Inaccurate Cuts Finally Solved!

[Derek Arita]

I always seemed to have random, inaccurate cuts from my table saw. I'm talking like 1/32". Just enough to cause aggravation, but not terrible. What I discovered was that when I originally set up my table saw scale, I made test cuts, measured with my tape, then adjusted the hairline to my measurement. I could finally stop cutting to marks and just use the scale on the saw. Thing is, as time went on and I added new tape measures, the new tapes were not exact matches to the TS scale. That's what was causing the inaccurate cuts.
So, I carefully measured an off cut scrap, took it to HD and found a couple of new tape measures to match the measurement on the off cut. Now my cuts are consistent.
I never considered that tape measures would vary from tape to tape. Now I know. I also found that allowing the tape to snap back, eventually results in enough wear on the tape to cause inaccurate measurements. Now I'm more careful to be gentle my tape measures.

[Jack Frederick]

When you get a new tape you have to be careful. I've carried a 12' tape for years and it handled well, but the wear on the hook end made it Off in comparison to my new Milwaukee tape. I still find that 12' on my belt at times but now I just use it to see how long I have been somewhere.

[glenn bradley]

I spent a reasonable amount of time gathering rules, tapes, squares, etc. that were all decently accurate and all matched. Time and money well spent. As a side note, I rarely use tape measures for anything more accurate than an 1/8” or so.

[Mark Bolton]

Unless the actual blade on your tape is not measuring accurately (in which case the tape itself is junk) all you need to do is periodically check your tapes against a known standard or if you dont really care about the standard just make sure all the tapes in your shop read the same. There is no need to find one at the home center that reads what you'd like it to, just set your fixed scale on your table saw to any number then just use a pair of pliers to bend the hook on the tapes until they all read exactly what the saw said the board was cut to.

The hooks on tapes bend over time as well as the rivets holding the sliding hook to the blade, and the hook itself, will wear. If the rivets and the hook are worn your pretty much shot but you can easily make any tape read whatever you need it to by bending the hook with pliers.

Its something we do often times daily. On a finish carpentry job site you do it all the time. Multiple guys calling out measures to one guy cutting all tapes have to read the same. It doesnt really matter if the dimension is correct to the inch scale but every tape on the job has to be reading identically. You just bend the tips to get to that point. Of course its great if you have a known dead accurate scale (metal rule or a framing square work well) and check your measures against that.

[Lee Schierer]

When I start a project, I use the same tape measure to all measurements.

[George Bokros]

Use the same tape , ruler, etc for an entire project. Tapes are notorious for differing one to another. A tape is only good for rough measure in woodworking, in construction if you are within an 1/8" you are golden.

[Nick Shattuck]

Install a wixey saw fence digital readout and you'll never have to worry about this sort of thing happening again. I think I bought mine on sale for $60 and it is probably the best $60 I've ever spent on an accessory. If something happened to it, I would immediately buy a new one at full price.

[Mark Bolton]

Install a wixey saw fence digital readout and you'll never have to worry about this sort of thing happening again. I think I bought mine on sale for $60 and it is probably the best $60 I've ever spent on an accessory. If something happened to it, I would immediately buy a new one at full price.

The problem with the Wixeys' is while they are arguably plenty accurate for a table saw, the read accuracy is low and they are notorious for going kaput. That said, you still have to calibrate every other scale in your shop to match one another. You just have to pick which one is your standard. If you walk over to your part and take a measure with a scale or tape and its not calibrated to your DRO your in the same situation.

We have DRO's on everything and still keep them all calibrated up to 12" with a pair of digital calipers and then over 12" we make sure the tapes and DRO's match.

[George Bokros]

The problem with the Wixeys' is while they are arguably plenty accurate for a table saw, the read accuracy is low and they are notorious for going kaput

Mine never did work right. I replaced the strip on the fence rail and it still did not work right. I bought into the whole deal table saw , planer and one on the router table and do not use any of them. Biggest waste of tool money I ever spent.

[Jim Morgan]

Another potential problem with tape measures: these are typically printed with something resembling a bandsaw wheel, with a tire on the wheel imprinting the marks on the blank tape. If the tire is not evenly stretched around the wheel, the spacing of marks can vary. A tape might line up with a standard for the first few inches, but then go off for a few inches, only to return to accuracy later. Bending the hook alone will not fix this sort of problem - you have to check the entire length you are going to use.

[Tom M King]

I catch the tape return with my finger, so it doesn't slam home. It's been done for so many thousands of times, that it's automatic without a conscious thought.

Any time we start a new job, all tapes are compared, and changed out as needed. If one gets dropped, the hook is checked immediately, and tossed if bent.

[glenn bradley]

Mine never did work right. I replaced the strip on the fence rail and it still did not work right. I bought into the whole deal table saw , planer and one on the router table and do not use any of them. Biggest waste of tool money I ever spent.

And alternate experience. I’ve use the Wixie table saw DRO On my last couple of tablesaws. The batteries last me nearly a year and I trusted implicitly. It is become an integral and how I work at the table saw.

[Nick Shattuck]

The problem with the Wixeys' is while they are arguably plenty accurate for a table saw, the read accuracy is low and they are notorious for going kaput. That said, you still have to calibrate every other scale in your shop to match one another. You just have to pick which one is your standard. If you walk over to your part and take a measure with a scale or tape and its not calibrated to your DRO your in the same situation.

We have DRO's on everything and still keep them all calibrated up to 12" with a pair of digital calipers and then over 12" we make sure the tapes and DRO's match.

If you work in a shop with adjustable tape measures and DROs, your budget also probably includes spending mucho-$$$ to have them calibrated. I'm a hobbyist, so the Wixey DRO will have to suffice.

The Wixey readout is way more precise than what I could ever hope to see on a tape measure, and as long it's zeroed to whatever blade I'm using, I have 100x the confidence in it's measurement compared to tape.

BTW, my day job is working in a primary standards lab and one day someone thought it would be funny to send in a harbor freight freebie tape measure for calibration. And it was, because (at the time) it costs around $200 per measured point. The "customer" wanted every foot marking error measured on a 16' tape. So $3.2k for a calibrated Harbor Freight tape measure. We sent it to a lower level lab... way lower.

[Richard Coers]

Seems to me your cuts were never inaccurate, your measuring was never consistent. I use a dial indicator to measure a piece of cut wood and adjust the hair line accordingly. Never used a tape measure to set machine accuracy.

[Art Mann]

I have a great solution to the problem of inaccurate tape measures. I don't use them for fine woodworking unless I absolutely have to. Instead, I have a 39.37 inch (1 meter) stainless steel ruler and several shorter ones and all of them read the same. That is what I use to measure things.