How do I read this caliper to measure beads please?

I have this caliper and I see videos on YouTube but they are not like this one. Is this bead a 7 or 11 mm? Do I use the Out line to measure? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

11mm by that measure.

 

Thank you so much! I have put it away for over a year because I couldn't figure it out and didn't want to me wrong.

 

For clarity...

 

There are guidelines there for inside and outside measurements, but it looks like the enamel that originally made them stand out has worn away.

 

If you have a straight edge scale, you can double check by laying it across the measured opening and see how that corresponds to the markings on the caliper.

 

"Harbor Freight" sells cheap digital calipers if you want to be more accurate , and if you are like me and the eye sight is not what it used to be . I use mine all the time , but if you get them keep a supply of cheap button cell batteries , mine is in my back pack and turns its self on to often, though it also shuts its self off.


6 in. Composite Digital Caliper (harborfreight.com)

6 in. Digital Caliper with SAE and Metric Fractional Readings (harborfreight.com)

 

And if you only can measure in Metric and you want to get a US measurement in inches/decimal then take MM x .03937 and it will give you a decimal reading.
11mm x .03937 = .433 (which is roughly 7/16")

 

I have one almost exactly like the OPs. Use it all the time. IN is used to measure holes. Out is used to measure the outside of something, often a bead or a stone in context. Mine was in my late dad's toolbox for working on model trains. It never had the arrows.

 

On the subject of calipers I need a pair. I want digital calipers. Searched eBay and there’s a million cheap models. I don’t really want harbor freight quality. I’d rather buy a decent pair and not have to ever buy another. I’d like to pay $20-$30 at most but would go over that a bit if needed. There’s a Japanese brand that seems to be very popular at north of $100. Don’t want to spend that much. Anyone have recommendation on a good value in digital calipers?

 

Since mine are strictly analog, nope. I'm not all that fond of things that require batteries to work if the non-electric works well enough for my purposes. Saves grief since there are no batteries to crap out at the worst possible moment.

 

I get it. For most things I prefer analog but for this tool a nice instant read out with precise decimal seems pretty nice. Just being lazy I guess.

 

For most beads and such, close enough is close enough. If you need fractional millimeters for setting or replacing stones and the like then a digital one is a good idea. Otherwise it's probably overkill.

 

So what

Thank you all so very much! I won't be measuring enough that I think I need a digital. So really dumb question, what do you mean by a hole? Do you mean for instance where a rhinestone or diamond might need to fit in a setting? Would just holding the caliper beside it and using the out be the same? But then I notice the in and out measures are different. Give me an example please of how you would use it to measure using IN and where you would place it? Thank you.

 

For getting a quick read for a measurement any 20$ set of digital calipers is fine. They are probably all made by the same Chinese company anyhow - LOL!

 

Measure the inside of a ring,instead of using the area you are with the bead.Place the 2 outside areas inside the ring shanks and expand the measure.

 

The inside diameter of a ring can be used to figure out ring size, if you google a chart. The hole in the ring where your finger goes. Stone settings too. For In, the calipers goes into the hole and slid open until it's exactly in place. It's pretty easy.

 

I had the same thought about the same company making them all, lol.

 

Thanks. Got it!