Dasqua Digital Caliper, any good?

[alan ord 2Participant @alanord2]

Hi has anybody got one of these:-

DASQUA High Precision 6′ INCH DIGITAL VERNIER CALIPER MICROMETER FRACTION IP54 WATERPROOF 2000-1005,

or has any comments about Dasqua tools? Chronus have a special deal at the moment and I need a better digital caliper to what I have. Would love a Mitutoyo but very expensive and too many fakes around.

Alan.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Comment … I wouldn’t trust a seller who offers a ‘Digital Vernier’ anything

[unless of course they demonstrably have such an item]

MichaelG.

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

I have one of their inside mikes and its very good

[Michael Gilligan]

On Michael Gilligan Said:

Comment … I wouldn’t trust a seller who offers a ‘Digital Vernier’ anything

[unless of course they demonstrably have such an item]

MichaelG.

But then again you don’t trust anyone who does the hoovering with anything but a Hoover branded one!

We all (except you) know what it is even if there is no vernier scale on it.

 

Not got any of their products myself so can’t comment.

[alan ord 2Participant @alanord2]

Michael I did notice that comment but I copied and pasted the text to the posting from their web site. Surprising how many people refer to a “digital caliper” as a “digital VERNIER caliper”.

However Chronus seem to be a decent and reliable company.

Alan.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Michael may also be worried about how a 6″ caliper can measure 0-200mm

[JasonB]

On JasonB Said:

Michael may also be worried about how a 6″ caliper can measure 0-200mm

although according to the opening post … it’s described as 6’ one !

MichaelG.

.

Edit:  __ Don’t worry, Jason … that’s the last I have to say on the matter

[JAParticipant @ja]

I think Chronos is a trusted company.

You should really buy the best you can afford from a recognised supplier. Have a look at RS’s website. Recently I have used them for buying such items. They can be a bit slow in delivery, though.

JA

EDIT – I do not consider Amazon/E-Bay recognised suppliers. I think they are just a market place and should be avoided.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I have a Dasqua digital 6″ caliper which cost about £35 and it compares well against my Mitutoyo’s and my Tesa at a much more affordable price. I have also bought one of their 8″ digital height gauges and recently one of their magnetic DTI stands for a Baty lever mechanical indicator. They all came from RDG which I have dealt with for years and trust. Chronos is also a good firm to deal with. Sad to say, my 6″ Mitutoyo digital calipers bought in 1989 are no longer reliable electrically and have had to be pensioned off.

As for the description ” digital vernier”, the seller is probably playing to the dumb end of the market who don’t know what a vernier is, but associate it with this type of instrument. I have two Mitutoyo parallex free vernier calipers, one 6″ and the other 5″, not listed any more.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

I’ve got a 5″ Dasqua, and would describe it as mid-range, distinctly above the supermarket caliper I use for rough work.   Silky feel, battery protected by a seal, absolute function (zero setting), and meets a DIN standard.   Not more accurate or precise than other calipers but feels good and the measurements are more repeatable.

Dave

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

I have a set of their 6″ ones, not the same model but find them very good. I have measured with them on a piece of freshly turned bar and then check with a micrometer and both agree that was on 1″, also on a 6″ flywheel and again both agree with each other.

I use them a lot to do quick measurement and if critical double check with a micrometer, even then I get a good cross measurement from both.

I am very pleased with mine

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

Your old caliber old mart can be refurbed by yourself at a surprisingly small cost. Did mine about a year ago. bought the parts direct from Mitutoyo.

[John Doe 2Participant @johndoe2]

I have a 150mm Dasqua “Mechanist Grade Dial Caliper” (sic), with a mechanical dial instead of a vernier, and 0.02mm graduations on the dial.

I got fed up with batteries going flat, and this mechanical calliper seems OK for the price and is very useful for my 3D printing work. It seems to be mass produced – the end stop and depth strip retainer are not quite square, (but doesn’t matter), and I cannot comment on its fine accuracy for metalwork or its repeatability.

But for the money, I think it is decent enough. It might well be ‘Chinese’ in origin – hence the slightly odd translations. But useful as a jobbing calliper for medium precision measurements, that if dropped or stood on, would not make you cry !

I also bought a set of marking and measuring gauges from Dasqua, and they are pretty decent for the price – again almost certainly Chinese but all laser engraved  and CNC ground.

 

PS, someone mentioned RS. I have used RS for many many years for electronics,  but be warned they seem to have really hiked-up their prices in recent years and seem to be going for big corporate budgets. Farnell might be a better bet these days.

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

I’m always a little wary when vendors describe items a “high precision”, “professional quality”, “trade rated”, etc.  What are they trying to hide?

Can’t comment on the Dasqua digital caliper, although I’m sure they’re OK.  While probably made somewhere in the Far East these days, the Moore & Wright MW110 (basic line) works well for a reasonable cost.

[alan ord 2Participant @alanord2]

Decided to buy a Dasqua Caliper which includes an absolute function. About twice the price but I wanted the absolute function. Ended up buying it from RDG. Just for info. Dasqua are based in Italy and have manufacturing bases in the U.S. and China. I know that the U.S. are very iffy about buying stuff that has been made in China, so my educated guess is the U.S. manufacturing facility will be producing tools for their domestic market and China manufactured tools will be for Europe and the rest of the world.

I did take a look at M&W Calipers and found a company called Digital Micrometers Ltd Sheffield selling the equivalent version for just a few pounds more than I paid for the Dasqua. Did think about buying it but I don,t know the company so didn’t bother.

Thanks for all of the replies.

Alan

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Hi Alan,

The following comments are made without offence, and only for the purposes of clarification.

The original Dasqua was made in Italy, and the brand was sold/acquired by a Chinese company when the original Dasqua hit hard times. The Chinese company is good at marketing, and the places they have in Italy and USA are predominantly service and distribution centres. Any reference to ‘manufacturing’ in USA and Italy can be attributed to marketing.

Whilst you may be happy with their product, M&W use a technically better Chinese factory than the subcontractors used by Chinese company which owns the Dasqua brand. I have visited both factories in question, even though ARC doesn’t offer any callipers with IP rating.

I am saying this without any disrespect to Chronos or RDG. This post is just to clarify fact from marketing.

Ketan at ARC

[alan ord 2Participant @alanord2]

HI Ketan, thanks for the feedback. I was quoting from the Dasqua web site where it clearly states that they have manufacturing facilities in the U.S, and China. It made no reference to a manufacturing facility in Italy.

I have placed an order for the Dasqua 2210-8110 Calliper with RDG. My preference would have been M & W but as I said the company in Sheffield was offering the equivalent M & W unit for £4 more than the Dasqua unit. All the others I tried Machine-DRO etc. were asking £20 and more difference for the same unit to the offering mentioned by Digital Micrometers Ltd Sheffield. As I was somewhat suspicious and never heard of them I decided to give them a miss.

Alan.

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Yes Alan,

I am aware of the marketing language on Dasqua website, and I can understand what you have said.

The reality is different. For commercial reasons, that is all I can say. 🙂

Ketan at ARC

[John Gray 7Participant @johngray7]

I have some Dasqua caliper and they are just fine. Their only failing is they gobble batteries even when switched off and locked. You’ll need a good supply of CR2032’s. I got fed up of mine being out of battery every time I just popped on the workshop to check something, so I bought some Mitutoyo ones that the batteries last for years so I’m told. Using both on gauge blocks consistently give the same reading so I would be completely happy with their accuracy, although for important measurements less than 25mm I tend to use a micrometer. Used Chronos many times, and have been completely satisfied with them as a supplier.

[Chris MateParticipant @chrismate31303]

I bought one some time ago, happy with it, they labled it wrong price, I see the price is higher now.
I compared it to another choice in shop, there was one dasqua and 5 others of same make.

-The others had a slightly bigger screen, but all failed on reset to zero, the Dasqua was spot on every time.

So far I like it, It feels similar to another new Insize new  one I got.

[John Gray 7]

On John Gray 7 Said:

I have some Dasqua caliper and they are just fine. Their only failing is they gobble batteries even when switched off and locked. You’ll need a good supply of CR2032’s. I got fed up of mine being out of battery every time I just popped on the workshop to check something, so I bought some Mitutoyo ones that the batteries last for years so I’m told. …

I have a theory about caliper batteries.   Measuring the current drawn by digital calipers shows they consume low microamps, and should last for years.  Something is going on.  I suspect storing calipers in a cold British workshop prone to condensation causes this issue.  Inexpensive calipers aren’t sealed, and I think condensation forms on the cell, slowly discharging it.  A tad of workshop dirt in the air makes it worse.   I hypnotise that the cells in more expensive instruments last longer because they are protected from damp air.

Another factor may be putting the boot in!   My Lidl caliper, which I was willing to destroy if the test went wrong, revealed an ‘interesting’ design problem which is that it’s electronics malfunction as soon as the cell voltage drops slightly, even though there is still charge in the cell.  Possibly the electronics in more expensive instruments make full use of the cell, whilst cheap models give up prematurely.

Hard to prove without an elaborate experiment, but the cell life of cheap digital calipers might be extended by sealing the instrument inside a sealed plastic bag until needed.

Dave

 

 

 

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Doubt your theories Dave

 

My 35 year old Mitutoyo is not sealed and stays in the shed. So do my various other dgital measuring tool such as a Mitutoyo Micrometer, inexpensive digital calipers, depth gauges, angle blocks etc. I also keep a digi calliper on my desk inside.

The only one that does not go flat quickly is the old Mitutoyo, only needing it’s battery replacing once every 3-4 years.

The Difference between that and all the others is that they remember zero and the old Mitutoyo does not. So when that is off it is truely off yet all the others have to use some power to keep zero in the memory.

[Andy StopfordParticipant @andystopford50521]

There’s something different about the way the Mitutoyo ones work – you can leave them on for hours every day and the batteries still last for years – even allowing for them being truly off when off, that’s a far better battery life than the cheap ones (though interestingly, the Lidl ones are just as accurate).

[NealebParticipant @nealeb]

After reading Neil Wyatt’s review in MEW a few years ago, I bought a M&W from M-DRO when they were on offer. Battery consumption might not be to Mitutoyo standards but it’s probably no more than one a year, it’s spot-on when I check it against gauge blocks over it’s range, and it remembers it’s zero when off. Ticks all my boxes! While the Dasqua might be a little cheaper, sounds as if it might make up the difference in batteries over a few years.

[Steve CrowParticipant @stevecrow46066]

I’ve got a 100mm Dasqua digtal caliper, handy size for my small lathe. Had it 8 years, on it’s second battery and I use it nearly every day. Silky smooth and pretty much matches my micrometer measurements every time.

Don’t know if they are the same now though. they seem to change the model every few years.

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