I am sorta ripped because both companies that made tape measures that I regularly use have "discontinued and improved" them out of existence. I like a 1¼" X 25' tape with the extra large hook for catching the end of logs/lumber.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_5789.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1552589759)
Neither of these are now available. The Dewalt has now become their "Premium" tape measure but the new and improved belt clip will not clip onto a belt.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_5784.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1552590491)
The Stanley Bostitch 33-001 has become a Stanley 33-725 which does not have the extra large hook. I found this out when my new Stanley tape arrived in the mail. :-\ Stanley now makes a tape with a detachable large hook, but detachable to me means loose-able.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_5788.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1552590631)
So my solution was to remove the hook from my broken Bostitch and fix the new Stanley. A screw and some JB Weld fixed it up quite nicely.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_5790.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1552590731)
The Dewalt on the left compared with the modified Stanley on the right. I'll just have to remember not to discard a broken tape without first removing the hook. The tip no longer moves for inside/outside measurements but that is a feature that I do not use on the sawmill.
Thankfully I still have two new Dewalts so I am not down for the count yet. ;D
I hate it when they fix things that weren't broken. My favorite pants to wear were some Dungarees. They changed the name and said that otherwise they are exactly the same. Not even close.
I use stanley 25 or 35 foot tapes in the shop. do not need that length, but makes for rigidity so I can extend them out. i have a couple logging tapes, but they are flexible and so you have to do a lot of walking.
my favorite tapes.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/51041/D7A546C3-DCB9-4EE4-B0FC-99A8473EE433.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1552595673)
I don't have a favorite or carry one. I just like one to be available where I go: the mill, on the tractor, the shop, the truck. However, my wife carries one in her purse. Not a cute, dainty 3 footer, but a wide 25 ft Stanley.
Not sure if this is a "Watcha Measuring" thread or "MOD" to include in existing thread.
As I ponder I am waking to the garage to check my tape ends :)
i like any tape measure i can find!!! dont care about brand, i usually buy used tapes at auctions , i have probably have 25 tapes around somewhere , they always get lost or broke , so buying good tape s are expensive,, i keep one good tape in my truck and thats where it stays and gets put back everytime,
jim
This is the only tape that I trust for measuring short stuff.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_5796.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1552606729)
One foot. ;D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_5797.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1552606785)
Two feet. :)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_5798.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1552606842)
Three feet. :D
No more pictures of F E E T. !
Here is a tape measure review! Link (https://www.protoolreviews.com/tools/hand/measuring-levels/25-foot-magnetic-tape-measure-shootout/13338/) Its older though!
Magicman, certainly you could rig up a Spencer nail to the end of one of those tapes and have a custom made, high speed, low drag, log measuring tape. Think of it as a "Mini Magic Hook". :D
i think now we should refer to you as, ;D "Magic Maninski". :D polish tape!!
what is in the back ground? is that granite, or grits ????????? :D
Good job on the fix, I bet I have 10 or more out at the mill, and sometimes I can't find one. ::)
Tape measures have to be seeded into all rooms and every piece of equipment.
I hate tape measures! My 100' Stanley is tombed in my house foundation I'm sure! I lose them as often as I lose carpenter pencils. I've also been blamed for losing dad and grandpas tapes since before I even knew what a tape measure was. As of tonight..... I have one working tape that was a freebie from work. Funny this thread comes up when I'm planning on restocking tapes like toilet paper.
I do have a calibrated eyeball for measurement and a torque wrench in my elbow but I like to double check.
I actually did install a hook on the junker tape that I was using on that long road trip. I see that it still has sand on it. :-X
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_5800.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1552610788)
Ugly but I could hook the end of a log or even catch the bark midway and it would hold.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_5801.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1552610883)
All of the logs were bucked to 11' so I painted a swath of red paint at 11',
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_5802.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1552610971)
and another at 22' which speeded everything up because I only looked for the red and not at any numbers.
doc: Dats da granite da holds da plate dat holds da Grits dat I just ate. ;D
Peter, my sawmill tape clips to the sawmill seat and is always handy for my right hand to grab.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/2410/DSCN0849.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1274917749)
I wondered if it would show up in a picture and there it is. I never remove it and have only had one stolen in over 16 years of leaving it at customer's locations.
I like these. Usually less than $10.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/21495/IMG_2153.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1533667341)
I am partial to the 1¼" tape with the 13' standout length and the extra large end hook. ;D
Lufkin makes an "Xtra-Wide" 1 3/16", 800 Series tape that does mighty well that sells for ~$15.
Quite the hook. I have an old box of shoeing nails, you bring the tapes, I will bring the nails to Jakes and we can have a party!!
My tapes like to ride. That is, ride away in my customer's trucks :).
I lose em break em and run over em
I buy the cheapest ones I can find.
My spencer loggers tape has a hook on the end i took from a worn out diameter tape.
I like to go to Habor Freight with a tape measure coupon and get me a freebe when a buy a cheap item. For some reason tape measures go missing all the time, never to be found again.
Not the best however free is for me, plus it has to nice dummy numbers on for quick checking.
Quote from: WDH on March 15, 2019, 07:52:23 AM
My tapes like to ride. That is, ride away in my customer's trucks :).
Ain't that the truth? Some of them even migrate back, like salmon.
As long as I am dealing with 16ft stuff or shorter I prefer the 16ft Stanley Fat Max because it is so much lighter and easier to get your hand around than the 25ft. I do have the 25ft for the longer stuff. If you have never tried the 16ft you would be well pleased with it on shorter stuff. I found them on sale at Home Depost last year in a twin pack. One 16ft and one 25ft for $11.95. Best deal I ever saw on the Fat Maxes
One of the tools that never get used to the point of wearing out at least not by me I 've pulled them apart cut them tied to measure 26' with a 16 ' tape . Now that's not the case with everyone I had an older machinist who took me under his wing and tried to teach me how to do stuff he was 74 I was 23 anyway he would send me outside to look for some 3/8" PLATE or something with his tape measure which was warn blank from about 1 1/2 " on and I would tell his tape was no good had no marks on it, he'd measure with it and be right on then he'd tell me that he knew were the marks used to be.
:D :D :D
Hacknchop that was hilarious!!!
Any tape that will return on its own is my favorite one
these tapes have a large floating hook,
Swanson Tool SVGL25M1 25-Feet Magnetic Savage Grip Line Tape Measure - - Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/Swanson-Tool-SVGL25M1-25-Feet-Magnetic/dp/B00OO19HO6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2F30KGK1KZ9M1&keywords=savage+gripline+tape+measure&qid=1553222246&s=hi&sprefix=savage+grip%2Ctools%2C262&sr=1-1-spell)
Like Beavertooth said if you can get by with a 16' tape the fatmax is really good I prefer them. The recoil spring in them is incredible will retract when it gets wet and with some dirt on it. If it's clean lookout, the end is coming at you fast
I like these. Been using them for quite some time. Just bought a new one today
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/42883/20190325_153308.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1553546122)
Two of the things in this world that are hard to beat are Stanley Fat Max tape measures and Garlic Cheese Grits!
I brought my trailer to the firehouse with me this week so my buddy could take it and load some logs on it for me. I got some very nice white oak and oak walnut. I used a firehouse tape measure to measure the logs and guess what......it was very nice for measuring the logs with the big hook.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36921/E457196E-F42E-4F57-BE6A-6FCD5EB54A25.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1553569200)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/36921/56818384-FBB5-403C-A5C6-59F2B1600235.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1553569228)
And that is the tape measure that is no longer available. Been replaced/upgraded?? with a new and improved model with a completely unusable belt clip. :-\ Yup, that big hook is what started this topic. ;D
got one of these and this is what happened the first time i pulled it to 14 feet.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/51041/427E0BE2-3F10-44FA-B781-1C902D72E920.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1562725445)
at lowes I found this with high vis. i have not pulled it out over 4 feet so we will see.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/51041/829AC36A-3945-4517-B9D5-6699D0688BE3.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1562725513)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/51041/E05CA667-1276-4811-9149-EBC69DC1D1E8.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1562725540)
That appears to be a very good tape and with a 360° hook on the end. Yours is black and I see that they also offer it in the traditional yellow: Lufkin Tape (https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lufkin-SHOCKFORCE-25-ft-Tape-Measure/1000872830) It's nice to see that someone is filling the void that was created when Stanley/Bostitch "improved" theirs.
As someone who once worked for a large tool company, it's true. Something like a tape like that, they can't just sell the same thing for 10 years. They need a "new" product to sell to the retailers. So they keep changing the look and minor things, which really aren't any noticeable improvement. It's perceived as new or a way to attract the retailer, and the end customer. As an end user, the changes are wasted on me- i'm all about function and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. To a lot of consumers who compare looks of the various tapes and what catches their eye it does make a difference in sales, unfortunately.
yes brad, and the tip is "diamond coated" too. you are right. now the tape is rough and dull instead of slick and glossy. @Brad_bb (http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=6191) :)
I buy what on sale, then buy all of them. Tapes around here don't last long. ;D
My problem with tape measures is not that they walk off - it's that my employees kill them! This is an almost new Keson (I may have used it a dozen times) that an employee used today. For some reason my guys manage to put a tear in the end of the tape about six inches from the end. It causes them to hang up, cut your hand, and eventually break off. >:(
Every nice tape that I've bought for myself ends up getting destroyed by someone else. I'll bet that I've bought fifteen tape measures in the last 12 months.
Grrr......
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13296/Tape_measure_C.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1565398168)
I saw a whole basket of those new fangled black and green ones at Tractor Supply the other day - all in the clearance basket, which is where I usually buy my tapes given the rough life they lead - can't say I was all that impressed with that color combination, left them there.
a tape is like a hammer, you can buy the first one for an employee and put their name on it. If it is lost or broken, they buy their own or it can be furnished and the cost taken out of pay. they will try a lot harder to not tear them up. i read a good book called "tools of the trade" and tools are like your wife, you do not lend them out, even to your best friends. tools i will let friends use, but most of my friends return things better than they found them. My family not so much. That is why i do not lend my wife, she is too good already! :D :D :D In this book the old German master tells his apprentice, " my framing square is the most dangerous tool you can borrow. for if you drop it and knock it out of square, it will be my sad duty to kill you!"
Who is the author of the book, can t seem to find it.
Lazerdan
Not sure it is still in print. I bought it at a restoration hardware years ago, and went back and got 4 more copies. I will add info later. written by the apprentice. It is not fiction but great stories.
here it is. I bought extra copies to give to friends that I used to do projects with.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/51041/75A5E15D-AA1F-4779-B97D-60E50FF1CB7D.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1565436600)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/51041/EDCF4BBF-555E-403C-9503-C2D452AB74ED.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1565436631)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/51041/E2777EDC-89C5-4646-95B7-D6417A65BE2D.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1565435723)
found it used and new on amazon. have been looking for additional copies for years. I actually lost these in our move years ago. very funny and insightful short chapters. imparts the wisdom from the point of view of the young apprentice, who at the time of writing is a master carpenter. the cover is different.
Just ordered it. It was only $6.00
Thank you I will order it too
Lazerdan
I just ordered one for $6.32 + 45¢ tax with free shipping.