I have both the vertical gauge and the horizontal gauge. The vertical gauge is inherently not as accurate since one has to deal with the torque generated by the barrel not being measured. Even from a pulley hung in the ceiling the vertical measured barrel is subjected to the torque of the barrel to its side. The often seen brass “rest” on the vertical machines is just “for show” and the seller can manipulate the readings in front of the buyer. The horizontal machine uses only gravity , which is a constant, to generate good readings. I lost a fine gun, sold to a friend , that I thought had thin barrels as measured with my vertical machine. His gunsmith remeasured the wall thickness with a horizontal machine and the barrels were well within the tolerance I would have accepted if I had only known. My vertical machine sits near the furnace, while the horizontal machine is on the workbench.
When using the horizontal machine by myself, I let a half filled bag of shot hold the barrels on the bench. It is easy to turn the barrels, held by the bag of shot, to any position.
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