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What color is your tape measure

Started by Novascotiamill, August 01, 2018, 02:41:39 PM

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Novascotiamill

I bought a couple of arange lufkin 25ft tape measures the other day on sale for 6 bucks. Thought these would not becoome part of the woodwork. i was wrong they just happen to be the same color as my tractor,saw,safety helmet etc etc. Everytime I set one down the tape measure gremlin hides it. Think I need a beeper on it.
2017 HM130
Stihl 261
2010 F150 xtr
Lots of rigid genx5 tools
1 long haired german shepherd
2017 kioti ck2610HST with FEL and forks
Grindlux band sharpener
Wicked 55" root rake grapple
O

SawyerTed

At the mill I use a silver Stanley 25' tape.  I prefer the metal case on a tape measure.  My sawmill tape stays in a magnetic mechanic's tray on the box that has the up-down assembly.

When I'm measuring and marking/cutting logs, I have a 50' logger's tape on my belt.

I'm a retired industrial arts teacher.  For me, tools need a place and they need to be put back every time.  If I used orange tape measures, they would blend in too! 

Maybe neon green would be better.
Woodmizer LT50, WM BMS 250, WM BMT 250, Kubota MX5100, IH McCormick Farmall 140, Husqvarna 372XP, Husqvarna 455 Rancher

rjwoelk

Black and orange are no better, we have a neon orange no good, i like the beeper idea. :DI can use set it down, turn my back and it will be come invisable. Spend more time looking than using some days, smiley_huh unless I have the carpentor apron on and stick it in the pocket, The trouble with that is the aparon keeps dropping lower and lower and soon I feel like those kids with their pants below their buts  :embarassed:
Lt15 palax wood processor,3020 JD 7120 CIH 36x72 hay shed for workshop coop tractor with a duetz for power plant

Satamax

Quote from: SawyerTed on August 01, 2018, 03:50:22 PM
At the mill I use a silver Stanley 25' tape.  I prefer the metal case on a tape measure.  My sawmill tape stays in a magnetic mechanic's tray on the box that has the up-down assembly.

When I'm measuring and marking/cutting logs, I have a 50' logger's tape on my belt.

I'm a retired industrial arts teacher.  For me, tools need a place and they need to be put back every time.  If I used orange tape measures, they would blend in too!

Maybe neon green would be better.
Well, two reasons for me, to put things back into their place. I was a pot smoker, looonnnngggg time ago, and ended up more than once, starknaked, going through my pockets for the third, or may be fifth time. To find my flat's keys. I tell you, it gets old fast! 
And, when i started roofing, well, you know, you get on the roof with no hammer, or no tape measure. There won't be any of your mates passing what you forgot back to you! They would rather hide it to make you go nuts!  ;D So, metal cased stanley, in my left leg pocket. And why metal (plastic) cased? Because it slides in the pocket and out of the pocket easily. Give me one of those rubberized thingies, and i go mad! 
French CD4 sawmill. Latil TL 73. Self moving hydraulic crane. Iveco daily 4x4 lwb dead as of 06/2020. Replaced by a Brimont TL80 CSA.

D6c

You wouldn't think so but florescent green shows up best...even against grass and leaves.  When I did survey work we had a green prism target....it was the easiest one to find looking through the instrument when in trees and brush.

barbender

Satamax, thut must've been some crazy stuff if you got naked from it!😂😂😂
Too many irons in the fire

sawguy21

 :D I have a silver metal tape measure as well as a bright orange one. Guess which one goes missing on the bench first!
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

esteadle


I keep about 9 of the Stanley Silver 25' tape measures around the yard, in the truck, in my personal vehicle, in the bushes, and two in my sock drawer. When I'm sawing, I will have one sitting between the hydraulic control sticks on my saw station. 

The cheap tape measures are cheap for a reason. Plastic housing will bust, or break eventually when dropped, even with the rubber. The rubber edges come loose and sometimes that comes off anyway. And the metal tape wears down the slot when the tape is retracted and pretty soon it jams up. Waste of money. Stanley's are 9 bucks and sometimes 2 for 15 on Amazon. 

Embarrassing story: I was about to enter a cut on a very long log, and was uncertain about the mill's dial gauge reading (standing so close to it). I didn't want to mis-cut because I was trying to match another piece I had just cut. So I "bumped" the cant with the blade, and backed it up, and took my nice new Stanley and put it up underneath to check the cut was where I wanted it. When I brought the tape back down, it bent ever so slightly, and touched the spinning blade and ripped it right apart at 3.5" (nice sharp blade too -- took it right off, in the blink of an eye). DANG. My nice new tape, useless. I let it spin itself around the inside of the housing... no way to fix a tape measure. 


47sawdust

The Swedes paint their small tools kind of Log-Rite blue,shows up good in all ground conditions.
Mick
1997 WM Lt30 1999 WM twin blade edger Kubota L3750 Tajfun winchGood Health Work is my hobby.

Magicman

I favor the Stanley 25'X1¼" tape, but I hate to be the one to tell you guys that that (Tom) shiny is plated plastic...not metal.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

78NHTFY

Whenever a tape of mine breaks (mostly Stanley 25's) I chop off the tape at 25" to 30" and slide it under the bungie cord holding my Woodmizer water tank.  That's plenty long to measure log butts, cutting height, cants, etc. Works for me.  And for some reason and most importantly, rarely gets lost or broken.  8) 8)All the best, Rob.
If you have time, you win....

Peter Drouin

I have all the colors, When I come across a deal on them I get all they have. ;D
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

DPatton

Working for a commercial general contractor I have so many measurements that are over 25' so I use the standard Stanley 30' or 35' depending on what the jobsite is best suited for. I like the Stanley's because they seem to be well built and consistent. But I simply won't heft around the additional weight of their Fat Max tapes.
TimberKing 1600, 30' gooseneck trailer, Chevy HD2500, Echo Chainsaw, 60" Logrite.

Work isn't so bad when you enjoy what your doing.
D & S Sawmill Services

Dave Shepard

I use the Stanley 25'. I think they call them Powerlock II or something. I do have a 35' for longer timbers. I will not tolerate any of the Fatmax or other bulky mis-shapen junk. The Powerlocks are square backed, +3" for the 25', and they fit in a joist hanger. I used a cheap tape once that was +2 4/9". :o :D
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Satamax

Quote from: barbender on August 01, 2018, 07:18:58 PM
Satamax, thut must've been some crazy stuff if you got naked from it!😂😂😂
No choice Barbender. You go through your trousers, shirt, vest, jacket pocket once, remember i live at 5000 feet above sea level, in the alps. So except in the summer, you're well covered.  Then do it twice, still no signs of the keys. I was young, 16/17. Well, try again, no keys another time. So, the solution was to get all clothes off in the corridor,  lay these flat on the floor, and pass my hand over every part of the clothes, to find the hump, where the keys were. 
 Ever since that period of time,  i've had my keys in the front left pocket of the trousers, wallet in the back left pocket. Knife, lighter and a few bits and bobs in the front right. Cigs in the back right pocket, now replaced by the smartphone. And every now and then a pack of rollies. 
French CD4 sawmill. Latil TL 73. Self moving hydraulic crane. Iveco daily 4x4 lwb dead as of 06/2020. Replaced by a Brimont TL80 CSA.

Novascotiamill

One thing I hate about buying tape measure in canada is finding ones with no metric scale markings on them,they split the tape with metric on the top and standard english on the bottom. No one ive ever known has said 'oh great its metric !"  I would like to see the scale on one of the 50ft purpose biilt measures for logging and see if there easy to read.
Also wonder what the stanley tapes made for the US market look,like ,are the scales easy to read ,I dont ever see me needing anything more accurate than eighth of an inch.
2017 HM130
Stihl 261
2010 F150 xtr
Lots of rigid genx5 tools
1 long haired german shepherd
2017 kioti ck2610HST with FEL and forks
Grindlux band sharpener
Wicked 55" root rake grapple
O

SawyerTed

Here's a photo of the Stanley Powerlock on top and a logger's tape below (Protape I think is the brand).

Yes MagicMan is 100% correct. After looking I've realized the shiny "metal" case on the Stanley is plastic.  I still prefer the silver.



 
Woodmizer LT50, WM BMS 250, WM BMT 250, Kubota MX5100, IH McCormick Farmall 140, Husqvarna 372XP, Husqvarna 455 Rancher

Dan_Shade

I have a (not big enough) stash of new "old style" plastic 12'x1/2" Stanley Leverlock tape measures.  I carry it every except to bed. 

Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

WV Sawmiller

   I now have the Stanley 35' tape for most of my use with a cheap plastic 25' one in my truck box in case I forget one. I had a Kobalt from Lowes and every time I'd break it they'd swap with no questions asked but now they don't make them any more so they gave me the Stanley last time. Supposedly they offer the same warranty of the Stanley. We will see the next time I break it.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Dave Shepard

Quote from: Dan_Shade on August 02, 2018, 02:10:56 PM
I have a (not big enough) stash of new "old style" plastic 12'x1/2" Stanley Leverlock tape measures.  I carry it every except to bed.
I have a couple of the original 25 ' Leverlocks. One is mia, the other needs a new tape. They are absolutely my favorite. Don't like the new Fatmax style, for above mentioned reasons. 
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Lawg Dawg

Yellow Stanley Fat Max...16' on the mill console in a magnetic tray. Its plastic cased, but the tape inside is metal and stays put in the magnetic tray...never leaves that spot.  I have a 25' Fat Max in my logging tool set. I have had good luck with these tape measures over the years...I never buy cheap tapes.  :-*
2018  LT 40 Wide 999cc, 2019 t595 Bobcat track loader,
John Deere 4000, 2016 F150, Husky 268, 394xp, Shindiawa 591, 2 Railroad jacks, and a comealong. Woodmaster Planer, and a Skilsaw, bunch of Phillips head screwdrivers, and a pair of pliers!

100,000 bf club member
Pro Sawyer Network

WDH

I have them stashed in every vehicle, in every nook and cranny, and on my belt :)
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

DPatton

I have at minimum half a dozen Stanley tapes but still managed to make the full 25 mile trip to the farm where my mills was this summer without one, twice. :(
TimberKing 1600, 30' gooseneck trailer, Chevy HD2500, Echo Chainsaw, 60" Logrite.

Work isn't so bad when you enjoy what your doing.
D & S Sawmill Services

Sawmill Man

Fluorescent green seems to work for me. I have been able to keep up with a couple till they have faded to pea green.
"I could have sworn I went over that one with the metal detector".

WV Sawmiller

   You guys hoodooed me even posting this thread!  >:( I grabbed my primary tape today and measured a bench or two I was loading for an event this weekend then noticed the return button was gone and it would not rewind. I guess now I will really see how Lowes return policy is on this one.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

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