tape measures

That’s crazy!

That’s beyond ridiculous!

-- Paul Mayer, http://youtube.com/c/toolmetrix

looks like we should start checking out tapes from now on.makes me wonder how accurate are the ones i have.

-- working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

The two Stanleys are great. It almost seems like the 25’ and 35’ tapes are really the same length!

Now that I look at the first photo, it seems like the white one has ten divisions per inch but each is 1/8”.

-- “Big man, pig man, ha ha, charade you are.” ― R. Waters

The two Stanleys are great. It almost seems like the 25 and 35 tapes are really the same length!

Now that I look at the first photo, it seems like the white one has ten divisions per inch but each is 1/8”.

- ChuckV

There’s something called a Chinese inch. Maybe that’s what it is, in 10s.

That is probably a new unit of measure for those that cannot understand how to use the current imperial and metric.

I had a trainee on a job site who said every mark between the inches were “halves.” That may have been what he was talking about 10 halves per inch. He wasn’t able to use the imperil system. Too confusing scaling an 1/8 scale drawing.

-- Bob in WW ~ "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence

I have a couple of folding rulers makred in Swedish inches (Verktom). I understand Hultafours also made one in Danish inches. Also, I have a couple of rulers and a tape marked in Japanese Shaku. Still, this looks like something else. I would guess it’s a photoshop trick.

-- I intended to be a woodworker, but turned into a tool and lumber collector.

The rivets in the upper tape look elliptical, as if the image were unequally scaled.

THe white tape looks like Shaku / Sun / Bu.

-- I intended to be a woodworker, but turned into a tool and lumber collector.

That’s very interesting cause just today I compared all my tapes to a dial indicator the only one that is dead on is a Milwaukee 16’ and a cheap one called Komelon.

DeWalt, 3 Fast caps, 2 Stanley’s and even a Lufkin folding ruler were all off by 1/32 to 1/64.

So, I check my rulers against a Starret – only a Lee Valley, and a couple brand unknown dead on.

So, if you’re like me and have one tape that stays by the miter saw, make sure it syncs with what ever you’re using.

And no, I don’t have a tape problem, I’ve just accumulated them over the years,

-- Everything is a prototype thats why its one of a kind!!

These are extreme examples of a real issue. I always compare a new straight edge against a proven one. I have at least 5 aluminum yard sticks and 2 of them are off by about an eighth of an inch over 8 inches. In my shop tape measures are for framing and breaking down large stock into working stock. Builds use straight edges and believe it or not I have 3 folding rules which are very accurate. I had a shop teacher who told us the best practice was to build your entire project with the same straight edge as that would minimise errors.

-- Cheap is expensive! - my Dad

lol, one thing an old carpenter told me way back, was synchro our tape measures and for repetitive work make up a story pole and live with it, found he was absolutely right, amazing how many fellas have tapes that aren’t even close to each other. even had to break up a fight with some framers back in the day over the one fella after the other for being unable to get a measurement right, funny as all get out once we checked tapes and oh yeah, qtr inch almost.
so much for quality control huh.
rj in az

-- Living the dream

There s something called a Chinese inch. Maybe that s what it is, in 10s.

- Loren

That explains the poor quality of all the cheap crap made there. Its made to spec and they are measuring “accurately”.

There s something called a Chinese inch. Maybe that s what it is, in 10s.

- Loren

That explains the poor quality of all the cheap crap made there. Its made to spec and they are measuring “accurately”.

- SMP

ha ha yeah we give them the measurements and there using their tapes to make the products,no wonder it’s crap!

-- working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

I learned the one tape per project rule when I was building a bed for my older son. Moved to a framing square to mark a perpendicular line and noticed a cut line that wasn’t quite where it was supposed to be. Had already cut quite a few pieces so I built it all with the bent tape end, and careful adjusting with an other ruler.