3/4" MDF really is 3/4"

[Amphiprion]

I just got myself a set of Mitutoyo calipers, and am having fun measuring things.

Turns out the cheap MDF from Lowes is .7500" thick +/- .0005". That's actually sort of impressive.

[ThomasW]

Probably depends on the current relative humidity.....

[lunchmoney]

I just got myself a set of Mitutoyo calipers, and am having fun measuring things.

Turns out the cheap MDF from Lowes is .7500" thick +/- .0005". That's actually sort of impressive.

Yeah, I've noticed that too... makes planning out and cutting your enclosures much easier.

[Amphiprion]

It's pretty dry here right now. Darn cold weather, dry skin on my hands is killin' me.

[Bent]

cold, hah!

-38°C this AM,
forecast for tommorow is -50°C accounting for windchill.

[CraigJ]

Darn cold weather... is killin' me.

That's kinda funny, since schools up here may close tomorrow because it's too darn cold. Well, your brother could probably relate.

[---k---]

It's pretty dry here right now. Darn cold weather, dry skin on my hands is killin' me.

What, 60 degrees in Austin. Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

[Amphiprion]

Hey, I'm in College Station these days. Weather.com says it's 50

[don9146]

It's pretty dry here right now. Darn cold weather, dry skin on my hands is killin' me.

People laugh when I say it since its cheap, but Corn Huskers Lotion (I can get it at Wal-Mart) is THE best stuff I have found for dry hands. A millwright that worked outside a lot in Detroit recommended it to me years ago. I don't see me ever changing.

[Mazeroth]

People laugh when I say it since its cheap, but Corn Huskers Lotion (I can get it at Wal-Mart) is THE best stuff I have found for dry hands. A millwright that worked outside a lot in Detroit recommended it to me years ago. I don't see me ever changing.

+10000. In the winters my hands and my fathers get so chapped they bleed. We're talking cracked beyond comprehension. The cure? Corn Huskers lotion before bed with socks on your hands. A day or two of that and they're back to normal. Plus, I love the smell!

[Xander]

It was about -20 F (-30 C) this morning when I walked a mile into work.

All 4 of my cheeks were a bit numb.

edt: without the windchill. and it was breezy.

[Bill Schneider]

Mark -- Hmmm, a coincidence. My new calipers were delivered yesterday - a set of Fowler 12" heavy duty dial calipers. It supplements my 6" Fowler vernier calipers I bought 20 years ago. I've been eyeing them for a while, and I couldn't pass up a 40% discount on them.

I bought them to make accurate cuts with my circular saw for larger pieces of MDF.

Now about the thread-drift (snow-drift?) side topic - I use "Zim's Crack Cream" on my hands in winter. I never warmed up to Corn Husker's lotion, although I still have a bottle in my darkroom.

http://www.crackcreme.com/products/skincare/creamydaytime225/index.html

[cjd]

Udder balm all the way!

Actually, I use an essential oils mix now. Plus some beeswax if it's really bad.

[Bent]

udder bomb?

[ThomasW]

Bag Balm.....

http://www.bagbalm.com/

[Hank]

Kid, you've got to get a job so you make money with your creative mind.
I've called a few associates up in St. Paul today and when they say "how are you?", I reply with: "warmer than you". Cruel, yes, but irresistable.
They say it'll be -40 wind chill today. To this native Texan, any temp less than 60 degrees is TOO COLD.

Why don't you go back to Lowe's today and measure some of their premium oak boards' consistency? Then go to Woodcraft, then to...

[Canadian_Dude]

I just got myself a set of Mitutoyo calipers, and am having fun measuring things.

Turns out the cheap MDF from Lowes is .7500" thick +/- .0005". That's actually sort of impressive.

I kinda doubt that is within 5 ten thousandths of an inch. I think you mean .750" and +/- .005". I have had a few Mitutoyo calipers and they are great, but not 5 ten thousandths of an inch great. For that accuracy you need micrometers. I am a machinist by trade by the way.

[Amphiprion]

I kinda doubt that is within 5 ten thousandths of an inch.

Would you like me to post a copy of the signed test certificate from Mitutoyo? It passed every test (16mil diameter, 2", 4", and 6") with no more than .0005" error at any position (max permissible error for the model I got is .0010" at any position). I didn't buy the cheap one

Kid, you've got to get a job so you make money with your creative mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_Not_Taken

If I wanted a day job, I'd get one. Right now I've got to finish what I've started since I left Cirrus.

[Canadian_Dude]

The dial is only marked for .001" increments is it not? So you are just guessing if it is right on that half thou. But anyways I think we are getting too technical here... We build speakers not space shuttles.

[Cataclysm]

I really don't want to be a prick, but Mitutoyo don't make digital or vernier calipers accurate to within .0001"

You can get a pair with repeatability within .0005", and a digital readout that will display down to .0005", but they are not accurate to one ten-thousandth of an inch.

Have a look: http://www.mitutoyo.ca/files/d1-d19.pdf


If your calipers really are that accurate, please let me know the model because it sure would be a lot handier to be able to measure a wider range of sizes with just a pair of calipers when turning metal on a lathe.

[Amphiprion]

The dial is only marked for .001" increments is it not?

It's digital readout.

We build speakers not space shuttles.

I build circuit boards.

You can get a pair with repeatability within .0005", and a digital readout that will display down to .0005"

This is exactly what I have. Model 500-196-20.

but they are not accurate to one ten-thousandth of an inch.

Never said they were. If you read over what I wrote, I said they were gauranteed to be accurate to .0010" (one one-thousandth) over their range. The test certificate that came with them is attached to this post.

[Alaric]

The dial is only marked for .001" increments is it not? So you are just guessing if it is right on that half thou. But anyways I think we are getting too technical here... We build speakers not space shuttles.

Technically correct-if the reading eyeballs between .001" gradients , and you're measuring MDF , you can probably make a half-a$$ guess at ".0005".
To be totally fair , I'm partial to Brown and Sharpe , and Starrett. I'm also going to guess that if Mark needs reliable , repeatable .0001" measurements , he ain't using "pliers" (calipers). Just my guess.

You can get a pair with repeatability within .0005", and a digital readout that will display down to .0005", but they are not accurate to one ten-thousandth of an inch.

They aren't all that accurate to .0005" either. They're 'good enough' in most cases , but if you're dealing with expansion rates and have reliable temperature differentials they probably aren't quite enough.

Having said all that-he's measuring MDF for chrissakes! Maybe lighten up?

[Cataclysm]

I think that's the running joke of it all, plus, this is the internet -- only place grown men can get away with arguing about this dumb crap. :W

[Amphiprion]

Having said all that-he's measuring MDF for chrissakes! Maybe lighten up?

Thanks Alaric. What I find funny is that we're a bunch of guys arguing over tenths of hundredths or thousandths of an inch. I don't think anyone I've ever dated has been THAT critical

[Alaric]

I don't think anyone I've ever dated has been THAT critical

You're gonna make me do ex-wife jokes now?

I should probably have just ducked and shut the hell up. Everybody had a good point or two , but it was being taken way too seriously , IMO. 8O

[Hank]

Yeah, yeah, the road less taken has been MY road for many, many years.

Right now I've got to finish what I've started since I left Cirrus.

Which is??....

[Alaric]

Yeah, yeah, the road less taken has been MY road for many, many years.

OK , ex-wife jokes it is..."the road less taken" sure as hell ain't my ex! We're talkin' superhighway with armco barriers and 5 lanes per side.The only thing that's gone down in more bar parking lots than my bike is my ex.

[JonP]

I've said it a lot, a pair of calipers is a VERY handy thing for a shop. Even a $15 Harbor freight pair, that isn't up to Mitotoyo tolerance. Everybody should have a pair.

Hey, for what we're doing... are we even worrying about that last thousandth, most of the time?

And what are you guys talking about with the weather? It was kinda hot today, maybe 78-80... :twisted: Wish it was cooler....

[Amphiprion]

Which is??....

TAS5518C
TAS5261 (x6)
SRC4392 (what idiot didn't make this thing have 5V tolerant I/O? Seriously...)
PCM1803A
18F4550

You didn't think I bought such a ridiculous scope so I could look at blinky LED's, did you? Right now I'm trying to talk Avnet into selling me inductors in quantities less than 1,000. I'm wondering if it's worth the improved EMI performance they have or if I should use the much more common but less well shielded SMD types that Digikey has in stock.

[Mazeroth]

I've said it a lot, a pair of calipers is a VERY handy thing for a shop. Even a $15 Harbor freight pair, that isn't up to Mitotoyo tolerance. Everybody should have a pair.

I finally bought a 6" Harbor Freight caliper on sale with a coupon for something like $12 and it has been extremely helpful on my last few jobs. Sure, not as nice as the Mitutoyo calipers we have at work but good enough. I was even thinking about taking mine in to work and testing it against the ones we use, which get calibrated twice a year, at a cost of only ~$150 each time :E

[Amphiprion]

One of our machinists at the R&D place I worked at had a pair of the Harbor Freight digital calipers ($30 or $40 I think). He said they compared really well with the Mitutoyo for the price. I almost bought a pair but got a good deal on my Mitutoyo and since I do teensy electronics stuff I sprung for the more precise ones. But he was quite happy using the Harbor Freight calipers for anything around the lab unless he needed super precision, at which point he said got out his 'real' tools (micrometers). He always seemed to be at his desk doing something in Solidworks though, I never actually saw him use them.

[---k---]

I'm lucky if I get within 1/16" in my typical woodworking.

[vinceb]

Just to flog this a bit more, I was building on the mini-states this weekend and ususally take several thicknesses of mdf (like 6-8) clamp them and measure to get an idea of how far off they are, to correct cuts when it's important. My home depot sheets are 1/16" over when I stack 8 of them, making each one 1/128" over sized. No this is not usually a big deal but this is the difference between them slipping in between smooth and snug, and pushing the sides out when gluing the mid tunnels in. I just bump the fence a hair short of the 1" when cutting the side braces due to the width being less because the sides are thicker than 3/4". This does help avoid multiple cuts sometimes....