Don't throw away those old calipers.

[boxplayer4000]

I’m glad I held on to my inside/outside caliper. I haven’t heard of an electronic modern equivalent but it seems likely there will be. The need for the caliper arose when I was faced with, perhaps, having to use wood-screws in the shell of an accordion near the treble sounding board. This raised the question of the thickness of the shell/what length of screw to use. The construction of the accordion made it necessary to first, open the caliper, then close it on the area in question. An ordinary, single outside caliper would not be suitable because it would be necessary to ‘open’ it to clear the obstructions of the accordion parts, and thereby lose the setting/measurement of the shell thickness. However with the double outside/inside caliper it is possible to measure the thickness with caliper in place. I imagine that it will be a tool familiar to violin makers.

 

[TomBR]

A great tool, completely analogue and no batteries required!

For front and back plates for mandolins and violins I've used a dial-gauge based device as more precise.

For something highly ingenious look up the Hacklinger gauge which makes it possible to measure thickness in very inaccessible areas, such as the front and back of a complete violin.

 

[Dingo40]

A great tool, completely analogue and no batteries required!

Love it

 

[JerryPH]

I have the digital version... nice to see the readout on the screen accurate to 3 decimal places. Yes, batteries required... lol

 

[Ventura]

there's an app for that

Vernier Caliper - Apps on Google Play

Vernier Caliper ,Micrometer,Dial caliper simulator

play.google.com

 

[JerryPH]

there's an app for that

Vernier Caliper - Apps on Google Play

Vernier Caliper ,Micrometer,Dial caliper simulator

play.google.com

There's an app for everything... even an app that tells you there is an app for that... LOL

 

[boxplayer4000]

JerryPH: The proliferation of 'apps' is indeed everywhere. I remember the owner/pilot of a sea-plane, which was for hire in a particularly scenic location on the west coast of Scotland, used to 'amuse' his passengers, before take-off, by saying that he had no experience at all in flying but not to worry as he had the 'app' on his phone.
P.S. I have Vernier calipers too (both analogue and digital) but the Vernier couldn't do the job my inside/outside caliper does; ie. reach into relatively inaccessible spaces.

 

[tcabot]

I haven’t heard of an electronic modern equivalent but it seems likely there will be

For lutherie, the industry standard looks like this (But it's also analogue, not digital).

Thickness Caliper - StewMac

Our precision caliper for luthiers, now in metric! It gauges critical thicknesses on guitar, violin, or mandolin soundboards or backs.

www.stewmac.com

A bit of an overkill if all you want is to roughly measure the accordion box thickness though.

 

[TomBR]

JerryPH: The proliferation of 'apps' is indeed everywhere. I remember the owner/pilot of a sea-plane, which was for hire in a particularly scenic location on the west coast of Scotland, used to 'amuse' his passengers, before take-off, by saying that he had no experience at all in flying but not to worry as he had the 'app' on his phone.
P.S. I have Vernier calipers too (both analogue and digital) but the Vernier couldn't do the job my inside/outside caliper does; ie. reach into relatively inaccessible spaces.

Was that the same pilot who used to sit in the plane reading the paper then start grumbling about the pilot being late, and then saying it was a disgrace that he wasn't there and finally saying, "oh well, I suppose I'd better fly it myself!"

 

[boxplayer4000]

A bit of an overkill if all you want is to roughly measure the accordion box thickness though.

I think the key word is 'roughly'. Even with my 'old' inside/outside caliper measuring to plus/minus 0.5 mm (about 19 thou) is easily achievable and is perfectly acceptable in many situations.

TomBR: It seems those flying people have a strand of humour all their own. Waiting to take off recently for a Scandinavian destination and receiving our safety talk on how to fasten our seat belt etc. the staff member concluded by saying 'Enjoy your flight, we'll be landing in Paris in about 90 minutes'.
I'm an addict for gadgets and devices and I have the usual ones for scanning walls etc for hidden wires, pipes, wooden frames etc. Is there no similar device available that you simply place against surface and it tells the thickness.