Explain this tape measure

[tlevan03]

Why would this 100’ tape be in 1/10” increments? I’ve never seen one like this.

 

[The Cobbler]

surveyors measure

 

[Lou's Garage]

I think surveyors use tenths.

 

[rkevins]

I have a 100' with 1/8ths one side and 1/10ths on the other learned that the hard way trying to square a building up, the tape will twist and you have to look close which measure you are using.

 

[Old tool guy]

Interesting that it doesn’t have ~6” of blank space in front of the zero mark.

 

[kctgb]

Interesting that it doesn’t have ~6” of blank space in front of the zero mark.

I have a tape like the OP with blank space at zero. It was my dad’s when he worked for the government. It was used for surveying.

 

[finn]

Sort of like the difference between annEngineers arule ans Ann architects scale?

Thank god for metric.

 

[yatg]

Sort of like the difference between annEngineers arule ans Ann architects scale?

Thank god for metric.

Viva La France

 

[RTM]

I've always heard the decimal foot called an engineer tale, but K&E doesn't seem to, nor Lufkin or Starrett

K&E Measuring Tapes, Folding Rules & Plumb Bobs : Keuffel & Esser Co. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

72 p., illus., 22.3 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

 

[30-30remchester]

This is an engineer's tape. Its purpose is making it easy to add multiple measurements. I used a hundred-footer, at least 10 times a day for 35 years. We would have to add varying lengths of pipe. Adding 7' 11"'s plus 3'9" plus on and on and come up with a total figure is difficult, confusing and often inaccurate. However, everyone can add items in 10ths. Add using tenth of a foot is far simpler than 12ths of a foot.

 

[micromind]

I agree with the others, everything with surveying is always 10ths.

 

[Beerhippie]

This is an engineer's tape. Its purpose is making it easy to add multiple measurements. I used a hundred-footer, at least 10 times a day for 35 years. We would have to add varying lengths of pipe. Adding 7' 11"'s plus 3'9" plus on and on and come up with a total figure is difficult, confusing and often inaccurate. However, everyone can add items in 10ths. Add using tenth of a foot is far simpler than 12ths of a foot.

That's why I was taught to use ONLY inches. Screw feet--you can divide later if you need to.

 

[The Cobbler]

It also does not have inch increments, they are 10ths of a foot increments
a typical measurement would be for example, 175.86 feet

 

[Meursault74]

When I saw the title, I thought I'd see this tape measure being discussed.....

 

[lardy1]

Excavators work in tenths.

 

[cgrutt]

I hadn't seen that before and had to check my 100' tape but mine is fractional inches same as standard tape measure. It's similar scaling to a dial caliper except in tenths of feet vs inches. Can see that being much easier for adding (and scaling) things up pretty cool.

 

[Kscardsfan]

Why would this 100’ tape be in 1/10” increments? I’ve never seen one like this.

Engineers tape. Used them to measure downhole tools in the oilfield. The slang term was strap tape out there. You also had to measure some stuff in decimal format and others in fractions. It was a blast to keep straight in your head when you hadn't slept for 26 hours.

 

[Kscardsfan]

When I saw the title, I thought I'd see this tape measure being discussed.....

Needs a scale for red, blonde etc.