Thread: a must have MANS set of calipers

I've bought a couple of items from RDG Tools in the past and found them a good company to deal with - of course I am in the UK which makes it a little easier.

Originally Posted by mkypenturner

hi guys , i was trolling though good ole epay and came across these calipers and they have to be for MEN as they dont just have the standard end that is stamped out
THEY HAVE BALLS !!!!!!! yep a roud end on the calipers , i reckin they would be alot more user friendly than the standard sets on the market , anyway heres the link RDGTOOLS HEAVY DUTY CALIPER WITH BALLS FOR WOODTURNERS | eBay

cheers troy

probably not hard to do with some ball bearings

I was thinking hard plastic beads, cutting and attaching ball bearings

in beyond my current technology. Phil

My first thought was, good idea. Second was to make nice round smooth ends on the existing calipers.

Drilling holes in ball bearings would be highly amusing.

Originally Posted by Paul39

Drilling holes in ball bearings would be highly amusing.

I can see that snapping one or two drill bits, and still not scratching the surface.

Drilling holes in ball bearings ain't as hard as you would think. The last time I needed to do it I softened them first and after that its a piece of cake.

Just heat them up to a cherry red all the way through and leave them to cool down. Then drill them out and silver solder each ball in position.

Why would you drill the bearing out if you are going to silver solder them? Wouldn't grinding the calliper tips to match the balls and then silver soldering them together be enough?

Pete

Originally Posted by QC Inspector

Why would you drill the bearing out if you are going to silver solder them? Wouldn't grinding the calliper tips to match the balls and then silver soldering them together be enough?

Pete

of course, its easier for some folk who might have trouble keeping the ball in place during the process, I probably wouldnt.