# KBC brand measuring tools?



## architect (Aug 10, 2021)

How good are the KBC digital calipers, dial indicators, test indicators, mag bases, etc? Will eventually need some starting tools and there's a sale now that may be worth taking advantage of. Thanks.


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## gerritv (Aug 11, 2021)

Generally my experience with their branded tools is excellent value. More predictable than AliExpress although also more expensive.


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## combustable herbage (Aug 11, 2021)

I agree with @gerritv KBC has delivered good quality to me, and for sure they are more expensive.
One thing I did was after I decided what I wanted I did an amazon search to see if there was a difference in price for the same thing and I did buy some stuff from amazon based on price and usually I am not a big proponent of amazon but a couple of things the price was too good to say no.  
I did buy one of these test indicators Daniu 40112302 dial test indicator precision metric with dovetail rails Sale - Banggood.com
for starting out and I am glad I did as some idiot dropped and now its probably worthless so I made the right choice for me to go a little cheaper until some of these lesson's are learned.


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## YotaBota (Aug 11, 2021)

At that price you could have a drawer full of the Daniu TDI's. It would be interesting to see a comparison between the cheapy and the KBC (or better) indicators.


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## combustable herbage (Aug 11, 2021)

I have a few in a basket right now I'll try and compare a couple and see how close they are,  when I tried it a couple of times I was happy with the use, the indicator is a bit small to see but most of the time your just looking for the min max anyways.


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## Proxule (Aug 11, 2021)

KBC brand..... I bought a surface gauge from them a wile back on sale.
The unit was complete trash, and after I alerted them they pulled their entire stock.
They had me ship it back only to toss it in the garbage, The shipper caught wind of this and ripped the sales guy a new one. I found out from the shipper who called the sales guy a complete idiot ( it was a gong show to return this to them and I kept getting the round around form sales and the shipper )

The main beam was not square to the body, The v way in the body was not centered. Stripped screw that goes in horizontally to pin the beam adjustment. Sharp burrs every where ( no biggie as I would debur everything that I get, Not matter new or not )
The alignment pins that come out of the body where cheapo split pins that were overly split - So you'd have to hammer on them to get them to push out the bottom of the block.

Just an endless amount of issues, if I can find the pictures I saved, ill post them
10 bucks less from amazon with 1 day shipping and my issues were solved.

your millage may vary
gluck


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## Everett (Aug 11, 2021)

I got a DTI from them after my previous one met an untimely and gruesome death when it still happened to be attached to the mill quill with a homemade Indicol . . . The KBC DTI has been very good for me so far, no complaints.

Got a set of adjustable parallels from them, standard Chinesium, they do work but certainly not as nice as the one Starrett adjustable parallel that I do have. 

One purchase I am very happy about is the digital caliper that I got from them when my previous "good" set started flaking out. I'm sure they're not as good as a Mitutoyo but they're worlds above typical CT/PA fare. If I accidentally break this caliper I would definitely buy another one.

Crazy to hear about that surface gauge being that rough, and the customer service headache! Granted, I've never needed to return anything to KBC, either.


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## YotaBota (Aug 11, 2021)

Proxule said:


> I bought a surface gauge from them a wile back on sale.
> The unit was complete trash


 ouch!
Same old problem with not being able to try before buying. For me KBC may be only 50kms away but it takes 3hrs or more to get there (1.5hr boat ride plus the driving) and $200, makes the $13 shipping a no brainer. I'd like to see KBC by out our local KMS, it would be much better in the machining department.


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## Tom O (Aug 11, 2021)

That’s what you get for being on Vancouver Island ( I know it well ) although I grewup in the Non Bum era (pre 1980) when I came to Calgary because of the “ newlywed or nearly dead syndrome “ . Mind you I always looked forward to riding through the tunnel Vancouver side!


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## YotaBota (Aug 11, 2021)

And I do know where to find sympathy in the dictionary,,lol


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## architect (Aug 11, 2021)

Is this KBC digital caliper worth 25$ more than the Fowler?

https://www.kbctools.ca/itemdetail?itemcode=54-101-150
https://www.kbctools.ca/itemdetail?itemcode=1-815-130

At that price I'm tempted to go for the Daniu TDI and skip the KBC. I'm gonna be learning for awhile and I'll probably drop and break it it as well....

The cheap KBC articulating mag bases are also ~80lb of force vs something like a Noga which is ~170lbs. Those are both really abstract numbers to me and don't know if 80lbs is awful or not?

https://www.kbctools.ca/itemdetail/1-815-305


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## YYCHM (Aug 11, 2021)

architect said:


> The cheap KBC articulating mag bases are also ~80lb of force vs something like a Noga which is ~170lbs. Those are both really abstract numbers to me and don't know if 80lbs is awful or not?



Don't skimp on a mag base, you'll regret it!!!!  Ask me how I know


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## Tom Kitta (Aug 11, 2021)

All these calipers look same - they are same ones made in China just rebranded. 

Get two or three from Aliexpress for less $ - even if one is bad you will be still way, way, way ahead.

With measuring tools I have two settings - either go Aliexpress or go full on brand name. There is no "middle" - when you think about it you realize there is no middle.


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## combustable herbage (Aug 11, 2021)

I asked a similar question about the base and arm and was advised to get a good base and a noga arm and that's what I did and I am very happy with that choice


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## architect (Aug 11, 2021)

I did read your thread and saw that you got the Noga and Accusize indicator. A bit tough for me to spend $200 on a mag base right now... I wasn't sure where KBC stuff falls here and figure maybe more middle ground but conflicting opinions on that...


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## YYCHM (Aug 11, 2021)

architect said:


> I did read your thread and saw that you got the Noga and Accusize indicator. A bit tough for me to spend $200 on a mag base right now... I wasn't sure where KBC stuff falls here and figure maybe more middle ground but conflicting opinions on that...



A crappy mag base will make a top of the line DI and TDI look like junk.  Those things have to be rock solid stable in order to produce reliable/repeatable results and flexible in order to dial in all those crazy setups you'll encounter.


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## YYCHM (Aug 11, 2021)

Give this a go.....

https://www.kbctools.ca/itemdetail/1-457-910F

If you don't like the DI at least you have a decent mag base.


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## architect (Aug 11, 2021)

YYCHM said:


> Give this a go.....
> 
> https://www.kbctools.ca/itemdetail/1-457-910F
> 
> If you don't like the DI at least you have a decent mag base.



Interesting this set is cheaper than just the mag base...

I guess a good mag base paired with a so-so DI is better than the other way around!


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## PeterT (Aug 11, 2021)

The issue with KBC (or Travers or Shars or anyone else) is 'it depends' so very hard to generalize. Some of the stuff is basically the same you can find on AliExpress with a different label & sometimes even higher price. Some of it is upgraded & good value. Buying from a catalog picture is dangerous. Country of origin isn't definitive either because even Starrett is made in China. Fowler is not bad but varies by tool (again Asia). Asimeto is a line some people feel is good value because it closely resembles Mitutoyo (design) but better price point & supposedly good warranty. The issue is very limited CDN dealers, I think Sowa is top of food chain & fans out to distributers from there. I'd put them at 60-70% of Mitutoyo price which is kind of get what you pay for.


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## architect (Aug 11, 2021)

PeterT said:


> The issue with KBC (or Travers or Shars or anyone else) is 'it depends' so very hard to generalize. Some of the stuff is basically the same you can find on AliExpress with a different label & sometimes even higher price. Some of it is upgraded & good value. Buying from a catalog picture is dangerous. Country of origin isn't definitive either because even Starrett is made in China. Fowler is not bad but varies by tool (again Asia). Asimeto is a line some people feel is good value because it closely resembles Mitutoyo (design) but better price point & supposedly good warranty. The issue is very limited CDN dealers, I think Sowa is top of food chain & fans out to distributers from there. I'd put them at 60-70% of Mitutoyo price which is kind of get what you pay for.



The 12" Asimeto is only 120$ hmmm https://www.amazon.ca/Asimeto-7307125-Digital-Accuracy-Resolution/dp/B06XTFDR9X


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## PeterT (Aug 11, 2021)

Hmmm.. different code number than what Sowa is showing for 12" (for 252$)
https://www.sowatool.com/Product/7/292/2633

Are we now at the point of second guessing clones of clones? LoL


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## architect (Aug 11, 2021)

Ahh right, that one wasn't the Absolute model.

https://www.amazon.ca/Asimeto-7307563-Absolute-Accuracy-Resolution/dp/B06XTM2N65
https://www.amazon.ca/Asimeto-7307583-Absolute-Accuracy-Resolution/dp/B06XTFZGLF


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## PeterT (Aug 11, 2021)

Good overview of calipers IMO


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## 6.5 Fan (Aug 12, 2021)

I have found that my cheap PA caliper eats batteries, even when turned off. My Mitutoyo doesn't. Could be that all cheap ones don't but info i found on the web suggests that most cheaper calipers use power even when turned off, hence a dead battery when you need to measure something.


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## architect (Aug 12, 2021)

Yup, I have a cheapo Canadian Tire $10 caliper from years ago and I can't leave a battery in which is kinda annoying.


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## YYCHM (Aug 13, 2021)

architect said:


> Interesting this set is cheaper than just the mag base...
> 
> I guess a good mag base paired with a so-so DI is better than the other way around!



This post reminded me as to how much I hate my current mag base.

So I ordered this https://www.kbctools.ca/itemdetail/1-457-910F yesterday and it was shipped FedEx today.  Will let you know how the DI pans out.  Can't be any worse than my BB DI which works fine for me.

BTB- Looking through Amazon.ca the Noga standard MB can be had for $160, as to whether it's an actual Noga is another story.


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## Janger (Aug 13, 2021)

I find the iGaging measurement instruments good. I have two calipers, one blue tooth, a digital height gauge and a digital depth gauge. One thing the iGaging does it shows imperial fractions like 1/32, or decimal inches/mm. I take the battery out of the height and depth gauges when I put them away. They seem to be good quality not super expensive. The blue tooth caliper was under $100 - mitutoyo wants $560 for just the bluetooth adapter - you still need calipers to put them on.


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## YYCHM (Aug 16, 2021)

Oooops..... a little bigger than I expected...  Maybe could have the next size smaller?






Gotta love KBC's shipping, ordered on the 12th arrived on the 16th.  Now to figure out how to mount the DI on it. That detail is not obvious to me..  So far I haven't been able to mount my Accusize TDI via it's dove tail

Hmmm.... much head scratching here.....






How are supposed to mount the DI on the Noga instrument head????  The instructions state it takes a back lug mount?


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## RobinHood (Aug 16, 2021)

The dovetail of the DTI goes here (red arrow).






You need an adapter (very easy to make) to attach the lug of the DI to. The adapter then slides in either of the two holes on the head (green arrows).

Here is what the adapter looks like.


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## YYCHM (Aug 16, 2021)

RobinHood said:


> The dovetail of the DTI goes here (red arrow).
> 
> You need an adapter (very easy to make) to attach the lug of the DI to. The adapter then slides in either of the two holes on the head (green arrows).



I discovered that the stem of the DI fits the larger hole in the Noga instrument head... so that works out fine.






Man you couldn't pull this off with a cheapo mag base.

So far I tested the DI against my lath cross slide dial (which I trust) and it tracked really well.  As good as my BB DI in any event. Here I'm testing against my Mill DRO and things look good in the X-Axis but suspicious in the Y-Axis?

Checked my X, Y, Z mill DROs again and everything looks good.  I love how flexible this Noga MB is.  I'd say I'm satisfied with my purchase.

Hmmmm.... the Noga is supposed to take a 1/4" dove tail and my Accusize TDI measures 0.235... should fit???

I never realized that those two dial fingers on a DI are movable reference markers until today LOL


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## francist (Aug 16, 2021)

In addition to the aforementioned adapter, you can also make your own post backs for indicators. There’s nothing special about them, the only fussy part is getting the holes right but even that’s easy if you use the existing back as a pattern. Make the post whatever size you need to fit the attachment. Not better or worse, just gives a different attitude for positioning the indicator.


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## PeterT (Aug 16, 2021)

I clamp my dial on the stem too. Easy does it, just enough to hold it. Actually I put a plain back on my dial just to get the lug out of the way & find I don't use the lug much anymore anyways. Kind of depends on your tooling. I also machined a post back like Francist. Pay attention to the screws. Ideally use the ones you have but sometimes not possible. On a brand name they will reference (typically M#) in catalog but on clones anything goes. Your DTI should fit the dovetail but there is another maybe-yes maybe-no. There are a few dovetail standards apparently. 0.236 is a whole lot like 6mm. One of the others I looked up, maybe Starrett but dont hold me to it, was different.


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