Tape Measure

Whenever I hear or think the words "tape measure", I remember when my nephew, Porter, would say it in his one-year-old voice. "Tape Meaaasure".

To begin, you have to know how to use and read a tape measure. If you already know how, then you can read this post just to make sure I know how.

As you can see in the picture there are several tick marks between each inch mark. Each one is a sixteenth. Notice there are some longer tick marks. Those are there to help you know when you are dealing with a fraction that has a common factor (4th grade math). The longest one in the middle is the 8/16" tick mark, or divide out the common factor "8" and you have 1/2". Then the second longest ones are 1/4" and 3/4" marks. Finally you have the 1/8", 3/8", 5/8", and 7/8" marks that are just longer than the marks that are strickly measured in 16th inch measurements (that means the numerator and the denomenator do not have a common factor).

When building cabinets it is usually sufficient to measure to the nearest 1/16". It is simple, but absolutely critical that you know how to use this tool.

One thing that I always wondered before I learned to use one was, 'Why does this clip at the end, move'. There is a simple explanation. When you are measuring from the outside corner you hang the clip on the corner and mearsure to your desired destination. When you measure from an inside corner you simply push the clip to the corner and measure. The movement compensates for the thickness of the clip.

There you have it. If you still can't figure it out, shoot me an e-mail and I'll be glad to help you out.