How to Use a Vernier Caliper

Edited by Timmiej, RMunsonNJ, Maluniu, Kit Santos and 10 others

A vernier caliper is used to take measurements that are accurate to within .001 of an
inch or .02 of a millimeter, depending whether the vernier is imperial or metric. This set
of instructions will focus on imperial, but the same methods can be applied to a metric
vernier caliper.
Steps
1.
1
Make sure that whatever you are measuring is clean and has no burrs on the
edges.
2.
2
Open the jaws of the caliper and position them on both sides of the piece you are
measuring.
3.
3
Push the jaws firmly against the workpiece.
4.
4
Lock the clamp screw so that the jaws don't move.
5.
5
On the vernier scale is a small number 0. Look at how many inch divisions it is past
on the bar scale.
6.
6
See how many smaller (numbered) divisions the small 0 has gone past. This
represents how many tenths of an inch the workpiece is measuring in addition to the
number of whole inches.
7.
7
How many smaller divisions has the small 0 gone past the last numbered
division, this number multiplied by 25 is how many hundredths of an inch.
8.
8
Determine which division line on the vernier scale best lines up with a division on
the bar scale. This is how many thousandths of an inch.
9.
9
By adding the inch measurement, the tenths of an inch, the hundredths, and the
thousandths, you will have a measurement to a 3 decimal place accuracy.