1/16- and 1/32-inch increments are more often used in fine woodworking projects where hardwood workpieces need to fit very tightly. When framing walls, for example, tolerances down to 1/8-inch are usually completely sufficient to bang studs and joists into place. On dual-purpose tape measures, the numerals on the opposite side of the blade indicate centimeters.įor general construction work using framing lumber, it's usually sufficient to measure down to 1/8-inch increments.On some tape measures, the inch markings repeat 1- to 12-inch increments on one side of the blade, with running inch increments on the other side (as shown here).Inch marks are usually in the largest font.At 8 feet, for example, you will see both a "8 ft." and a "96" inch designation. Inch mark numbering usually continues along the entire length of the blade. The next increments of measure on a tape measure blade are the inch marks, which will be identified by the longest lines and usually labeled with a single numeral-1, 2, 3, etc. It's the same thing, but a little easier to read on the tape and remember. So, instead of a ceiling being measured as 7 feet, 6 inches, it would be measured as 90 inches. That way, you only need to pay attention to one set of figures: inches. The Spruce Home Improvement Review Boardįoot marks are valuable, but often it's easier to avoid them altogether and measure only in terms of inches.If I want a circle 10″ across, I’ll hold the pencil at 5″ and swing the tape around. To make a circle, drive a screw or nail in the middle of where the circle should be, hook the slot onto the head of the screw, and hold your pencil at the measurement of the radius. Hold it in place and place your pencil at the end of the hook and slide it down the edge. In this case I want to measure 10″ from the edge along this workpiece. Hold the tape on the edge to some measurement. The next two tricks allow you to draw a straight, measured line and a circle. If also could be the movement in the hook which is harder to fix correctly. Usually inaccuracy is due to a bent hook and it’s easy to straighten out.
The 1″ line on the tape should line up with your mark. If your mark doesn’t line up with the 2″ line on the tape then it isn’t accurate.Īlong those same lines you can check inside and outside measurements by sliding a board up to the edge and pushing the tape up to it. Then slide the tape over until 1″ on the tape is lined up with the edge. Measure from the edge of a workpiece and make a mark at say 1″. Here’s a simple way to test that your tape measure is accurate. Some tapes have magnets on the end of the hook to help keep it in place and you can pick up stuff you’ve dropped. I have tapes that have a metal clip for hooking on your tool belt or apron and with flat steel on the other side so that I can hang it on a magnet. For larger carpentry jobs I use a 16 ft tape. The only drawback to the smaller tape is that it’s so narrow that the hook makes it hard to read the marks on the first 1/2″. You will hardly ever need more than this length for most woodworking projects and the smaller form factor is nicer to work with. I recommend using a shorter 9 ft tape for woodworking. Then, there’s the mechanism that holds it in place by putting pressure down on the tape, itself. The blade can be made of steel and coated in lacquer or nylon, it can be stainless steel, or it can be made of fiberglass. The guts of a measuring tape consist of the blade wound up around a spring. We’ll talk about its markings and then we’ll dive in to some of its basic functions and some less well known tricks.
Tape measure reading tricks professional#
If you want to be a professional like me then I’m going to talk about the most ubiquitous tool in woodworking: The tape measure. The principles I work under are barely measure once, cut 7 times, realize I’ve gone too far, break the piece over the workbench in rage-filled-anger, drive to the lumber store, get more wood, come home…and then measure twice, cut once.īut, that’s because I’m what’s known as a professional. You’ve heard the adage, “measure twice, cut once…unless you forgot what the measurement was”.
Tape measure reading tricks how to#
You know how to read the big numbers on a measuring tape (or is it a tape measure?), but do you know everything the measuring tape does and what all the markings mean?
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