Who makes the best woodworker's tape measure?

My old tape measure is just about done. I thought I'd get a Milwaukee since I like things they make, but the reviews are not that good. What is the best 16-foot tape measure?

Thanks.

Reply to
Michael
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I've had good luck with Stanley FatMax. I don't know how durable they are--I tend to lose them long before they're worn out--but they do everything I want them to do. Only real downside is that to get the standout they achieve they've got a lot of dish in the tape.

If you want one that's flat, FastCap has several options, including some that are made so you can write on them like a "story pole".

Reply to
J. Clarke

I don't particularly care who makes my tapes, I have a ton of them. My main gripe is all of them I have have 1/32" increments in the first foot. This is useless, no, worse than useless, imo.

I seldom work on carpentry projects any more, but in my cabinet shop I like a small tape, 12' is more than enough. I prefer Stanely, they always made good tapes, and that's my goto tape, a 12' Stanley Power lock. I also have a 16' Fastcap "old Standby" that is OK. The Fastcap return spring is too strong. Stanley has prefect return spring tension.

Both of these have those dammed useless 1/32" markings in the first foot. I hated those when I was young and could actually see them clearly. I have zero problems making accurate marks between 1/16" lines. I guess they figure if you measure more than a foot, you don't need 1/32" accuracy.

Also, as I mentioned, I have a ton of tapes. One day I compared all of them for accuracy. Stanley and Fastcap were right on, many of the others were not. Doesn't matter much if you only use one tape, but keep that in mind. Cheap tapes in the bargain barrel are generally inaccurate, but good idea to check each tape you have.

Reply to
Jack

You may wish to consider this one:

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Reply to
Colin Campbell

On 5/17/2019 11:28 PM, J. Clarke wrote: ...

...

I've had a lot of trouble with them kinking trying to use the standout feature...they don't recover gracefully at all as some others will. One kink and that blade is done in my experience while others have the temper to recover. This seems more evident with later versions -- like they've tried to cheapen the manufacturing by less expensive blade material--I don't have old to compare to but my intuition and recollection makes me think are thinner blades than used to be...

Reply to
dpb

I used them often. For my use the tape would be no good without them. I can get that with a 12" scale but a tape is easier to carry around. So, your opinion does not matter to many of us.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Jack wrote:   I guess they figure if you measure more

I would rather "copy" a length than use a tape measure under those circumstances. Except admittedly, it's hard to measure a circumference that way. Did they have tape measures in the 17th and 18th century? If not, I guess we don't need them! ; )

Reply to
Bill

I don't know what you mean by "copy" a length? Are you saying you don't use a tape if you need 1/32" accuracy over a foot because there are no

1/32" markings?

In over 60 years of woodworking I have not found a need for those 1/32" measures in the first foot, they just get in the way. Regardless of length, 6" or 20', I can put a mark half way between two 1/16" lines. My 30' tapes don't have 1/32" marks, so I guess they,(the morons making tapes) think accuracy is only important in the first foot on short tapes. Truth is, 1/32" lines are mostly just an unnecessary nuisance both under and over a foot measurements.

I wasn't around then, but sometimes it feels like I was. I know they didn't have digital calibers, that's for sure.

Reply to
Jack

So, I reckon you can't make accurate measurements with anything over a foot in length unless it lands exactly on a 16th? Pretty sad, in my opinion.

He asked for opinions, I took the time to give him mine. I guess you took a survey of "many of us" to see if my opinion matters to anyone?

If my opinion doesn't matter to you, then don't read my posts. Pretty simple.

Reply to
Jack

FWIW and, yes, I know there are other ways to skin this cat; how about measuring a sheet of 1/2" or 3/4" plywood for setting a dado? Rarely is plywood exactly what it is sold as. It can vary by a 16th or 32nd.

Sure, it's easy enough to cut the baby in half as you suggest but if there were no 32nd" marks on the tape you can bet the manufacturer's would probably hear gripes about their absence.

Reply to
Unquestionably Confused

Well buying a brand for the sake of buying that brand will not always yield the same results that you expect.

I personally like to use Fast Cap tape measures, they feel good in my hand and have a lifetime, no questions asked warranty.

I DO NOT TRUST any tape measure. I only use tape measures as a second or third, double or triple check of a crucial measurement laid out by steel or aluminum rules and or story sticks.

Sooner or later the end of a tape measure will get bent or the holes that the rivets pass through will enlarge from use. From that point, for me, the tape measure is worthless.

Reply to
Leon

Or somewhere in between. For that I find a micrometer is more efficacious than a tape measure. But if the fit really matters trial cuts and adjustment are time consuming but the "right" way to do it.

Reply to
J. Clarke

I wouldn't count on a tape measure to be more accurate than that anyway. They aren't micrometers.

Reply to
krw

+1
Reply to
Spalted Walt

True, and it depends on what you are measuring. It is comon in some industries to have a closer tolerance on part up to 12" or so than for larger parts.

Just to confuse Jack a bit, in my industry for a part to measure a true

48" when I check it will measure 48 1/4".
Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

I meant "copy" in the spirit of using a "story stick" (a few other posters jogged my memory for that term). I can markup four boards of the same length that way. There is no way I could do as well with a tape measure, except for the first one. I often reach for one of my steel squares--except when I head out shopping. I often tote a very small or medium sized tape measure in my pocket, the way some people tote a pocket knife. I have a Starrett combination square that goes to 64th's and/or hundredths (ha!) if I want to be "serious". But honestly, I have a micrometer that works great for measuring less than 1" and (H.F.) digital calipers that work great for measuring up to 12". I like using the calipers even when the battery is dead--it's like a story stick. Lots of ways to skin this cat, but I think the feller that figured out he didn't need marks on the rule was the genius! : )

My dad liked to keep (in the car) one of those old-fashioned 12' (?) fold-up rules that I think were sometimes used for rough lumber. I suggested that it might not be accurate, but he disagreed. Of course, he didn't often make furniture, and I never saw him use one in the house. Still I think that he liked it much the way you like your tape measure!

Cheers, Bill

Reply to
Bill

I've had good results from cutting a joint slightly too loose, using feeler gages to measure the gap, then adjusting my fence for the difference. A thousandths-of-an-inch dial gage can tell you how far the fence is moved...

Reply to
whit3rd

Sneaking up on the fit is a band aid fix for improper measuring up to that point. I certainly sneak up on fit in many cases but it is usually when considering inconsistent thicknesses on sheet goods used in multiple layers.

Reply to
Leon

For the aforementioned case, I'd probably sneak up on the correct stacked-dado/shim combination required to match the plywood rather than trying to measure the stacked dado + shims.

Reply to
Scott Lurndal

True dat. But, they ain't micrometers under a foot either, so 1/32" marks in the first foot doesn't turn them into micrometers either, so while the marks aren't needed in over a foot measurements, they're also not needed under a foot measurements.

Reply to
Jack

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