrong and do not agree.
Here's how it tested this. Tell me if this is not valid. I put the Norther Tool caliper on the shaft and got a reading of .749 and locked it at that setting. The Mitu reads .745 on that shaft. I then put the inside calipers of the Mitu inside the blades of the Northern and got a reading of .751.
Conclusion: There is .006 difference between the grind of the inside and outside calipers of the Mitucrapo. The Mitucrapo is also calibrated incorrectly for OD.
I am really displeased after spending this kind of money on a caliper. I should have caught this sooner when I could return it but it took me a year to figure it out. I should note that the device has never been dropped damaged or used as a pry bar.
What are your thoughts on this? The device is junk unless Mitutoyo will replace it. What is their warranty and has anyone used it?
Robert

61Ok9wLOAML._SL1500_.jpg

61Ok9wLOAML._SL1500_.jpg

61Ok9wLOAML._SL1500_.jpg

61Ok9wLOAML._SL1500_.jpg

61Ok9wLOAML._SL1500_.jpg
 
Amazon is not immune to counterfeits. In fact a major reason I don't buy much from there anymore. Good luck hopefully it's just a fluke and they'll get you fixed up
 
Maybe I am stating the obvious, but do you need a new battery? The display in the picture looks a bit dim.

I switched back to dial calipers because I got tired of always having dead batteries in my cheapo digital calipers. I have heard that the better brands have much longer battery life.

Steve
 
I looked at the counterfeit web page and I believe it is genuine.
Additional info: I just checked the ID blades of the Mitu against my Starret micrometer. I am seeing an error of about 3 thou. My Northern reads dead on to within 1 thou. There is again a discrepancy of 5 -7 thou between the ID and OD blades. This thing is definitely jacked up. I will call them but of course I am 1 month out of warranty.
R
 
rwm,

At least you have figured it out!
I hope you did not lose too much time or money in materials.

-brino
 
I've repaired hundreds of Mit calipers and never seen one come from the factory with this condition. Assuming they were good a year ago when you received them the fix is probably very simple.
With your thumb push the jaws closed until they stop (but don't apply a lot of pressure) and hold the caliper in front of a bright light and look for gaps between the jaws. Typically the tips will touch and the gap will be closer to the handle. Sometimes I find a burr on one of the jaw tips from the caliper getting banged against something and just stone it off and the problem goes away but more often than not the gap is caused by the front gibb screw coming loose. The gibb screws are on the top on each side of the lock screw. Tighten the front one in or out to adjust the gap between the jaws then the rear one to adjust how snugly the reader head moves over the handle.
 
Holescreek! You are the man! You just made my day. Sure enough there was a small light gap at the tips. The jaws are in perfect condition but front gib screw was very loose. I tightened it removing the gap. It now reads exactly .7500 on the test bar and the ID blades mic to exactly .750
My apologies to Mitutoyo for some of the negative comments above. However, this is why I post on this website. The depth of talent is remarkable. I hope the post will be useful to someone else. Everbody check your gib screws!
I must say, this caliper was off when I first used it I just didn't realize it. That screw may have come loose in shipping and gotten progressively worse until the error was obvious prompting me to check it.
Thanks again!
Robert
 
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The front gib screw has a point on the end that fits into a hole in the brass gib. If it gets loose enough the gib will fall out. I've seen people put a dot of fingernail polish on the threads above the screw to keep that from happening.
 
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