# I hate writing negative reviews, but.....



## jshroyer (Nov 10, 2013)

i use mine to be close to the nearest inch.


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## Earlextech (Jan 13, 2011)

Throw it away now or it will lead to a mistake.


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## RichardHillius (Oct 19, 2013)

I have a couple of them that I keep around the house for everyone else to use so they are not tempted to use the ones I use for woodworking. They are probably fine for building decks or sheds but I wouldn't trust them for furniture.


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## NoThanks (Mar 19, 2014)

I'm here to tell you, 1 mistake because of that faulty tape measure (5/16" off) and you will learn that free wasn't really free. Tape measures are your best tool, they need to be accurate, or thrown away. 
2 stars for something that doesn't work, well…it would be a zero for me.

Thanks for bring it to our attention though!


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## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

I don't understand what is meant by "5/16" here.

Is each inch 5/16 long or short? Each foot? The entire length of the tape? The scale? Or is the hook simply set 5/16ths too far in or out?

Not that any of these make it any better…


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Mine was nearly dead on at 24 inches, but off by 1/8th inch at 48 inches. I didn't bother to check any further. I will reserve it for trips to the lumber yard where I buy the rough milled boards. Closest foot is good enough for me. Is it 8', 10', or 12'. And the width usually varies also between 5 1/2 - 8 inches.

So, it will stay in the console of my truck.

Yep, what is that old sayin' - there's no such thing as a free lunch?


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Interesting take on this.

I have a half dozen old tapes, Stanley, Disston, Lufkin, etc. None of them read exactly the same.
I never worry about it, even with the HF tapes like those you show.
I spent 30 minutes pulling tapes and checking accuracy at HF. I also did the same thing at BORG with name brand tape measures.
NOT a SINGLE ONE READ THE SAME AS ANY OTHER.

My solution is to always use the same tape for whatever I am doing with a project unless it is rough cutting.

It is also interesting that you came up with the 5/16" somehow.
I've done a lot of framing and as a cut guy never had any measurement come up that far off. No matter what the other guy hollered out.


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## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Cut man begins to understand tape calibration as well as measurement taker calibration issues as boards are returned. Some board nailers return boards more often than others.


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## njcraftsman (Nov 28, 2009)

1st inch error, I check it combo square and biese table saw rule confirmed. I would be only a matter of time before I forgot to adjust measurements on a project and fudged it up. Oh well good for lumber yard….


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

"Hey Dallas! I need the next board to be 59 inches plus 7 little marks!"


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## SierraRick (Sep 2, 2014)

> "Hey Dallas! I need the next board to be 59 inches plus 7 little marks!"
> 
> - JoeinGa


Is that the Big little marks or the Little marks?


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Joe, I worked with a guy that could only measure that way, but have the time he would call out an 6 instead of a 7


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## njcraftsman (Nov 28, 2009)

> "Hey Dallas! I need the next board to be 59 inches plus 7 little marks!"
> 
> - JoeinGa


Hahaha…yup thats about the size of it )


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## paxorion (Oct 19, 2012)

Glad we have another 2 star review. As I said in mine, between an educated guess and a guestimate


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

Don't pull it out close to the 25 ft mark. Mine went 'sproing' when I did that and it went in the dumpster.


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## Ocelot (Mar 6, 2011)

I have at least 4 of those. I hang one on each side of the lumber rack for estimating rough lumber and give one to my 2-year-old to carry around the shop and fiddle with. The only tape I actually use is generally out of his reach.

-Paul


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## playingwithmywood (Jan 10, 2014)

its great for free….. the goal is to have one in every room of the house…. in every car….

seriously not sure why you should even complain when it was free

you get what you pay for

I love Harbor Freight some stuff is great and some stuff is crap but most of the time the crap is even useful


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

> seriously not sure why you should even complain when it was free
> 
> - playingwithmywood


His review is free, not sure why you should even complain.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

I have a few of these spread around in places where my wife and I have to make rough measurements.
I would never use one of these in actual woodworking. 
Actually, I agree with Dallas. Most of my tapes are sitting in a never used tool box, and I have been using one Stanley for almost fifteen years now.

But in reality, most of my measurements are taken by proven rules and squares. I keep them hanging close by up to four feet long. And I have made the jump to MM whenever possible. Way easier to say 653 MM than 25 5/16" inches.


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## playingwithmywood (Jan 10, 2014)

> seriously not sure why you should even complain when it was free
> 
> - playingwithmywood
> 
> ...


you missed the



> you get what you pay for


part of my response


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

The solution?
Use ANY tape measure for gross measurements only. Tapes serve to provide only an estimate of length/width.

There are myriads of tools for direct measurements that are way more accurate for tool set ups.


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## ddockstader (Jun 21, 2009)

I have at least 8 of these - one for every major tool, car and another for my desk. I've checked them all and they all agree. What's more, they also check against all three of my framing squares, my Starrette rule, my metal rule and my metal yardstick. The yardstick was the furthest off at about 1/32" over 36". So I have to ask, "What are you checking this with?"


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

I have a bunch of them and if they are slightly off it shouldn't matter depending on how you use it. Essentially a tape is a flexible story pole. As long as you aren't using it to measure something and calling out those numbers to someone using a Stanley or Lufkin or whatever it shouldn't be an issue if it's not accurate according to NASA. If I'm measuring a deck board or something rough, it works as it's supposed to. When you install window or door trim it's more accurate to hold the trim piece up and make a tick mark and not even measure, anyway. My problem with them is the weak spring and the fact that some of them are marked in 36ths. It just clutters the readability up.


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## InstantSiv (Jan 12, 2014)

I have 4 or 5 of these and some of them are of an older generation(design change).

All of mine are within a 1/32" of each other.

I would exchange it for another one.


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## thor2015 (Dec 31, 2014)

I agree with the above. I know HF is not known for high precision tools, but 5/16" seems a bit excessive even for a cheap/free tape measure and was either just a flaw or a bad batch. I have 2 now that I use on my projects (one that I just picked up a few weeks ago), and just recently I used one to take measurements that I then relayed over the phone to a glass company. When I picked up the glass, I measured it when I got it home and the measurements agreed and the glass fit like it should.


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