The best tape measure I’ve ever used
Saturday, I went into my local Rockler looking for some 2-1/2″ dust collection hose, unfortunately they where sold out. While chatting with the clerk, she pointed out the new FastCap ProCarpenter tapes. As soon as I examined a tape, I knew I had to have one. The tapes have several interesting features, but the one that really caught my eye, was that the hook doesn’t jiggle like every Stanley I’ve ever handled. Below is a YouTube video covering some of the tapes other features, along with some close-up shots of mine. For reference, I purchased the 16 foot Flatback model.
The “hook jiggle” is actually an important part of accuracy.
Try this: Take a cut board about 12″ long, measure it and record your reading. Say it’s 11-5/16″ for the sake of this example.
Now, push the end of the board upto you table saw fence (could be any flat surface). Remeasure the board again by pushing the end of the no wiggle tape against the fence and I’d bet it’s off by about 1/16″
The wiggle in the hook accoutns for that differance. The hook moves back anf forth to account for it’s thickness. If the hook doesn’t move 1/2 of your measurments will be wrong.
Wow, I never thought about the wiggle being useful for inside measurements. I always considered it a sign of poor craftsmanship, little did I know it’s supposed to jiggle. I’ll have to keep my old Stanley’s around after all.