Hot take: old school feeler gauges beat digital calipers for setting door zone gaps every time

I was working on a 90s Otis unit in a downtown building last week, trying to get the landing zone just right. I brought out my fancy digital caliper, but the numbers kept jumping around with the vibration. Grabbed my old metal feeler gauge set and slid the 3/32 blade in, felt the perfect drag, and locked it down. The digital tool was too fussy for the real world shake of a running machine. Anyone else find that some simple tools just work better on the job?

2 comments

2 Comments

jadeg8116d ago

Agree completely with the old school method. Ever try using a feeler gauge on a really worn rail where the gap isn't even? My digital caliper just gives up and shows an error.

the_hugo16d ago

But that's exactly where digital tools win, @jadeg81. A feeler gauge just gives you one spot check on that worn rail, and you might pick the wrong spot. A good digital caliper can be rocked across the uneven gap to find the true maximum width. The error message on yours just means it's a cheap tool, not that the method is bad. For consistent, repeatable reads on messed up parts, I'll trust a proper digital readout over guessing with a blade any day.