Single sided thickness caliper, with an inner stop

**Christophe Mineau** · Sep 13, 2014, 08:22 AM

And here is an other kind of thickness caliper, only one side this time.
The trouble with standard commercial thickness calipers is that, if they may have a stop, it is generally only able to hold an opening.
I was looking for something that would rather hold a closure, so I designed this one.

Here is the reason why, in a few pictures :

A normal person, in order to measure a thickness will close the caliper on the piece to be measured :

and then, will have to open the caliper, like that :

but, damn it, how can I retrieve my measure ?

It's the reason why there is this couple of little knurled nut that can keep the memory of the closure of the caliper.
So you can reclose it, and appreciate the measure :

Here it is.

**Christophe Mineau** · Sep 13, 2014, 08:25 AM

a detail of the stop :

**Altair** · Sep 14, 2014, 04:29 AM

Spring loaded calipers have stops like this. Ingenious idea and nicely executed Christophe.

**Christophe Mineau** · Sep 14, 2014, 06:42 AM

Hi Altair,
The most common spring loaded calipers are like that :

If you look carefully, the spring tends to open the caliper, and the stop is at the exterior.
Maybe I was not clear enough in my explanations, but it's what I called a stop to keep memory of an opening, and not of a closure.
I mean, once your stop is set, you can only close the caliper and it can come back to the opening when you release it, but obviously, it's not what we need for measuring a wall thickness, we need to open the caliper, before coming back to the measure !
Sorry if my wording is sometimes confusing...
Have all a nice Sunday !
Christophe

**DIYer** · Sep 14, 2014, 06:12 PM

Very nice! An analog memory device! I really like your ideas, Christophe.

**Altair** · Sep 15, 2014, 05:36 AM

Thank you for your explanation Christophe. Your words are not confusing at all. The stop just reminded me of those found in spring loaded calipers. Your approach is totally unique in terms of design and purpose.

**kbalch** · Sep 15, 2014, 01:45 PM

Thanks Christophe! I've added your Thickness Caliper to our Metalworking and Measuring and Marking categories, as well as to your builder page: Christophe Mineau's Homemade Tools. Your receipt: