Tape Measure

[JayL]

My tape measure just died down on me. Any good replacement suggestions.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...t_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

http://www.nationaltoolwarehouse.co...036-CF7FD48B78D9}/prodid.39278/qx/product.htm


tks

 

[brantjs]

I haven't used either of the ones you listed, but so far the only ones that I've used that I like and that seem to hold up reasonably well are the Stanley FatMax series. They are pricey for what they are, but they do hold up (for me at least).

 

[Stuey]

Stanley Powertape, or a Cman branded one. Stanley tapes are pretty cheap ~$8, and very durable. I like Craftsman's locking mechanism than those from other tapes, but the markings aren't as bold and crisp as on Stanley tapes.

For the price of the Milwaukee one you linked to, you can get two decent no-frills tape measures.

 

[wilbilt]

My old MAC-branded Stanley finally seized up. There were some FatMax on clearance at HD, but I don't need one that badly.

I have a 5$ Lufkin that seems adequate.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

I have a Stanley one and it's good. i suppose, as good as a tape measure can be.

 

[lbgradwell]

I have the 25' FatMax Extreme. I got it because it has a very long standout length (which I need).

It's very good, but man, that thing is heavy!

 

[Merkava_4]

I checked to see if Stanley still makes the LeverLock and apparently they still do; however, they changed the shape of the casing. They're the easiest tape measure I've ever used. 2 cents.

 

[64merc]

I have the 25' FatMax Extreme. I got it because it has a very long standout length (which I need).

It's very good, but man, that thing is heavy!

I was tempted to buy one too, but it just looks too big. Plus they are a little pricey.

 

[chad s]

I checked to see if Stanley still makes the LeverLock and apparently they still do; however, they changed the shape of the casing. They're the easiest tape measure I've ever used. 2 cents.

Yes indded. I use mine everyday on the job, and they are great.

 

[PAToyota]

I've got a handful of tapes for various purposes - all of them seem to end up being Stanley. As mentioned above, I like the FatMax products from Stanley for the longer tapes due to the standout. Then I have some shorter ones - 6' to 12' - that are based more on compactness than other features. The 12' ones are Stanley Powerlock and the 6' ones are various companies due to not being able to find a 6' Stanley.

 

[old salvage]

I had a Lufkin 'Pro Series' and I wouldn't recommend it. The lock button was a chore to use and when it finally was broken in the lock wouldnt hold the tape out if it was extended more than a foot or so.
I have a standard Lufkin, the black ones with the orange sticker and I've been using that for 3 yrs now with no problems.

 

[billymade]

I wouldn't recommend the Craftsman; I would consider it a light to medium duty tool. The warranty has changed; the yellow/black version had a unconditional lifetime warranty, this has been revised to a limited lifetime warranty. The body of the tape is covered (e.g. tape won't lock, won't retract. etc.) but the tape blade itself is not covered. I think this was a cost saving measure (no pun intended!) because the tape measures were one of the main things that came back for exchange (along with the framing hammers, which they have now discontinued). The only upside is they sell replacement tapes blades now which range in the $3-$6 range depending on the length; you can replace them easily if the tape hasn't broken and gotten wound up inside the case. If it did it is possible but you have to take it apart and fiddle around with it to get the right tension for the tape to work properly.

Replacement Tape Blade

Here are the replacement tape "blades" being sold for the currently shipping tape measures.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/search_1...tapes&gobutton.x=0&gobutton.y=0&gobutton=find

 

[old salvage]

Billymade,
Do you know why the framing hammers come back so much ?

 

[Jokeman]

FatMax no doubt

 

[billymade]

They were under the "satisfaction" Craftsman warranty so if the "waffle" pattern wore out (which they will eventually no matter what brand you own); we would replace them and tons of workers from Mexico who do the framing around here would bring them in on a weekly basis. Multiply this to the rest of the United States and you can imagine how much money it was costing Sears to honor this warranty! I'm assuming some corporate bean counter looked at all the warranty returns and figured they would eliminate the ones that were costing the most money; these measures have taken place in the post Kmart purchase of Sears. The Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back is gone as well. Personally, I think they should just eliminate the tape measures as well, since all the customers keep getting pissed off about the limitations of the warranty! What Sears did on the framing hammers was take the Craftsman name off the hammers and just let the OEM who was making them for Sears sell them under their name; in this case VAUGHN. http://www.vaughanmfg.com/ AFAIK they do not have a warranty like the Craftsman versions had; if you need a warranty issue return now, you must contact VAUGHN; if it is under 90 days Sears will give you another one under the 90 return policy.

 

[Kevin54]

It's very good, but man, that thing is heavy!<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

My problem with it is, because of the weight, I can't keep my damn pants up I'll get busy back and forth and next thing you know, gotta stop and pull the britches up So I got into the habit of keeping a couple of other cheaper tapes around and when I am doing something I just leave one where I am working and one at the saw. If I carry one around, I'll lay it at the saw, go into the house to measure and the tape is not around. God it's hell to get old

 

[64merc]

billymade, so what's the story with the new Craftsman construction hammers? These are covered under warranty as well, correct? Have any of them come back yet?

 

[old salvage]

Ahh very interesting.
I just checked mine (from giant flea market bin of identical Craftsman framers) and the face has almost no wear. At the time I got it I just checked em all for the one that looked the best and had no cracks in the handle.
I guess I got lucky
Thanks

*sorry for the thread hijack

 

[billymade]

ASAIK they are covered just like any hand tool under the Craftsman hand tool warranty, Sears Warranty Statement below:
"CRAFTSMAN® mechanics tools and CRAFTSMAN® hand tools have a Lifetime Warranty… they are guaranteed forever …unconditionally, no questions asked. If one should ever fail to give you complete satisfaction, Sears will replace it, free of charge.

Replacement:
A proof of purchase is not necessary to replace a tool. All that is necessary is that the "Craftsman" name is stamped on the tool. A 5 digit number located on the tool is required."
The only other items I can think of (hand tool wise) that do not have a lifetime warranty is the torque wrenches, they have a 1 year warranty (the old school BEAM style with the "pointer" has a lifetime warranty tho). If you are looking at purchasing a Sears Craftsman tool just look on the back of the packaging and they typically will say "guaranteed forever" or list how long it has a warranted for (e.g. 1 year etc.).

 

[billymade]

IF you bring in a Craftsman framing hammer (or any hammer Sears discontinued) we have been giving the customer 1 of 3 options: 1. credit back the amount of the hammer on a Sears gift card (to purchase some other items) 2. Cash back for the amount of the hammer 3. a replacement hammer that has the VAUGHN name imprinted on it with the knowledge that any warranty issues will have to be brought to the attention of the VAUGHN Corporation; in this case I do not believe they will replace the hammer because the waffle is "worn out" but I personally do not know of anyone attempting or successfully getting a warranty issued dealt with through them. You milage many vary in this or in all situations but this is what we have been doing in my store. If you have issues ask for a manager or call sears customer relations.
Customer Relations Hotline:
1-800-549-4505

Email us your questions, comments and experiences
or send a letter to:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/nb_10153_12608_NB_CSeMail?refLink=relations&adCell=A4

Sears National Customer Relations
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179

I looked on VAUGHN's website and could not find any stated warranty info; if you have a warranty issue, they list this ask their contact info:

Customer Service
(800)693-4218, Dial 1
(800)435-6000 – Toll Free
[email protected]

 

[Mike83]

Try out the Komelon tape measure. It has a nylon coated blade for rust protection and a very handy locking feature. I love mine and got it for $6. They are usually green and black. I use mine every day all day and it has held up great.

My Stanley lever lock tape was a tank as well. It survived 20+ foot drops onto concrete but when I found the Komelon for cheap I liked it better.

 

[Stuey]

billymade, I was told by a few low-level sources that Cman changed the tape measure warranty because people were breaking their blades on purpose to trade in for newer tape measures.

 

[billymade]

Well, as I said before it was one of the highest volume returned items; along with the framing hammers! The yellow/black version was just like anything else under the normal Craftsman hand tool warranty; you could have run over it with a mac truck and we still would have warranted it and given you a new one! You can break any craftsman hand tool pretty easily and get a replacement (ironically enough if you read the warranty no where does it say it has to be "broken"; just that you are not "satisfied" with the Craftsman tool). The tapes "blade" is what typically breaks on the these measuring tools and now it isn't warranted; you can buy a new "blade" how ever.

 

[64merc]

Try out the Komelon tape measure. It has a nylon coated blade for rust protection and a very handy locking feature. I love mine and got it for $6. They are usually green and black. I use mine every day all day and it has held up great.

My Stanley lever lock tape was a tank as well. It survived 20+ foot drops onto concrete but when I found the Komelon for cheap I liked it better.

Sounds good - where did you buy it?

 

[Mike83]

Sounds good - where did you buy it?

I bought mine at Farm & Fleet, but I think that most home improvement and hardware stores carry it.

 

[senlow]

Try a Starrett tape measure. They are high quality. They are accurate. Made in USA, and are NOT part of the evil Stanley Works.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

Try a Starrett tape measure. They are high quality. They are accurate. Made in USA, and are NOT part of the evil Stanley Works.

I have to agree. Starrett are extremely good.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Try a Starrett tape measure. They are high quality. They are accurate. Made in USA, and are NOT part of the evil Stanley Works.

I have to agree. Starrett are extremely good.

I have a lot of Starrett products, unfortunately they now have a chi-com line to compete with everyone else in the game. I wonder how much longer they will be around as we know them?

 

[Moose-LandTran]

Not long, judging by how everything else is going.

 

[Stuey]

I don't know if it's just me, but Starrett's quality seems to be going down a bit. It seems that their reputation is carrying them through a rough part whereas other companies would suffer massive consumer backlash.

 

[wilbilt]

I don't know if it's just me, but Starrett's quality seems to be going down a bit. It seems that their reputation is carrying them through a rough part whereas other companies would suffer massive consumer backlash.

I don't see any consumer backlash these days...all I see is complacency, conformance and cowardice.

It seems that Starrett users would be the first to complain, since many are machinist types that work to close tolerances.

 

[JayL]

I have checked the Stanley products. The only thing that is keeping me from purchasing is the fact that I am not sure if these are in fractional and metric readings. I need both. Can anybody confirm this please.

 

[lbgradwell]

JayL, the Stanley tapes are definitely available in the fractional/metric combo...

 

[Stuey]

Dual scaleStanleys are available, but not typically in brick and mortar stores or many online shops. Your best bet for one of those is an industrial supplier.

 

[lbgradwell]

...or anywhere in Canada..!

 

[JayL]

I bought the Stanley Lever Lock 5m / 16' tape measure. Overall I'm happy with it except that the Ace store I bought it from did'nt have the 25' version. This is very easy to use because the lever to lock it is actually the bottom part.

 

[JayL]

Does anyone know where I could find these products and purchase online?

http://right-tool.stores.yahoo.net/star34x16dig.html

http://right-tool.stores.yahoo.net/25ftdigplus.html

or an equivalent tool from another manufacturer.

 

[Stuey]

Does anyone know where I could find these products and purchase online?

http://right-tool.stores.yahoo.net/star34x16dig.html

http://right-tool.stores.yahoo.net/25ftdigplus.html

or an equivalent tool from another manufacturer.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00939373000P

 

[jvo]

Just a note on quality. I recently bought a very cheap, (guess where it was made) 4 foot aluminum ruler, to use as a cutting guide, not as a ruler. Just for giggles, I took a good quality stainless steel ruler ( that I assume is accurate, as its old, and made here), and compared the markings. The first inch was 1/16 too big, and from there to the end of the first foot, the markings were progressively bigger to almost a 1/16 too big, at the one foot mark. From there to the two foot mark, the markings went back in the same progression to where it was bang on again.

I've always taken the markings for granted on a ruler or tape. I guess the old "standards" are going away with the quality now as well.

 

[Spookrider]

I have the 25' FatMax Extreme. I got it because it has a very long standout length (which I need).

It's very good, but man, that thing is heavy!

The one I have and love.
Kinda big and heavy, but its all good.