Tape Measures ??

[gettools]

I am interested in what kind of tape measures are being used or if you use one at all. I keep finding the tips being loose where the rivets hold it on. I have seen some that move as much as a 1/8"

[LarryG]

The tip is supposed to move, to allow for inside measurements. If it didn't move, the inside measurement would be off by the thickness of the hook.

An eighth inch of movement is excessive, though ... either wear, or shoddy manufacturing.

I use a 16' FastCap PS model. It was the shortest and most compact tape I could find with a 1" wide blade. Lots of neat little features (built-in pencil sharpener and whiteboard "note pad", etc) and it fits my hand well. The only thing I don't like about it is that the blade is white; I prefer yellow.

[sweensdv]

The tips are supposed to move. The movement amount is the thickness of the tip. Because the tip moves, it enables you to record accurate measurement when measuring both inside and outside dimensions.

I have many different tape measures but my favorites are made by FastCap.

[LCHIEN]

Larry is correct, the hook is supposed to move in the slot provided.
when the hook is pulled from the tape, the inside edge is at zero. When the tape is pushed against a surface, the outside of the hook is at zero.
The amount is not as much as 1/8" but maybe around 1/16th inch or a little less, the thickness of the hook is what it should be.

I use a 16' in my shop mostly, fits in my hand nicely. the 25' is too big and the smaller is too short for all-around usage. I have a metal craftsman (and an identical one by Miller's Falls) I've had for ages, seems to be right on when marking boards for cutting in the 12-60 inch range.

[bthere]

I have various types that I use for longer measurements. If the measurement is critical, you have to be sure to use the same tape throughout.

The movement on the tip is intended to accommodate inside and outside measurements. The amount of movement should only be equal to the thickness of the metal the tip is made from. However, this does vary and can be more. Over time, with some wear, it can also increase.

Many people "burn an inch" when they are using measuring devices like this. Instead of starting your measurement at 0, you start measuring at the 1 inch mark. This takes the tip out of the equation.

[LCHIEN]

How to check your tape measure tip is working right

This shold be any easy way to check if your tape measure tip is working right.

take a piece of wood, like a 1x4 x 15" or longer with a nice squarely cross-cut end, we'll call this end "zero"

Use you best, most trusted steel rule or combination square and mark a place 12" from the zero end, mark it "A"

Now take your tape measure and hook the end tip on zero, pull it snug, and mark a point 12" down the board and mark it "B".

Finally, push the zero end of the board up flush against a wall or even a two by four. You may want to clamp it in place so things don't shift, after all we're doing a doing a calibration test here. Now take the tape measure and push the end tip hook up against the wall and measure 12" out from the wall along the board. Mark this place "C". You may also wish to check your steel rule technique. Place the end of the steel rule against the wall and measure out 12 inches and mark this "D".

Make sure when marking A, B, C and D that your rule or tape goes perfectly parallel to the board and not at an angle which will make the distance shorter.

You might use the combo square to draw cross lines at A, B, C, and D.
If everything is working properly then the marks will all be coincident - on top of each other. If not, then any difference might be noted for future reference, you should know of the inside or outside measurements or both are off, and if those are off from your steel rule or combo square rule. If A and D do not agree, then your method of lining up the end of the rule against the end of the board needs work! I think if any discrepancies are noted, assuming your steel rule is good, then D should be the best measurement.

If B&C agree, but not the same as D, then most likely the zero point of the scale does not agree with the scale markings, this could be because the elonggate hole is in the wrong place or the scale is printed off. The only good news is that the hook thinckness offset is working right.

[Sawatzky]

I like Stanley tapes, but I recently got a center finding tape that I like a lot. It really helps in finding the center of a workpiece. I too used to wonder why my tips moved and then it finally dawned on me that they had to!

[Alex Franke]

I used the ubiquitous Stanley 25's until I picked up one of these -- and I love it.

Johnson Level & Tool 930 Big Johnson 30-Foot Power Tape (referral credit goes to bt3Central)

...just be careful when you tell people you want to show them your "big johnson".

[scorrpio]

I have a pair of Stanleys - a 16' compact one, and a heavy-duty 30' leverlock. In addition, I got a Lufkin 100' tape for large measurements.

Oh yeah, someone presented me with a B&D motorized tape a couple years ago. Bulky , heavy, inconvenient, battery cover pops open every time you bump against anything, spilling the batteries, and the manual 'rewind' is recessed, making it hard to use. Plus, it got inches on one edge, and cm on the other, meaning if you wanna do inches, you always have to measure in one direction. It is gathering dust in a drawyer somewhere.

[LarryG]

Oh yeah, someone presented me with a B&D motorized tape a couple years ago.

Same here. Christmas 2005, as I recall. Mine is still in the blister pack; I never opened it.

I don't know which was sillier: the motorized tape, or the battery-driven clamp that B&D thoughtfully came out with just in time for Christmas 2006.

[cabinetman]

I'm reading this thread and had one of those near death laughs that makes your face hurt, reading about tapes with pencil sharpeners and note pads.

Reminds me of one of my buddies who has a shop and came over just to show me his new tape measure. I'm not sure how long it was, but it was a combo of tape measure, AM/FM radio, calculator, Swiss Army knife, flashlight, coin holder, thermometer, and a few other nifty gadgets. I don't ever recall something like that being on my "wish list".

I only use Stanley tape measures. I use a 16' - 3/4" blade for in shop use, and use the same one for an entire project. It's a good size to be easily handled around the shop. I use a 30' - 1", for on the job measurements. The 16' tape has on the reverse side some useful information:

Decimal equivalents for 8ths, 16ths, and 32nds
Nail sizes from 2d to 20d
Common nails per pound from 2d to 20d
Wood screw data from #2 to #14 which include:
*Body diameter
*Pilot hole diameter for soft wood
*Chisel and plane iron sharpening angles
*Some geometric formulas
*Conversion tables
*Coated abrasive info for: garnet, al oxide, silicon carbide
*Dimensions for common lumber

This might sound weird, but because of the curvature of the tape, when used upside down and held steady on a surface, it can be used as a straight edge for drawing short lines.
.

[pecker]

I like these little 10ft ones from leevalley.com for woodworking. They come in left or right versions, and mine have been very accurate. They are also cheap, so you can keep a couple around to replace the ones that inevitably get lost or broken.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...62&cat=1,43513

[siliconbauhaus]

Same here. Christmas 2005, as I recall. Mine is still in the blister pack; I never opened it.

I don't know which was sillier: the motorized tape, or the battery-driven clamp that B&D thoughtfully came out with just in time for Christmas 2006.

If you want to get shod of it Larry send it my way. My son loves playing with my tapes and he'd go nuts with a motorised one

[leehljp]

I have 3 of the "Center Finder" tapes, 1 in Japan and 2 in the US. I love them and they are super for the people with "senior moments" or math challenged.

I can handle metric as well as inch without a problem, but because I cannot find a "center finder" metric, I use my inch one here most of the time.

They are getting harder to find.

[jking]

I have a 25' Stanley that gets most of my use. I also have another 25' (don't recall the brand) as a spare that gets occasional use.

I've been meaning to pick up a "left-handed" tape measure. This seems to be a misnomer. Since I'm right handed wouldn't it seem logical to have the numbers oriented so that the read right side up when pulled from right to left? This way you don't have to reach awkwardly across to mark the measurement.

Or am I alone in this thought?