Since my Dad passed away, I am left to my own devices to fix things. I pulled his tape measure out too far and, dang, I broke it. Thanks to your video, I fixed it!!! Dad would be so proud of me.
Thanks for the tutorial! I opened my fully retracted, 25-ft. X1 in. Pittsburgh tape measure to find a fractured case AND spring. It made a minor explosion of brittle plastic & metal pieces. There wasn't much to fix. I didn't think the spring could shred like that! So I wound up the tape after sweeping up the shards. I think a new one is in my future. Thanks for helping us reuse and keep more out of landfill.
Sir thank you so much. I found a 35 foot Stanley in the trash on a site and the only problem was it wouldn’t retract. It looked brand new. Took it home and did some googling and came across this. Rewound the spring the way you did by twisting the tape and it was good as new.
You're a lot braver man then I. In thought that dang spring would never stop unwinding and throwing dust everywhere. I was cringing all through this video, expecting it to suddenly unwind with a flash. My solution would have been to pitch it into the trash and buy another one. It's nice to know what you are doing and getting it right without injury. As usual another great video, thanks for sharing what's next :-) ...Ken
Husband is away and told me to fix it myself, mentioned it will "take some time"... sure, uh-huh, dear! No way! I'm saving it for him and buying myself one today, Jose! 😎
Thanks, Moe. I´m not a real handy kind of guy, just don´t like buying new stuff when the old can get fixed. Good job explaining. I fixed my five-meter tape thanks to you. =)
The blade on my little 6ft Stanley popped off the rewind when fully extended, i followed the video and it's fine now. Thanks for the info! Now to fix my 30 footer.
Once again I'm impressed!! I end up fixing a lot of things too but I've not had to do a tape measure. Or, I should say I haven't tried yet. I have a 16 footer that doesn't re-wind and since I have experience with recoils on chainsaws and other small engines I know it's the same concept. Great job, young man! I wish I lived close to you so I could learn from you live and watch you work. Having said that your videos are very good. Thank you for making them. Post Script: Good advice about wearing the gloves!
dude you are awesome,i spent all day screwing with one of these trying to fix it,im at the stage where you are almost at the end, i didn't realize how little you have to wind it to make it work again,i thought you had to wind it like a million times but i see what happens,you just have to wind it enough to get it going a little,at least thats what it looks like, basically i was measuring something that was longer than the tape and it came off the spring, thanks a bunch.
Also make sure to wear safety goggles, can hit the eye. I've been trying to figure out how the spring retracts back and was seeing instead of pulling the tape in it pulls in the opposite direction. Great tip 👍,
Really good presentation. I could see it all clearly over here in nz ;) I was trying to get the advertised 8M out of mine but popped the spring at 7.8. Boo hiss ripped off gimme me money back! Glad i watched this before cracking the spring unit. I hate throwing away good stuff too. Love ya vid dude!
nice save!!! I have sprayed the spring with some wd40 before rewinding,and when the rewind the tape back in,stand back because it will saw your arm off if you get in the way.
fixed mine China made one.. children had pulled the tape to its max and it had come out .. thanks for the video.. encouraged me to try to fix it.. glad
Though this seems like a risky and potentially injurous task, we actually need to begin making things to last.. and we need to repair everything that breaks, or we are going to need a few more planet Earths, after we totally laid waste to the one we are living on.
Would be nice if companies made their products to be more easily fixed. A few changes to tape measure design could likely make them less easy to break, and more easy to fix. Don't even get me started on electronics, where makers deliberately try to make things impossible to fix so you have to buy a new one.
I was gonna try to fix it so I'm glad I saw this my husband said it's too much work, throw it away. Plus i already cut my finger on the spring when it went wild on me!
I had a fat-max that broke about a year ago (spring clasp broke off). When I took it apart, I cut a new clasp, but never got the spring back on properly. It naturally wanted to wind the other way... finally figured that out with your help! thanks.
Hey man thanks a lot I love my tape measure and I didn't wanted to throw it away do I kept it and now I'm about to repair my tape cause of you bud thanks a lot for your patience and time to put this down
I performed this repair successfully on a 25ft Millwakee tape. Watched first half video, and these bits were useful: - Wear gloves! Safety glasses too tho. - Remove the temper from the new end with a torch. - Use old end as a template, marker trace. - Grind. I used a little Dremmel rotary tool. I would add: - Clock springs are some of the most difficult parts to work with. Avoid taking it out of the spool, if possible! - Spring clamps are a good way to hold the tape end down while you're working with it, and to hold the spool together from the side.
still a good video! : ) thanks heaps dude. you are one clever guy, i give you that. 2:35 - sardines came with that opener and spam ham used to have the same opening device , there was a tab you put into a hole inside a key tool that was attached at the top of the can and the tab went through the hole on the key which you then used to wind open the can : )
Tried fixing mine got pissed off, threw it against the wall xD RU-vid search How to fix a broken measuring tape Found your video... I think this measuring tape is going to be all right thanks to you ;)
Procedure for determining appropriate use of a left-handed tape measure: 1 First, determine your hemisphere by observing the Coriolis effect. Go to the bath, fill it, have a bath but don't add too many bubbles or you won't see shit. Get out of the bath, pull the plug and note carefully the way the water runs down the plug hole; if it it drains clockwise, that indicates that you are in the Southern hemisphere.... Alternatively, wait until the weather comes on television and look at the winds generated from the low pressure systems, again clockwise means you are in the Southern Hemisphere. 2 Next, determine if you have a left hand or right hand tape. Put the tape in your left hand, then in your right. Which one felt correct? Now put the tape in the right rear pocket of your jeans and then your left, each time asking your wife or husband or anyone around "Does my tape look big in these jeans?" Do this as many times as you can with as many people as you can, noting each answer, and then tallying the answer to find overall which pocket made the tape look dimensionally appropriate. If it was the left side, you have a left handed tape. 3 Choose the correct method of using your tape by handedness and hemisphere. If you have a right handed tape and you are in the northern hemisphere, hold the tape in your RIGHT hand, with the button AWAY from you and the tape exit on the CLOSEST side exiting left. The Coriolis effect for the northern hemisphere will assist the tape to close efficiently. If you have a left handed tape and you are in the SOUTHERN hemisphere, hold the tape in your LEFT hand, with the button facing AWAY from you and the tape exit on the CLOSEST side, exiting right. The Coriolis effect for the SOUTHERN hemisphere will assist the tape to close efficiently. If you have a RIGHT handed tape and you are in the SOUTHERN hemisphere, hold the tape in your RIGHT hand, with the button facing you and the tape exit on the FAR side, exiting left. The Coriolis effect for the SOUTHERN hemisphere will assist the tape to close efficiently. If you have a tape which is fresh and has too strong a spring, reverse all the above in order to utilise the Coriolis effect to slow the closing of the tape and to avoid pinching your finger. I'm an Australian, we have to know these things just to get by...
I remember replacing tapes by pulling them all the way out unhooking the broken tape and hooking on a new one. It took a couple of minutes. The only thing you had to make sure the tape was locked or that you had a good grip on the spring tape. If it got away it would uncoil inside the tape. It was history at that point.
I bought a lady’s antique silver tape measure that was rusty and jammed. Sprayed some WD-40 in it and rust was melting out. I took the tape all the way out a couple times to wipe off every bit of rust. It was snapping back pretty well but of course, I pulled it out one last time and the notch separated. The spring slipped back into it and there are no screws to take the canister apart. I’m taking it to a jeweler. A couple of little bent clips deep inside the hole can be straightened, I think, in order to open the can. I might ask him to make a new notch like you did. The labor will cost me twice what I paid for the tape measure.
Worked great, finally got around to fixing two broken ones I'd been putting off. Nice to know what to expect in there and flatten the learning curve a bit. SMH at the people saying this looks too hard...
awesome video...should have watched it first! i even had instructions on replacement blade packages that didnt help thank you and ill always watch you before clicking anything else!
Thank you now I can hopefully get my little handy dandy tape measure fixed i keep having to manually push it back into the case...the last few feet always is harder to push inside for some reason 😊❤ ..........
This seemed like a great idea, until the tension in 10M tape, just explodes, I literally, just ducked for cover and waiting for it to stop doing its thing.
Ive had the central post snap off from the body (cheap versions), sometimes a screw can be wound into the post to repair it. Stanley tools are worth a go at a fix arnt they :-)) Smashing repair :-))
Good info, I had a cousin who was in the framing business and broke them so often, so he started buying a brand that had a lifetime warranty so he would just take them in for replacement probably made sense for him..
Thanks, Sixtyfiveford. I have fixed a few in my lifetime too . However this time the spring is not unwound on the spool spindle . it's tightly wound, and mine has broken st the beginning. When I opened it , I found the spring tightly wound on the centre spindle . I'll try to unwind with n anti clockwise turn, as you did, and hope that ot will work. Then I'll draw and cut the new part of the spring to lock into the tape. Is this how it should be when opening the cover ? Oh BTW, Mine is a 10 m Stanley !
When I opened my meassure tape, I found out the each plastic part was broken and the hole you fit spring into on meassuring part was severed. WTF? I'm not gonna buy anyting made by army painter again...
Hola,abia visto muchos videos de como reparar mi flexometro y no más ninguno me sirvió asta que encontré este muchas gracias mi flexometro ahí funciona bien
did you lube it? I think that might help with the spring steel since there is a lot of pressure on there. Perhaps that would allow less of the back winding. Great video. Reminds me of the many times I fixed my cheap dog leash with the spring steel. Goggles might be a handy safety too when the spring shoots out! :)
Thanks - I wish I could get mine apart but the screws are rusted in and soaking it in WD40 for a day didn't help. (It got lost in the yard all winter.) At least you gave me a clue what's going on inside one of these.
I've repair so many of those Stanley tape as those were the best around in them earlier years (15yrs older than the model you have there) But after those, any Lufkin tape did the job (with some hack I should mention..... you know, when one-handed you need to slam the tape open by rubbing it on whatever your pant can grab-on etc..... my simple hack is taking the grinder boff-off them rubber under the casing so I can strech-out the tape etc) If only I can find a 1970s Stanley tape in any yard-sale.... ;)
I don't have a Stanley tape measure but I do have a tape measure that retracts and I pulled it out to much but somehow I ended up trying to stuff it in a bag and all of a sudden it randomly pulled back in and fixed itself lol!
Please don't let the compensating end hook snap back to hit the tape case. Catch it with your thumb when allowing the spring to rewind the tape. Letting the end hook snap against the case will elongate the hole in which the rivets slide and you will loose the accuracy of the hook for taking true outside measurements.
I am fixing my husband's favorite Stanley Fat Max as a surprise. It is clogged with sand and the tape won't pull out. I have the outer cover off, the yellow cap (belt-clip side) is off and the tape is disconnected. The spring is still seated in the bottom half of the yellow case. I have a couple of questions. 1. I am soaking the outer case pieces in Murphy's to get the thing clean. Will I need to grease these parts? 2. First I tried rinsing off about 10' of tape and the now entire spring and housing are wet. Should I blow dry it? 3. It doesn't appear to have any broken pieces, unless the yellow case is supposed to be in one piece. 4. At which point to you put the stop-clip back on? I know I sound like a total girl, which I am, lol, but you made it look so easy I thought I'd give it a try.
Robin Ann Awesome, a light oil like WD-40 is great to keep the inside moving. WD-40 will remove any moisture that has built up and prevent rust. The stop clip goes on before you slide the case halves back together.
My pet peeve is taking an inside measurement to cut a board, then when I place the hook on the end of the lumber and pull the loose end moves and changes by almost 3/32 of an inch.. I've got a 25' that won't completely retract. I think it needs a good cleaning to remove some sap residue.
Having the hook bent is a very common issue and will add up to measurements that inaccurate. If the hook is straight you should only have around 1/32; the width of the hook that moves back and forth.
I intentionally looked this up and realized quickly that tape measures don't cost all that much, but I'm sure that at some point tape measures, like dust masks will someday become very difficult to find because some measurement virus will occur from out of the blue sending everyone on a tape measure hording frenzy. Should I begin hording tape measures?
Stanley replaced mine. Shipping to them was $4. You can spend an hour messing around (time is money) trying to make something "last another lifetime" or get a new one for $4. No brainer to me. I had another 12' to hold me over.
