Lowe’s shared some Kobalt tape measure tips on social media, and I’ve been debating whether they’re helpful or not.
One of the tips is that you can use the tape for inside measurements. Inside of bending the tape measure, you can simply use the rear of the tape measure body as the reference end opposite the hook.
I thought everyone knew this one. There is a measurement at the bottom of nearly every tape measure, indicating how much to add if using the rear of the tape body instead of where the tape enters its return slot.
Advertisement
It’s a practical tip, and perhaps one that beginners don’t know about.
Even though many of us already know that one, it’s a good tip.
Stray mark? “Turn it over and just use it as an eraser.”
If this was a finished surface where you don’t want a pencil mark to show, there’s a chance the black rubbery grip material will leave mars or streaks.
I vaguely recall trying this once or twice in the past, and can’t remember if it worked or not.
This one doesn’t seem as helpful, but it could potentially work. What do you think?
Advertisement
Lastly, they show a flat-style carpenter pencil secured to the belt clip, for marking measurements.
This doesn’t seem like a very precise way to mark off measurements, but what about rough or close-enough measurements? It seems good to know.
I’m not going to run off and try this, but I’ll keep it in the back of mind.
So that’s 1 tip for beginners, 1 “I’m not sure that would work, but maybe” tip, and 1 tip that was completely new to me.
Here’s their post:
Scott K
I’m not sure if this is too nitpicky, but 3 1/8” seems like a poor design. That’s a bit of an odd amount to add to a measurement compared to a simple 3”. I’ve never tried using my rubberized tape as an eraser, but I’ve seen that tip before.
xu lu
It’s not at all. When you think about innovation any tape should be a perfect square, sculpted to avoid sharp edges which dont interfer but enhance accuracy and be either 2 or 3 inches never any fraction including 1/2 or 3/4. I wish Steve Jobs had focused on a few pedestrian profucts like this.
MM
Many older tapes were designed like that. I have a Mabo supermatic no. 118, all the corners at the bottom are square. The top of the housing is rounded and has a clear window through which you can directly read internal measurements without doing any math, they just printed a second scale on the bottom of the tape offset by the correct amount. It also has a fold-out hook with a very sharp spur on it which can secure the tape on the end of a piece of wood to take long measurements.
It’s a small tape, exactly 2 inches wide, but with those corners it feels like a brick in your pocket. I almost never use it.
AlexK
Thanks MM for posting about the Mabo. This site is great for many reasons, one of which is learning about new (old) things. What a cool looking tape measure. Hope I find one at a yard sale.
David the Lowes c.c. guy
I completely, 1000% agree with you. There’s no sane reason for this measurement to be 3-1/8″. I’d rather have a friggin 19′ tape instead of a 25′ tape if it meant that the housing was a perfect 3″ long housing. Or add metal tips, like bumpers and make the housing 3-1/2″.
Somewhere, in an office, some moron in engineering approved a drawing that said 3-1/8″. I hereby deliver that guy a cyber-slap!
SMACK!!!
David Z
If I were a betting man, I’d guess that it is actually 8cm.
3.125″ = 7.9375 cm
3.149″ = 8.000 cm
Δ 0.024″ = 0.0626 cm
Wayne R.
I see stuff like that and drop it like a hot potato.
Michael DePow
When doing crown molding I pull from the right wall and mark 10” then pull from the left wall to my mark and add 10”. This method works well for anything that you need a precise measurement of
Champs
Until tape bodies can double as basic try squares—not a bad idea btw—I will keep bending the tape and fudge ~1/8” for inside measurements.
Blythe
See Fred’s link to the fastcap square-n-tape below
Nathan
I’ll keep using a folding carpenter rule. I think mine is 70 years old
I keep a eraser in my tool belt. Odd I know.
The interior tape measurement should be fairly well known most tapes that come with the card will tell about it. But yes ideally they would make them even number and ensure the body is relatively square. I bet most quality tape do
OldDominionDIYer
It seems to me that Lowes marketing folks probably can’t even spell “DIY”. I understand you have to start somewhere but geez can’t they even offer some real useful tips. Seems to me that this isn’t coming from a Home center but maybe a department store with a few select tools. Just seems like they might be targeting the wrong audience/customer but of course what do I know! Lowes marketing department has been missing the mark for years now and their sales number reflect that sad since competition is good for the consumer.
IronWood
I don’t understand that pencil “tip” at all. Pick up the pencil like a normal person and mark accurately by making a V from your measurement line on the tape edge. It would take more time to jam the pencil in the clip and try to line it up right than to make a dozen tick marks.
James
lol perfectly said.
Blythe
I think they’re referring to making a long mark at a set distance from the edge, say 16”. Set the pencil and drag the hook and the tape body perpendicular to the reference edge.
James
Fair enough. Something I do on occasion but not daily. Maybe some guys who do it more often feel differently, but for me it’s comfortable to hold the pencil and the tape in the same hand while I slide. My pencil wobbles a hair on occasion but I don’t think anyone is using that technique for precise measures.
fred
C.H. Hanson used to sell a pencil holder for tape measures:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256240989200
Probably too gimmicky to sell well enough to still make them.
Fastcap sell many different tapes – some oddball ones like this one that are said to help with inside measurement and squaring:
https://www.fastcap.com/product/square-n-tape
fred
Hultafors make some tape measures with little extension arms used for inside measurements:
https://www.amazon.com/Hultafors-Talmeter-Marking-Measure-Tape/dp/B0041YQFY6
The Johnson Level – version of a square-bodied tape measure also may not have sold well – since it seems to be only available in limited quantities:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Johnson-Level-Tool-StudSquared-Power-Tape-Black-Yellow/25483795?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101019891
JR Ramos
Fred, thanks for sharing those Hultafors tapes! If they had an english/metric option I’d buy one immediately. That’s a neat design, don’t recall seeing anything like it.
Charles Stopczynski
Easy way to make tape measures last much longer. Place your index finger under the blade as you are retracting it. It serves two purposes, a brake and a cushion near the end of being retracted. I have found the edges of the blades NOT to be sharp. Thus avoiding being cut. I worked in a manufacturing situation for many years, we had to have our measuring tapes certified for our ISO rating. I taught the various technicians to do this simple thing and made the tapes last much longer on the job.
Jim Felt
That’s great advice.
Somewhere between high school shop classes and having to pay for my own measuring tapes over the years I started doing exactly that. And have never lost one to self induced faulty measurements.
Though my “misplacement” or possible theft has occurred…
DC
Pass, I’ll stick to my old Stanley Powerlocks.
k
That was my go to tape for the first ten years of being a carpenter until I switched over to the Milwaukee tapes.
Michael DePow
DeWalt fat max is by far the best tape out there. I have 15 different brand tapes that I’ve collected over the last 2 yrs being in business. The taxman is wide so you can shoot out 10’ without it bending on you. The new one has a setting so you don’t need to hold it with your finger. Milwaukee has one that the bottom is cut out for your finger. We find 16’ tapes are very easy to hold with one hand
kent_skinner
3 1/8″ that’s an ahole thing for them to do. Their designers aren’t good enough to squeeze an 1/8″ out of the design and make it a nice round number?
Also, people who buy tools at Lowes (especially Kobalt) probably need tool tips. I doubt it’s a majority of advanced users and pros.
But why would anybody follow Lowes (or HD, or Target or Safeway) on social media?
Nathan
Honestly I would mind if the made the tape a touch bigger.
2.25 or 3.5 etc. I’d be ok with that but as I always say one of my favorite tools that I EDC is my mobile
Add fractions with real calc
Vards Uzvards
I have a combined inch/metric tape measure made by Komelon, and its case adds 2-3/8 inch, which is a quite round metric addition of 60mm (6cm).
David Z
There was an example above that was 3 1/8″ That’s almost exactly 8cm. My guess is the case actually is 8 cm.
Joe
it says 79mm
Goodie
One of my long-time friends has a business selling and installing window blinds with her husband. Lots of inside measurements in that field. She had this tape measure which I think is pretty cool.
Rowley 12 foot tape measure – it has a graded scale on the reverse side of the tape that accounts for the body of the tape measure. Really nice when you’re measuring window frames. I use it for cabinet work, windows, anything where I need to “think inside the box”
https://www.rowleycompany.com/12-long-tape-measure
fred
There are also tapes like this Hazet that show to inside measurement in a window:
https://www.amazon.com/Hazet-2154-2-2M-Measuring-Tape/dp/B001CA1DVW
fred
When looking on Amazon for the Hazet, I also spied this one that is said to be designed for curtains and draperies.
https://www.amazon.com/GATORTAPE-Precision-Imperial-Accurate-Measurements/dp/B09K5R4CZJ
and has an accessory that hooks on the curtain rod:
https://www.amazon.com/GATORTAPE-Curtain-Precision-Measurements-Additional/dp/B09NL9V45L
neandrewthal
The eraser “function” is actually amazing when framing.
Of maybe 100 professional carpenters I’ve worked with, all would laugh at the idea of using the 3 1/8″ number on the tape. Bend the tape, use a laser, or make a mark 10″ from one end and measure to that from the other end.
Chip
For internal measurements, mark a arbitrary # like 10… measure back to the line from the other side then and add together.
As a younger man extra gimmicks seemed useful,the older I get they usually are not that useful.
The reekon (sp?) fall into that spectrum.
Pentel mechanical pencils are cheap and have good soft erasers, for a precise mark a knife is the sharpest.
Mark W
While I don’t use the pencil in belt clip tip that often, I’ve actually found its a useful trick to know. Things like arches or large circles where hole saws, layout compass, or story stick equivalent aren’t available or large enough. For me that’s
usually when I’ve been working on theatre props and set pieces but I’ve used the trick elsewhere. Basically have the pencil partially supported by the belt clip, the notched portion of the blade tip hooked onto the head of a nail or screw to act as a center point, lock in the distance you need and then draw the line needed. Slippage can happen but a bit of practice with a good tape measure and a steady hand the trick can work quite well. Wouldn’t use the trick much with straight measurements unless I was OK with some really loose tolerances, but its certainly faster than trying to put together a DIY beam compass
James
Toolguyd for the win, again.