Tape Measure tip

... the mother of necessity….

I have a dozen tape measures in my shop. Usually I can spot one. Often not.

-- The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful. http://web.me.com/deceiver6/Deceiver/Craftsman_on_the_lake/Craftsman_on_the_lake.html

I have mine in different color, florescent, green and blue they are easy to find and I have put away the silver ones.

-- --<<<<<< I will not stop until I get it right. >>>>>>--

Yeah, in a typical home shop the magic number is ‘bout 12.
Once the dozen is strategically spread you will near fall over them.

My fav was Lowes’ Stanley 25’ at $5.69 (and then less 10% coupon).
Check out dollar stores, they often have 10, 12, 16 footers. Grab a handful.

i’m still losing my yellow stanley tape. i don’t think I could go much brighter. i’m working on cleaning up now though because when things are clean, you are right, the bright colors do help.

I know I have several but I only know where one is now.

-- Bruce from Central New York

I have several means of measuring around the shop. At local sporting goods store I bought a few of the 36” adhesive rulers. The kind you stick in a boat to measure your catch.

-- jato, Houston Texas

I wouldn’t even want to guess how many tape’s I have laying around the shop…but as said by others…I guess I hit the magic number…there is a tape on my table saw, radial arm saw, work benches, router table, scroll saw, bandsaw’s, drill press’s etc etc etc…got tired of using it in one spot…walking to another tool…and having to go back and get the tape.

-- Don S.E. OK

I keep mine clipped to my belt. I never have to look for it.

-- Kent Shepherd * The goal is-----More Tools!

Hi John,

Per your own statement: ”...I seem to never have trouble finding it.”, your idea appears to have worked for you, ergo, good idea! Thanks for sharing it.

-- And on the eighth day God was back in His woodworking shop!

I stopped buying tape measures which were expensive the last expensive one I bought was a stanley cost me £12.00 .So now I buy them “just as good” at the market for £1.00 each . I usually buy quite a few and have them in both shops all over the place best thing I ever did and guess what.The cheap ones measure exactly the same as the expensive ones.Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Just last night I was using a tape measure and all of a sudden had no idea where it had gone. I looked for a while and got some help from my young son who has a way of finding such things. No luck

This morning when I got to work, I looked back at my truck as I was heading for the office. There was the tape measure sitting on the rear bumper. How it managed to stay there for the 34 mile drive is a mystery to me.

-- Chuck - Central Massachusetts

One of the few things I buy from sears because of there replacment policy. I have a couple dozen or more and sometimes still can’t find one.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

I’m with Alistair and Don. I’ve bought tapes for every spot I might need one and a few extra. Most of them are the small 6’ – 10’ types for about a buck each. Came in one night with two in my pockets

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas

When you start buying a tape measure for your tape measure, then you know, you may have enough. Unless of course you tape measure is as bad at losing tape measure’s as you are.

-- BUILT TO LAST WOODWORKS, West Blocton, Alabama

I have about half a dozen. I could not find a single one one day, looked everywhere. My wife had them all in her tool box. I guess I need his and hers.

we have tapes all around the shop. Especially in front of all the machines. We made clips on the benches near and around most commonly needed measurements. Working in the trade though I got used to clipping it on my belt ( I guess thats what its designed for…lol) The only time I find myself looking for a tape is when I’m moving sheets of plywood and I don’t want to scratch the face, so I put my tape down.

Tip:
If you use many tapes on the same project it’s a good idea to calibrate them so they all read the same measurement. You’d be surprised at how far off the same name brand can be from one another. Inside and outside measurments.

-- Woodshop supplies at bulk discounts. www.getneds.com

getneds could you tells us your procedure for calibrating a tape measure?
Thanks,
John

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

I will post in the near future on how to calibrate your tape measure. I really need the pictures to demonstrate. But for now I can tell you we use the vice as a hard surface and carefully tap the end of the “hook” to open it more. Giving the tape an extra 16th or so to the length. If we need to close it we put a cold chisel in the vise and use vise grips to squeeze it, (this way we can control how much it will close by turning the thumb screw iin tiny incriments). To compare use the 12” and 24” mark side by side with each tape. I usually use the tablesaw to compare measurments.
Keep in mind foriegn tape measures vary greatly even on a perfect calibration. Their tolerances aren’t that tight. Ex. If you align the 1” mark then compare the rest of the foot marks down the tape you’ll find a fluctuation of about 1/8”. For the most part you should use the same tape for a paticular project to avoid these inconsistancies.

I will post within a week I need to take some pics and then do a write-up. Thanks

-- Woodshop supplies at bulk discounts. www.getneds.com

Thanks for the reply getneds and thanks for bringing up the tolerance of foreign tape measures.
The reason I painted and just use the one tape for any critical measurements is because tolerances may vary even on 2 tapes of the same brand and model.

-- Only the Shadow knows....................