"Nick Bozovich" wrote ...
I was watching Norm today - he was measuring up a piece of lumber, and he
used a tape measure. I couldn't tell what brand, but it made me think
about
the worthless tape measure I have in my shop - that I try to avoid using.
Why? Because the end of it is loose, and if you don't push the tape back
toward it, the measurement can be off by nearly 1/8".

I was in Lowes today, and checked out their tape measures - even on the
more
expensive ones the end of it was loose! One was even worse than the one I
have.

I've mostly used a folding carpenter's rule with a metal insert for 1" -
6",
because the tape measure isn't reliable.

What does everyone else use?

The slop in the end of the tape is there by design - it is equal to the
thickness of the piece of metal that is used as the hook on the end. Of
course that only lasts until the first few times you unlock the tape while a
few feet are rolled out and let it snap back throwing the end out of whack
(especially by the standards of some of those around here with really high
expectations for accuracy - another story).

I prefer a steel rule. It may be out of whack but I use only one measuring
device so everything will be out by the same amount. While the tape measure
is designed to be more accurate for house framing, you can use it too, as
long as you use only the one tape measure, the same way, for everything.

--

Cheers,
Howard

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Working wood in New Jersey -
Visit me in the woodshop - www.inthewoodshop.org