Vernier Caliper Case Insert

thingiverse

My neighbor presented me with this excellent Rabone Chesterman vernier caliper several years ago, and I have found it to be one of my most frequently used tools when working on projects in my woodwork shop. This tool is truly a high-quality item. It was manufactured during an era when the UK produced products of exceptional quality, and it came with a premium vinyl wallet case that features a carefully designed foam lining to safeguard the delicate instrument inside. Some of you may recognize the remnants of the old "Selected for the Design Centre London" sticker on the front of the wallet. This variation suggests that the tool dates back to somewhere in the 1960s, which would make it at least as old as I am. However, the years have taken their toll on the foam lining, and it has now become a crumbly remnant of its former self with a few glue stains indicating where the rest of it used to be. Fortunately, thanks to the wonders of 3D printing, I have designed a custom insert that is specifically shaped to hold the caliper securely in place. This new insert offers far greater protection than the original foam lining. The 'pillowing' on the face is an artifact resulting from the orientation in which I had to print it to fit it onto my build plate. It was necessary to lean it back at a 15-degree angle with the long side facing the plate and then rotate the design across the plate at 45 degrees. This allowed it to fit nicely, and no support was required for printing it. Inadvertently, I didn't even apply a brim! Printing it in vase mode was an option, but I felt that it was perilously close to the maximum height, and I didn't want to risk a print failure if anything obstructed the print head during the last stages of a relatively lengthy print. If you are fortunate enough to have a larger build area, you should be able to lay it flat and print it in a more conventional manner.