Does anyone make an adhesive tape measure that is accurate?

[Bob Falk]

I just finished building a new fence for my miter saw with a stop block and adhesive applied tape measure. Thinking Starrett would be good quality, I bought both an L-R and R-L tape measure for the fence. Upon checking my cuts with a Woodpecker rule, I find that both tapes are inaccurate and inconsistent between increments...as much as 1/32".

Does anyone make an accurate adhesive tape? Every review I read on the Web suggests that there is universal complaint about these tapes.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers, bob

[Bruce Wrenn]

1/32" is pretty close to me. For duplicate parts, I use a stop block. Close only counts in horse shoes, hand gernnades and nuclear war

[Charles Taylor]

Did you compare the tape with the rule as well?

[pat warner]

I don't think so. Tapes are approximations.
If you can't use a precision rule then use the same (& only one tape) to make your comparisons.
It turns out, even Starrett's rules are conditional! Is it lines or spaces?
If your eyes are good enough use the centerline of any line.
The spaces between the lines are a bit arbitrary; they do not equal the increment indicated. (I.e. the space between 1/32nds does not equal a 1/32".) And this varies with line width, increment, rule quality, whether decimal or fractional.
Bottom line: Use a stop and compare your sticks to one another, not the rule. Woodworking metrology is unusual & its never taught.

[Mel Fulks]

The little yellow tape at Harbor Freight for $1.00 is flat, double face tape would hold it. Has nice thin markings and comparing it to a 24 inch Starrett square "blade" I saw no discrepancies.

[Bob Falk]

I plan to use the stop and understand that I can get repeatable cuts once I set it, but had hoped that if I set the stop on say, 24-1/4", that the resulting board is 24-1/4", not 24-7/32" or 24 -9/32". 1/32" is too much error for my work and I would like to be able to speed my work along by setting the stop and being certain the cut matches the reading on the tape. It seems to me its useless to have a tape on a miter fence if the tape itself is not accurate...I really don't want to have to do a test board every time I use the saw. All my other hand held tape measures, 12', 16', 25' (Dewalt, Stanley, etc) are all accurate and give consistent readings....I would use one of these tapes, however I wouldn't be able to get the tape flat and also they only read L-R.

[Wayne Jolly]

Personally, I don't think the rule needs to be THAT accurate anyway because even a blade swap can throw it off that much. Especially if changing from standard to thin kerf, but even all "standard" kerf blades are not standard and vary several thousandths.


Wayne

[Keith Downing]

Personally, I don't think the rule needs to be THAT accurate anyway because even a blade swap can throw it off that much. Especially if changing from standard to thin kerf, but even all "standard" kerf blades are not standard and vary several thousandths.


Wayne

This is exactly what I was about to say. The blade and path of a miter saw will always vary slightly with changes. Better to have a good point of reference and do each setup manually (and correctly) the first time than drive yourself crazy trying to rely on a tape that will never be 100% accurate anyways. At least not if 1/32 of an inch matters to you that much.

[Brian Lamb]

You are looking for "digital readout" accuracy from a tape. Too many things play into it, the width of the hairline pointer, the parallax between the pointer and the tape, your eyeballs, lighting in the shop.... and so on. I use the Starrett stick down tapes on the fences we build and they are always spot on. It's not uncommon for me to get within less than .015" of actual size I shot for, once I measure with digital calipers.

[John TenEyck]

I used ones from Rockler on my RAS fences and have found them to be as good as my handheld tapes. Moreover, they are the same on both the L-R and R-L tapes. FastCap and Kreg tapes might be a good bet, too.


John

[Cary Falk]

Is it a plastic type tave vs metal and did you stretch it a little bit while you were applying. I forget the brand I have on my table saw but it matches perfect with my tape measure. It might have been Kreg and I know it has a metal backing.

[Mel Fulks]

Ok,maybe I can come up with something MORE accurate than Starrette machinist rules for only 50 cents.

[glenn bradley]

I just finished building a new fence for my miter saw with a stop block and adhesive applied tape measure. Thinking Starrett would be good quality, I bought both an L-R and R-L tape measure for the fence. Upon checking my cuts with a Woodpecker rule, I find that both tapes are inaccurate and inconsistent between increments...as much as 1/32".

Does anyone make an accurate adhesive tape? Every review I read on the Web suggests that there is universal complaint about these tapes.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers, bob

I share your pain. I have gone through quite a few measuring items to get the ones that won a place in the shop to be accurate and to match. Don't check your cuts, check the tape. The tape may be correct, your cuts may not. The Starrett tapes I have used are metal. I assume yours are too. These are not so prone to distortion during application. I would check the tape before applying it to be sure it is accurate at least out to the distance you require.

[Bill Orbine]

I'm surprised to hear that the graduations on the Starrett adhesives tapes are so far off to your liking. You did say you were measuring your cuts.... not the Starrett tape. Is your equipment in order? Rigid enough (heavy duty) for repeatability?

[Chris Fournier]

There is an awful lot of proper procedure required that we have not been able to verify before we can lay the blame at any tapes feet. Did you undercut your stop block to allow for saw dust, is there 1/32" slop in your set up etc.? I don't think that your tape is the problem. I don't say this to be mean, I say this because I have consistently found that I am the variable in variation in my shop.

[Chris Parks]

I just finished building a new fence for my miter saw

What brand of mitre saw are you using Bob?

[Bob Falk]

Thank you everyone for all the comments and suggestions. I appreciate all the insight.
Perhaps I have not been clear in what I see as the problem. I am not so interested in producing a board that is EXACT in length compared to some international Gold standard. I don't really care if the chest of drawers I build is EXACTLY one meter wide as defined by some international standard...but I do care that the 48" board I cut is VERY, VERY close to four times the length of a 12" piece I cut. So, I think what I am talking about is the difference between precision and accuracy.

I am looking for accuracy. I would like a tape measure that is consistent in its distance between measurements. That is, is it the same length when I measure between 12"-24", 24"-36", and 36"-48" on the tape. The Starrett tape I bought is NOT the same between these markings and varies as much as 1/32". I do not believe the problem is in my reading of the tape, parallax, or some other problem with my saw setup. I believe the problem lies in the manufacture of the tape (inaccurate printing, stretched tapes during manufacture, ???). Hence my original post. I am simply looking for a tape that will allow me to confidently cut a board to different lengths and have confidence that where ever I measure on the tape the lengths will be consistent. I will continue my search, but any insights in how to solve this accuracy problem would be appreciated.
Many Thanks, bob

[lowell holmes]

I can't imagine needing +/- 1/32" in woodworking, but if I were looking for the accuracy that you are looking for, I would use a ss yardstick. It could be attached with carpet tape.

[glenn bradley]

The Starrett tape I bought is NOT the same between these markings and varies as much as 1/32".

Bingo. There's the piece we were missing. That tape is just plain wrong. This emphasizes the problem with the old adage that if you use the same tape for the whole project, everything will be fine. This is a silly concept.

A measuring device suffering from the malfunction Bob is experiencing will provide erroneous relational measurements. In my shop 1/32" is huge in some situations. Anyone care for 1/32" gap in their dovetails, miter joints or half laps? I thought not ;-)

Unless someone can enlighten us all, I do not have a source for a 'known reliable' stick-on tape. I have had to buy as many as 5 and return 4. As Bob points out, the method of checking is not to have something that agrees at 12", 24" and 45-5/32". The test is something like having a 24" trusted rule align between any points along the tape being checked.

[Al Launier]

An alternative to a plastic tape could be to purchase a known accurate metal tape, whether Starrett ot otherwise, and then have a local machine shop surface grind (water cooled to prevent warpage) its thickness to (0.010"-0.015"), whatever is appripriate & then adhere it where needed.

By the way, as a hobbyist woodworker that generally makes small items, I could never tolerate a 1/32" dimensional error. Heck, even a 1/64" error shows up too well.

[Wes Ramsey]

I've seen flat measuring tapes that come on spools before. Not sure what they're called, but they don't stretch and it is what I would use.

[Marty Schlosser]

Lowell,

In the joinery I do, I often need to get tighter than 1/32"...


I can't imagine needing +/- 1/32" in woodworking, but if I were looking for the accuracy that you are looking for, I would use a ss yardstick. It could be attached with carpet tape.

[Bob Falk]

Problem solved. I ordered tapes from Oregon Rule and they are accurate.

http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Adhesive-Backed-Ruler-Fractional/dp/B00GS9IKEA?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

[Pat Barry]

Problem solved. I ordered tapes from Oregon Rule and they are accurate.

http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Adhesive-Backed-Ruler-Fractional/dp/B00GS9IKEA?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
You must have gotten super fast delivery in order to order he new tape, get it delivered, and check it out for accuracy in the past two days. Glad to hear this one works though

[Art Mann]

The tape from Amazon doesn't even have 1/32 markings after the first foot.

[Kevin Jenness]

I just replaced my chopsaw tape with a Kreg metal adhesive tape from Woodcraft. I got two just in case and both agreed with the rules on my sliding table saw and my current standard Lufkin tape measure within <1/64" everywhere within 10'( right on the money at almost every point), as well as with a 1 meter Bridge City rule. I believe the tape I replaced was a Starrett, which had some disagreements at various points with the other devices. It is important to me that I can get the same results from the table saw rip and crosscut and chopsaw that agree with my tape measure. I assume the nature of the printing process is inherently less precise than the engraving machines used to make steel rules. I wish there was a manufacturer that could guarantee the precision and accuracy of their tape measures within a certain standard instead of buying several to get one that agrees with the other standards in my shop.

[Bob Falk]

Amazon Prime delivery is two days.

[David L Morse]

The tape from Amazon doesn't even have 1/32 markings after the first foot.


Why would you want 32nds when it has millimeter markings the full length?;)

[Roger Feeley]

I've found that it's a good idea to stay with one manufacturer. I have all Starrett and that seems to be pretty good.

Starrett #63170 is 12' long and graduated to the 16th on one side and the 32nd on the other.

[Don Sundberg]

I watched This Old House for the first time in a long time and one of the segments was in a custom cabinet shop and they had this electronic stop.

http://razorgage.com/

I thought it was pretty cool. Way outside of my needs.

If I do anything as far a a miter fence it will probably be a Incra system.

[lowell holmes]

I would point out that you can measure to the closest 1/32 on any rule or tape that is in 1/16" graduations.

[Myk Rian]

The tape from Amazon doesn't even have 1/32 markings after the first foot.
Well, that takes the cake.

[Art Mann]

I said that to say that getting something accurate to better than 1/32" is not as easy as just having a good measuring tape. You are having to accurately estimate and position very tiny distances and then cut to a very accurately marked piece. I would go so far as to say that few people would be able to cut a 36" 1X2 to an accuracy of better than 1/32" 5 times in a row regardless of the measurement device used. Typically, it is more important to have multiple pieces the same length than that they be super accurate. A simple stop block would work better than any measuring device if that is the goal.