Digital Readouts

We currently have two different kinds of these tools, and while they essentially perform the same basic function, they are significantly different from each other in many ways.

Baileigh Digital Degree Angle Finder

You can tell just by looking at this thing it was intended from the outset to be used with pipes and tubes. It’s composed of a digital display mounted on a stirrup-like body which fits over the pipe and is fastened in place (temporarily) with a threaded bolt.

This bolt system makes it adjustable to fit a lot of different sizes. While the material you’re measuring does not necessarily have to be a pipe, or round, or even metal, it does need to be able to fit inside the stirrup cavity. It’s not, therefore, a universal measuring tool, but it is probably the most easy to use and is recommended on that basis.

Digital LCD Angle Protractor

This is a universal angle measurement device, with no inherent size limit to what you can measure with it, although it naturally is going to be most easy to use when measuring something larger than the device itself. It doesn’t have the same high fidelity of the Baileigh device, and it does probably have a bit more of a learning curve for some users.

Physically it resembles a small bevelled plastic brick with a digital LCD display, a power button, hold button, and zero button.

You can use it to measure the angle of just about anything, but for measuring the angle of a bend in a piece of metal, you would lay one arm of the bend perfectly flat (on a table or some other suitably  flat level surface). If the material being measured is round, you may need to use clamps or have somebody hold it in place for you while you do the measurement. Then simply place the protractor on the other arm of the bend and read off the angle shown on the display.

So what does the mysterious zero button do? Its real name should be “alt zero”, but on this protractor, it is just labelled “zero” to save space. This feature allows you to measure a second angle relative to another angle. The natural zero is flat and level, but with alt zero you can make zero be any other angle, and then you can check the comparative angle relative to the first angle instead of just relative to the horizontal plane.

Available now from Asset Plant & Machinery

We’re Australia’s leading suppliers of industrial machinery, parts, and accessories. It’s easy to find the products you need when you buy from us, and because our sales professionals are also experts in the metal working trades, they can offer genuine experience-based advice. Count on us for the best supply and service.