How to Read a Caliper
A caliper ensures that you find the right sized parts and fit them together without guesswork. There's a pattern to reading with the caliper. In fact, you only need to look at three main sections. Once you get the hang of this formula, it will take you less than half a minute to accurately read the caliper.
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Instructions
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1
View the caliper's parts. There are big jaws for measuring objects and small jaws for measuring inside spaces. Point the big jaws in your direction, so that you could read the scale and the dial. Know that the scale has graduations in increments of "1," (big ticks) and ".1" (small ticks). The Dial has 99 ticks, each representing ".001."
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2
Start by looking at the scale that has "whole units" and "decimal units." Notice how the "whole units" are represented by large tick marks labeled with numbers. These are the large tick marks from Step 1. View the 9 small tick marks in between the tick marks representing the "whole units" on the scale. These are the ".1" tick marks from Step 1.
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3
Use the edge that extends from the moveable jaw and crosses over the scale, to read the scale portion of your measurements. Stop at this step if this "measurement edge" lands on one of these ticks; proceed to the next step if the jaws "measuring edge" falls between two of the scale's tick marks.
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4
Notice that if the measuring edge falls between a couple of tick marks, the dial's pointer will be pointing to one of the 99 ticks mentioned in Step 1. Read the dial as saying, ".43" if the dial's pointer is pointing to the third small tick after "40."
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Use Steps 2 through 4 in one setting when reading a caliper. Look at the last big tick and the last small tick, on the scale, to the left of the measuring edge; add the results to what you see in the dial (See Tips below).
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Tips & Warnings
Imagine that you're looking at a caliper after you've placed an object in its jaws. The last large tick you see on the scale, to the left of the measuring edge, is "4." The last small tick you see to the left of the measuring edge is "4." The dial pointer is pointing to the third small tick down from the tick marked "40," which indicates a "43" on a .001 scale, or ".043." Add the results as follows: 4+.4+.043=4.443 (see Resources below).
