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Thread: What's your favorite tape measure?

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    folsom, california
    Posts
    104
    stanley 30 foot powerlock at work. 25 footer in the shop. they last a very long time unless you drop them in the lake, which is an occupational hazard when you work over water. easy to read and measure consistantly. what i do not like are the newer style and cheaper stanley. the ones that only have 7 foot holdout do not last, but they are what i buy my crew because they are prone to dropping them before they wear out! also hate the little flange on the the top side of the hook on the new ones that catch your thumb when you retract the tape. ouch. never near a grinder when that happens, either...

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Northern Virginia
    Posts
    48
    What Bill said. The best tape is the one I can *find*.

    But I prefer a steel rule whenever possible.

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Bloomington, IL
    Posts
    6,009
    Fatmax 16' autolock. Have several. They are placed throughout shop.
    Glad its my shop I am responsible for - I only have to make me happy.

  4. #34
    Standard 16' Stanley PowerLock. I keep at least 6 in the shop, so I can find the darned things. They are a convenient size and weight, and i can still see the markings on them.

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Doylestown, PA
    Posts
    7,551
    I think my most used tape is a Stanley 6' fat max. I have 2, 1 in the shop and one with keys and other claptrap for use in the house. They're small enough to not be noticeable in a pocket and seem accurate. I also have a Komeleon (sp?) 12' fraction/metric. There are times metric is simply easier, such as dividing a space into equal parts.

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Itapevi, SP - Brazil
    Posts
    672

    Exclamation I prefer carpenter's fold rule

    Quote Originally Posted by stan shields View Post
    So what do you like for use in the shop, cabinet making and other smaller projects.
    Carpenter's fold rulers has been the standard in the place I live since "forever". Always there was a great selection and the best seller has been Bambu - very popular brand here... for the more exigent guys there are also Swedish brand Hafele and one German brand also. If I was in the US I probably would go to Lufkin, this particular model looks great IMO, but it is not available locally.

    In the last twenty years the measure tapes has increased its popularity and now it is common to find them at retailers although they are not "dominant", yet. Traditionally locals reserved "tape measure" only for bigger measures (above 2 m) - I have an almost 30 years old Lufkin 30 m tape I used when constructing our home but used just a few times after that (actually, at this moment I cannot remember where I stored it)...

    I have also an old 5m metal tape Lufkin I purchased more than 20 years ago and one newer from Irwin, I believe both were made locally in their factories. I use them but as my second option for most applications, except for a few ones...

    All the best,
    Last edited by Osvaldo Cristo; 12-30-2017 at 7:53 AM. Reason: Typo... as usual!

  7. #37
    Sola PRO-TM 3m Class I, nicely compact and an easy to read tape that doesnt reflect much. I dont like overly bulky ones and 3m has so far been long enough for most things.
    Hultafors rebrands the Sola tape measures, those are sometimes cheaper then the Sola branded ones.

  8. #38
    Yeah the folding rules are wonderfully nice and traditional.

    Bought a very well-worn Stanley #62 to use w/ my Odd Jobs repro, but really wish that the J. Rabone & Sons boxwood rule which I bought (it was mis-labeled as a Stanley #62) were fully brass bound --- it's in amazingly good shape.

    Wish I could justify buying a nicer brass-bound rule to use.

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,467
    As with Chris, I really like the BMI for anything over 1m. The 3M Festool (made by BMI) is also very handy. These are very accurate tapes. The BMI can also be used as a straight edge as it lies flat.



    For heavy duty work I like the Starrett ContrLok. Stiff blade and the lock system is the easiest of all to use ...



    Most of the time I will mark with a marking gauge, compass, or story stick.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Putney, Vermont
    Posts
    1,042
    I prefer my Stanley 30-516 16' Leverlock with the black plastic body and yellow lever lock. Fits the hand , has 32'nds up to 1', and has lasted the test of time.

  11. #41
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Medina Ohio
    Posts
    4,514
    I have about a dozen Harbor freight tapes around the shop

  12. #42
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    odessa, missouri
    Posts
    1,910
    Blog Entries
    3
    As long as it has the anti shock feature I'll use it. Best tape I ever used was a True Value ServiceStar tape measure in the early 80's

  13. #43
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Tampa Bay, FL
    Posts
    3,895
    Fastcap flat back (both imperial, and lately more and more using just metric), or the center tape measure.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  14. #44
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,675
    Quote Originally Posted by Brad Adams View Post
    Where can you buy an all metric tape measure? I can’t find them anywhere here in eastern Iowa.
    Lee Valley. And I've been enjoying using it.

    http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/pag...=1,43513,43515

    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  15. #45
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Marina del Rey, Ca
    Posts
    1,934
    Miniature 10' Lufkin is always in my pocket.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

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