Ok I thought I was nuts but...

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I have an engineering thread that runs through me and Love things to be perfect... Everything has to be plumb square and level... Its just the way I am.

However Over the last few months I have been getting more and more frustrated with tape measures... are they accurate? that floppy hook end moves around 3mm and that bugs me... but for the last few months I have been using a ruler... yup one of those folding rulers.... Happy days my OCD is at ease..

Then today I was a world skills training event and low and ******* behold they are using rulers!!!
 
I know what you mean,the end is supposed to move so when you hook it on something it adds a mm,and when you but it up to something it minuses a mm (or something like that)so it is always on zero,however i do feel they move around more than they should.at a local well known window manurfacturers if an employee takes in their own tape measure they have to give it to the management to be calibrated.
 
I know what you mean,the end is supposed to move so when you hook it on something it adds a mm,and when you but it up to something it minuses a mm (or something like that)so it is always on zero,however i do feel they move around more than they should.at a local well known window manurfacturers if an employee takes in their own tape measure they have to give it to the management to be calibrated.

Yes and they will also have to have a 1m rule which is calibrated so they can check the conformity of the tape measures to pass them as ok. it is all to do with charter mark awards and the like for quality control.
 
I have an engineering thread that runs through me and Love things to be perfect... Everything has to be plumb square and level... Its just the way I am.

However Over the last few months I have been getting more and more frustrated with tape measures... are they accurate? that floppy hook end moves around 3mm and that bugs me... but for the last few months I have been using a ruler... yup one of those folding rulers.... Happy days my OCD is at ease..

Then today I was a world skills training event and low and ******* behold they are using rulers!!!

Trust me after years of working to tolerances of +/- .01mm and scrapping stuff for being .001mm out of spec working with millimeters is a joy.
 
I have an engineering thread that runs through me and Love things to be perfect... Everything has to be plumb square and level... Its just the way I am.

However Over the last few months I have been getting more and more frustrated with tape measures... are they accurate? that floppy hook end moves around 3mm and that bugs me... but for the last few months I have been using a ruler... yup one of those folding rulers.... Happy days my OCD is at ease..

Then today I was a world skills training event and low and ******* behold they are using rulers!!!

i wouldn't say things need to be perfect but im so glad you mentioned that flappy hook! it's bugged me for years but i didn't want to sound mental.

why would it move!? i just dont get it. just like they cover the first few mm but still take the effort to mark it out. whats the point
 
The hook should push in to the end of the tape when you push it up to something but then pull back when you hook it on the end of something so you'll always be measuring from the same point is 0. Problem is when the tape wears, usually caused by letting it return back into the case very fast then the holes get bigger and the hook moves more than it should so you get a wing reading. Mind you I did think that plasterers can get away with a mm or two without getting to hung up, that is unless you've got ocd Danny
 
Big time queer!!

What does it matter if you use the same Tape??

It's plastering not engineering where they have 0 tolerance.

Guessing you don't do many refurbs, as nothing is straight, plumb or true and you can't expect to make it so with budget expectations..
 
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Which is why we have scrim and a surform. Scrim for when its too small and surform for when its too big
 
My dad was an engineer and tells me off for letting a tape snap back shut. I only buy cheapo £3 8m tapes from Boyes or our local diy shop. Can't see the point of spending any more on decent ones when they get shitted up with plaster. (use two tapes, new ones for screw-boarding and older ones for dot'n'dabbing until they knacker up)
 
you only need to measure boards and beads, if you cant look at a job and get the m2 with your eyes, your G**...
 
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