Workshop vernier caliper (Brown & Sharpe)
Calibre con nonio de taller (Brown & Sharpe)
- Date
- 1851 · confidence high
- Place
- Providence, Rhode Island, United States
- Credited to
- Joseph R. Brown
- Field
- Tools
What it is
A sliding caliper with a vernier scale reading to one thousandth of an inch and priced low for its accuracy. Joseph Brown of Brown & Sharpe introduced it in 1851 as the first precision instrument in everyday workshop use.
The sliding caliper with a fixed scale existed from Xin China, and in France from 1631 (Vernier's scale); the affordable industrial version is recorded here.
What it led to
- precision measurement within reach of any machinist
- interchangeability of parts in American armouries and factories
- the Brown & Sharpe micrometer (1867)