Customer Reviews

Starrett 120A-6 White Dial Calipers, Hardened Stainless Steel, 0-6" Range, .001" Graduations

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

One of the reviewers referred to this caliper as being "heirloom quality". I feel that statement needs a bit of qualifying.

Starrett has recently (within the past couple of years) made some changes to this caliper. I'll let you be the judge as to whether it was a good move. I should preface this by saying that I own several Starrett tools and have plans to add more to my chest (my wallet permitting).

The first change that I'll speak to is with the dial housing. It has gone from being made from metal to plastic. I spoke w/a tech rep at Starrett who told me that It was a cost cutting measure as well as an attempt to make all the dials in their product line universal. He also said that he has fielded several customer complaints regarding this change. I have both versions of this caliper and the one with the plastic dial does not meet my expectations of "heirloom quality". It is a fine caliper but the plastic on this instrument detracts from the reputation for quality that Starrett has developed. However, the metal dial version of this tool, IMHO, embodies the qualities that Starrett is known for. I should also say that there is no functional difference, that I can find, between the two calipers.

The other refinements (of the plastic dial version) are merely asthetic. The jaws have a slightly different profile and the depth rod is slightly thicker. Nothing that would provide anything better functionally.

I hope that Starrett will return to producing calipers with a metal dial housing. If you can get your hands on one of these, then you will really have something that is "heirloom quality"

I practically grew up in a machine shop with a father that would only buy top quality tools. While I feel that Starret is still a top quality tool I would have to agree with the previous reviewer about the bad decission to change to the plastic dial.That one little detail knocked this tool down from 5 stars to 4 stars. I would have been happy to pay the extra 10 bucks for a metal dial housing. While this may sound silly but this little detail would have cost them a sale if I compaired it side by side with Brown&Sharpe and Mitutoyo and either one had a metal dial housing. Also what happened to quality cases? When I think back to my dads tool boxes (20 yrs ago) all the tools seemed to have wooden finger joined boxes now you get plastic boxes ( not even plastic that is well designed). Finally I would like to say all things being considered this is a very good tool and I would recomend it.

Starrett instruments for years have had a well deserved reputation for quality. With that in mind, I ordered their 120A-6 caliper. Upon receiving it, I immediately noticed the dial was zeroed incorrectly in the 9 o'clock position. Either this caliper was damaged in transit to me, or it was assembled incorrectly.

I contacted Amazon regarding this and the service offered for replacement was fast and courteous. When my new replacement Starrett caliper arrived, I discovered it also had the dial set incorrectly at the 9 o'clock position. This led me to believe that both of the calipers had been assembled incorrectly at the factory.

My next step was to contact Starrett regarding this. They offered to adjust/repair my caliper, all the time still touting their quality and 100% inspection policy on everything leaving their factory, but as I packaged it up to ship to them, I reflected on not just the assembly of this product, but the fact that parts of it (the dial housing) were of inexpensive plastic, as noted by other reviewers. In my opinion, this is definitely not in keeping with a set of ... calipers.

I wound up shipping the Starrett back to Amazon for a refund. I wish Amazon would offer another brand of high end calipers for sale as I found the Starrett to be disappointing, especially so when considering Starrett is the only American made brand available.

I received my new Starrett 1202 and to my suprise the box was labeled "Made in China." I called Starrett because I was not sure if this was a knock off or what. They told me this tool is made in China and they have no comperable U.S. made product.

I was a little leery about buying this after a couple of reviews mentioned that the caliper they got had a plastic bezel and was not as pictured on this page.

I'm sad to say they were right! The 120A-6 (NOT the "economy" 1202)that showed up from Amazon did indeed have a gray plastic ring around the dial instead of aluminum. It also had several fingerprints on it, but I'll give Starrett the benefit of the doubt and say those belonged to the calibrator/tester.

Either way, if I'm shelling out ~$130 for a set of calipers, they'd better match the photo and be made of metal. I'm sending this one back to Amazon and buying a sturdy vintage one off Craigslist.

This was the least expensive Starrett dial caliper I found while searching the seemingly small number of dealers (the average price for this model from other dealers was at least $140.) I don't think I need to comment much of the quality of the product since the Starrett name generally speaks for itself. I will just say that I am completely satisfied with its quality and performance. Be advised that this product comes graduated only in English units (inches), no metric. Additionally, the storage case is very... red. Overall this product is an EXTREMELY good values for its price.

In the humitity here in Central Florida I could not get my RCBS digital caliper to read right in my garage even though I kept it in the house when not in use. Problem solved with the Starrett, top draw instrument

I've used this in my tool construction class at high school and it's great. Smooth movement, locks tight, always keeps its measurement all the time. (trust me after the freshman got to it. I was suprized it still kept it's accuracy on the dot. Personally I sdy Starret tools are good for the money. not the most exspensive not the cheapest but just right. It's your money's worth trust me.

I ordered the 120A-6 caliper expecting a wonderful piece of precision measuring equipment. Phillips Steel Company sent me the 1202-6 which is an expensive Chinese made POS. The caliper came in a nice Starrett box and plastic case. Inside the plastic case the caliper was nicely sealed in a plastic bag. The first time I opened the caliper, the needle didn't move. I closed the caliper, the needle still didn't move. Then I tilted the caliper in the process of putting it down on the table and the needle fell off the post inside the dial! Those are the facts, you make the call. BTW the folks at Phillips Steel Company were wonderful to deal with, the fault is in the computers at Amazon. Phillips doesn't even sell the 120A-6 through Amazon. As a courtesy I tried to explain this to Amazon, but the drone on the phone kept telling me to talk to Phillips Steel Company. The Amazon drone was dumber than a box of rocks. Returning the item for refund.

Those people where obviously getting bad deals and miss information. They most certainly do still offer they're 120 and 120M (M=metric) dial calipers with hardened stainless steel parts, aluminum adjustable dial body and a crystal dial face cover. Now they do sale an economy model 1202 (witch I own and use), and it has the plastic face cover. This was since march of this year I've known this.

These posts are quite old and should not be trusted without doing your own research, go to there web site (and contact retailers) and read up for your self. I use they're micrometers, feeler gauges, depth gauges, dial indicators and more. And when compared to lesser brands such as harbor freight, general tool or great neck I rarely have found those kinds to be dead on consistent like starrett (or hold up to drops and bends).

Gary Yuen (and others that complained) obviously got a bumb and or boot-leg product, never have I seen a sterrett dial caliper with moving plastic parts. The only sterrett dial caliper I've seen that looks like that with a plastic face cover is there 1202 model and never a plastic dial body.

P.S. You could have fixed your 9 o'clock hand position problem, simply buy putting it in your left hand and turning the dial body 180 degrees in ether direction.