Poor mans lathe DRO's

[Toolmaker51]

...Luckily they were very cheap so not much loss. So if your doing this mod, get the metal ones that measure in thousandths...Because of this change, I had to modify the way they attach in the pic as trying to drill though those steel calipers is impossible. I think they are made of titanium!?!

I'd say likelihood of Titanium is zero, zilch, nada, no way dude. They are only batch hardened Stainless; sort of non-magnetic, for the grind process and slide with low friction. Surface work hardens farther in reaction to machining with high speed cutters. Like 316, 321 SS etc, but worse.

[tonyfoale]

I had to modify the way they attach in the pic as trying to drill though those steel calipers is impossible. I think they are made of titanium!?!

Also it seems that the new ones all turn on with any movement which is annoying as you don't always need a DRO. I am going to be adding some micro slide switches to mine to shut them off when not needed.

They drill quite easily with carbide drill bits.

See my previous post about the futility of trying to turn them off. If you do add switches just remember that the cheap calipers will lose their settings, which may or may not be a problem for a DRO.

[Saltfever]

. . . . two interesting Duracell class actions. One was over misleading statements surrounding superior battery life, and was settled in 2014 for $50 million.

Thanks Jon for the useful information. Sure wish I had know about the Druracell problem years ago. I imagine it must have taken a very large number of users and considerable damage over time to rise to the level of a class action suit. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way.

[Kwick Aronson]

Electronics are wonderful but I am moving back to full mechanical. While I change all my batteries at the same time once a year I am phasing out electronic everything. There is much more peace of mind with a dormant mechanical instrument resting in a drawer. You can’t say the same thing for anything electrical. I can’t tell you how many devices have been ruined by Duracell batteries. They are complete crap. It took a while and the loss of some lovely tools but I finally caught on. I will never buy a Duracell anything. The company was purchased a few years ago and downgraded their manufacturing.

Duracell has been having problems with battery copies from China. Supposedly even Lowe's and HomeDepot have been stung by counterfeits. I have gotten a bunch on special at Staples that have leaked while still in the sealed packages with 2-3 years left on their date....stored in an air conditioned shop. Whether they are real or not, I do not know, but I now buy AmazonBasics batteries when possible.

[mklotz]

In ALL the expensive flashlights and other AA/AAA devices I've bought in the last few years I've always found Energizer batteries. Since switching over to the pink bunny I've not had a single leaker. They even guarantee leakproof operation...

No Leaks Guarantee | Energizer

[zarembak]

I only have one that I use. Pretty good idea.

[ncollar]

digital calipers that use the LR44/A76 battery will last a lot longer if you use an SR44/357/303 battery. they are all the same size, but the LR44 is an alkaline battery. the SR44 is a silver oxide based battery. silver oxide will last for years. alkaline - months.

Geezr
Thanks for the battery tip. I have several I thought were dead I changed the battery an they work a little while and quit. I buy some of the new ones and see. Again thanks.
Nelson

[Saltfever]

Duracell has been having problems with battery copies from China. Supposedly even Lowe's and HomeDepot have been stung by counterfeits. . . .

Originally Posted by Saltfever. . . . I can’t tell you how many devices have been ruined by Duracell batteries. They are complete crap. It took a while and the loss of some lovely tools but I finally caught on. I will never buy a Duracell anything. The company was purchased a few years ago and downgraded their manufacturing.

I made my original post more than a year ago. You would think I would have learned by now. But as you can see Duracell has ruined another device. (not to mention a $1200 navigation instrument a couple of years ago). I thought I had found everything with batteries but alas, I was wrong.
Notice the expiration date!

Almost every Duracell I have had has failed in service. As soon as I realized the issue I removed them but I have so many seldom used devices (some tucked away into rarely visited cubbyholes) it has taken more than a year to remove Duracell completely from my life. Their warantee is useless. It only covers the cost of the battery regardless of how expensive the device is. Tell people you care about too. Remove them now or corrosion will be your next discovery.

[Frank S]

I friend brought an OBDII scanner over for me to use on a Ford Expedition I recently bought only to find that his batteries had began to leak I got it cleaned up to work but that got me to thinking about some of my more expensive laser levels and other devices that I hardly ever use So he and I started going through all of my storage areas digging out device after device. checking for batteries. Fortunately I had removed all of the batteries already so none were at risk

[tonyfoale]

Just adding another voice to the "Duracells leak" thread. Cheap Chinese batteries stand up to life better.