Cool Idea: Convert a Digital Caliper to a Tool Setter

MuellerNick from Germany has developed an interesting concept. He has transformed a digital caliper into virtually a height gauge, complete with a circular hole at the base. This allows it to be utilized on a flat surface such as a surface plate or on a protruding component like a tool holder.

Check out this video for more:

If you're wondering why you'd use a beast like this, check out my 2 part series on tool length offset and ways to manage that tool data.

If I was going to make one of these, the other thing I'd do is make sure the friction clamp feature of the calipers was functional.  It's useful to keep tool stickout at a consistent repeatable length once you've encountered conditions that cause chatter.  If you have the same stickout, same tool type (same model and manufacturer), same tool holder type (same model and mfg), and the same spindle, chatter conditions are reproducible.  This means that once you know where they occur, they can be avoided if you keep all those variables constant.  This can be extremely valuable for productivity.