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I bought a cheap cable tension gauge and it cost me a whole day's work
Last week I was doing a full cable adjustment on a 5-story traction unit. My old gauge broke, so I grabbed a $35 one from a discount tool site instead of my usual brand. The reading was off by almost 15%, which I didn't catch until after I'd set everything and ran a test. Had to redo the whole job from scratch, which ate up about 8 hours of billable time. Some guys say a budget tool is fine if you calibrate it, but others swear you should only buy the pro-grade stuff. What's your take on tool quality for critical measurements?
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harper9141mo ago
You're right about the math never working, so I keep a known-good gauge just to check the cheap ones.
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the_max1mo ago
You said some guys think a budget tool is fine if you calibrate it. That's the part I don't get. If a tool is cheap enough to be off by 15% out of the box, what makes you trust its ability to hold a calibration? You just proved it can't be trusted for the one job you bought it to do. Saving a few bucks upfront cost you a full day. That math never works in your favor for critical measurements.
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