Broke my calipers

[Luggo1]

Lyman, analog dial. I dropped them on the floor, the needle no longer is on zero, when fully closed, but at more like 2 pm on the dial. The instructions said nothing other than to twist the face plate to calibrate, which would make my zero position at about 2 pm rather than at 12 o'clock. The instructions are little help and very very short. Anyone know how to fix this? Thanks

[WildBill]

You probably jumped a gear. Unless you damaged something else they should work fine with the zero at 2 o'clock. Just check it some gage blocks.

I can't tell you how to repair it other than get a jewelers screwdriver and open it up and adjust it. Not many people fix them anymore. They just buy a new one.

[The Annoyed Man]

Broke my calipers

You should see a doctor about that.

[Commander Cody]

I don't think you can get there from here.

[Luggo1]

You probably jumped a gear. Unless you damaged something else they should work fine with the zero at 2 o'clock. Just check it some gage blocks.

I was afraid of that. I don't think I can get used to having zero at 2 o'clock...it just looks funny and my brain says "wrong" every time I see it... I guess I may be springing for a new pair.

Thank you

[phddan]

Open that puppy up, and try to fix it.
Whats the worst that could happen?

Dan

[Oldgringo]

Anyone know how to fix this? Thanks

You might want to go Amazon.com and order another one?

[Gyrogearhead]

There is a way to fix this but you will have to make (read "cut out") a "tool" from an old piece of feeler gage or shim stock.

A lot of years ago I bought a new dial caliper and it came with its own tool to reset the indicator hand along with instructions on how to use it. Of course both tool and instructions are long gone although I still use the caliper.

What you are going to have to do is make a little "needle wedge" from the shim stock that will fit between the top of the depth shaft on the micrometer and the gear rack that drives the hand.

This "wedge" should look like a capital "P" with the tail really long. The tip of the tail is the business end. The round part of the "P" is to hold on to while you are using the tool.

The business end of the "wedge" has to slide in the narrow gap between the depth shaft & gear rack and under the dial case all the way to the center where the little gear on the back of the indicator needle engages the gear rack that makes it turn. (The tail of the "P" has to be at least that long.) The gear is held in engagement with the rack by a small leaf spring and the wedge must gently push the two appart. Put the wedge in place against the gear and then slide the slider so the gear rolls up onto the wedge.

Once the wedge has moved the little gear out of engagement with the rack the slider can be moved without moving the dial hand. So you open the caliper to some distance that you guess would be about where the dial hand shows and then pull out the wedge. This lets the little gear re-engage the rack and if you're really lucky the hand will be on or very near zero when you close the slide. If not then just keep repeating the above sequence until you get it right. Once you play with this a little bit you get a feeling for where the indicator is going to snap to when you pull out the wedge and you can get it dead on in just a couple of minutes. You'll be surprised how easy it is once you get the wedge cut out to the right dimentions.

[KD5NRH]

I was afraid of that. I don't think I can get used to having zero at 2 o'clock...it just looks funny and my brain says "wrong" every time I see it... I guess I may be springing for a new pair.

Check Grizzly. They may not have the best reputation, but I've got a couple of their micrometers and a dial caliper from them that I use for reloading and other stuff, and they don't seem to need zero adjustment any more often than any other brand. Always remember to verify zero before every measurement, and check them with a gage block from time to time, though.

Don't forget to verify the precision before ordering, either; they have some stuff with prices that look great, until you notice it's only marked in .01" increments. IIRC, my 6" dial caliper (.001") and 1" micrometer (.0001" vernier) set was around $40. I can't find that one on their site at them moment, but it's what I most commonly use for reloading.

[Backwoods]

Straighten out the end of a regular size paperclip. Use a small file to creat a bevel (or ramp) on the end of the clip. Slide the end between the gear and rack. Using your thumb just as if you were using it to measure, push the gear against the clip's ramp. The gear will jump one tooth at a time (usually moving the needle .010-.020 at a time. With mild pressure you should feel a click. You may need to do it several times depending on how far you are off.