The best measuring tape tutorial I've ever seen 

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Still the best woodworking a shop-related channel on the internet. No flash, no camera tricks, no fancy production needed. Just quality content and world class presentation.

Like many other elementary and middle school teachers who saw this, I can only smile and wish that I had a nickel for every time a student asked "When am I ever going to use this?" I've seen way too many woodworking videos that apologize for involving math. That's like a writer apologizing for all those pesky words. Don't blame the tool because you didn't find value or pay attention while you were supposed to be learning fractions.

I know how to read a tape and still watched this video to the end. I really appreciate you helping all of us do better work, and work better. Thank you!

With the finish trade people that I work with as a general contractor, anyone calling out a “strong” measurement - or a “light” - wasn’t referring to 16ths, they typically are talking about 32nds or 64ths as it can make a difference in things like trim and tile setting. For trades like drywall where 1/8” is close enough, they’d use shorthand like 52 and 5 for 52-5/8” or 35 and 2 for 35-1/4”.

I think it’s hilarious that as a professional of 30 years. I am watching and appreciating this whole video!

I've been using a tape measure for decades, but i always enjoy hearing the basics again. Thanks James.

Your crack at the French was uncalled for. Thank you for that

As a metric user i found this video very helpful. Always eager to learn, no shame in that. Clever way to read quick.

I use the "strong" term in a similar but distinctively different way. I work both as an on-site millwork installer, as well as in a cabinet shop. On site, we use 16th tapes. In the shop, we use 32nds. When we say ⅝ "strong" on site, it's because we don't have the 32nd marks on our tapes. We do NOT mean 11/16 by "⅝ strong", but instead this would actually refer to 21/32. Not ignoring lines over here 😅

Croissant's in a wad...lol that made my day.

Was at school in the 60’s when the change from “Imperial” to “Metric” arrived …..not only in measuring but also in money. Had a great maths teacher who taught us everything we needed to know, so was always able to work between both. One thing he always said: “If it’s built or made in inches, measure it in inches & visa versa”. Stood me in great stead over the years.

I am a retired sheet metal worker. When I did fabrication in the shop I would cut structural steel, angle iron, band iron, channel, etc. on a large power hack saw or a 22" abrasive cut-off saw. If the project was large we would have an assigned helper who was given a list of cut sizes and types of structural steel, I required for the project. Since he was an apprentice, I would lend him a 72" folding steel rule, with the warning that if he cut up my rule, he might face death or worse! The helper came back to my work area with the cut sized materials on a large cart. I noticed that a lot of the cut list materials were not on the cart. I asked him why he did not cut all of the required materials on the list? His answer: "I couldn't cut the pieces you wanted that were more than 72" because your ruler wasn't long enough." So help me, Iam not making this up! It truly happened! I suggested that maybe he should look into some other occupation!

I'm european and will probably never need to use imperial BUT I do have inches on my measuring tape and I'm glad I now know how to read these. So thank you.

Another video filled with useful information, which is increasingly rare on RU-vid. Thanks, Jim.

I'm amazed that you have to teach this stuff.

James, this video was of particular interest to me because I can NEVER measure something the is the exact size I need - yes, all those little lines used to confuse me. I got it now. Thanks!

Hi! I'm from the Dominican Republic. I have used inches as well as meters since I was a kid, and I do not understand the problem of using one or the other. I think this variety is beneficial because we have options.

I cannot stress enough your recommendation for hearing protection. Earlier this year I endured prolong noise working in my shop without using my hearing protection because I was too stubborn to stop what I was doing. I ended up suffering severe tinnitus along with major vertigo. Thankfully after about a week it subsided. I'll never make that mistake again.

It's adorable how many people of the current generation don't know this basic skill, I hope this helps them!

Thank you for making this video. That said... metric is still and will forever be easier. As a drummer who can somewhat read sweet music, I understand fractions ( whole note, 1/2 note, 1/4 notes etc)

Metric is fine, but base 12 is just so intuitive for so many things. I'm glad I'm comfortable with both

Yes I'm the European who loves the metric system, but living in Mexico where you only can buy metric and imperial system measure tapes. I never ever understood the imperial thing till i found this video. Great explanation and now after twenty years i finally understand how the Imperial system works. Thanks for sharing.

I'm Spaniard and I found your video VERY useful for me because most of the time I use metric. Thanks!!!

When I was still married, I told my wife, a teacher, that using a tape measure is the reason I understand fractions. While I was never able to learn/memorize the formulas, I could fairly easily visualize the increments in my mind and perform whatever function was required and after a while, memorization kicks in and you just know the answer. She ended up incorporating ruler markings in to her lessons.

Working as a construction engineer and doing survey at times, the first thing I look for is if the tape has 11 inches or 9 “inches” before the first foot mark. Much of surveying is measured in tenths and hundredths of a foot so I have both kinds of tapes in my garage now that I’m retired. I also have two daughters who can use either one easily. Pisses their significant other off when they pull out dads tenths tape and hands it to them to use. I have a bunch of folding rules that have both intervals on opposite sides as well. Plus a metric and inch one. After a while you just learn to deal with whatever you grab out of the drawer.

the fact that this video needs to exist is a glaring reflection on the US schools and parents.

Hi. I live in Australia and we use the metric system but I found this tutorial really interesting. Thanks for this.

Early in my construction life, I was a residential drywall hanger. The tape was used in 8ths, as in: 4 and 2 meaning 4 and a quarter of an inch, or 4 and 7 being 4 -7/ 8". Also, we used a shorthand system we called "off's". The sheets of drywall used in a pro setting are generally 12' lengths, or 144". Lets say you're cutting pieces for the ceiling in a bedroom and they all are roughly the same measurement, lets call it 10' 2" or 122 inches. You would simply say to your partner at the stack of drywall to take "22 is the off". The sheet being 144 minus 22= 144". Or, if it was 10' 4" or 124" you'd say" take 20 off" and so on. If there were fractional inches involved, say 124 and 3/8" it would be "take 19-5 off" meaning 19 and 5/8" to get you a 124 and 3/8" piece. Once you get used to it it is quite handy.

I sometimes use the terms "heavy" and "light" when calling out measurements to my cut man. That tells them to either leave the line or cut it, depending on how tight of a fit I am looking for. For example, If I measure a piece, and it's something like 34-5/8" but there's a little bit of play I would tell them "heavy" after the measurement, they would leave the line and hand me a piece roughly a 1/16" longer. "Light" would be the opposite, where they cut the line and give me about a 1/16" less. Other times, when trimming a piece, I might say "gimme a blade", since a circular saw blade is an 1/8" thick, they would slice off 1/8" off the piece.

You’re very nice, and I like how you spend your time doing it. I work in construction, but still watch your videos and always get something new. Keep doing. Congrats

God bless the metric system!

Living in New Zealand where we use the metric system, this is quite useful for me as well, as lots of materials are imported, and those aren't always in metric measurements.

Great tutorial James. Thanks.

So good to be in the USA where we do use the Imperial System. I grew up in Canada and when we changed to metric. I went to Riverside Secondary School and our Mascot was the Rebel Ghost. SOOO I was a Rebel and stuck to the Imperial measurement system. Loved it when I filled up my cars in Detroit. I bought Gallons and not liners.

Love your videos, LOVE your humor! When I was learning this stuff growing up, I learned heavy and light measurements. So, three and a half heavy meant three and a half plus a 32nd. (about half way between 16ths.) Or, 5 and a sixteenth heavy means the same as 5 and three 32nds. In rough framing, this really didn't matter that much. But in trim work, it made all the difference in the world. Also, I did not know about the 'strong' way. Thats awesome!

Great video, I often lead volunteer groups on construction style mission projects. When I first started doing this, I was surprised at the number of well-educated people who had no clue as to how to read a tape measure. By the way, I have both the in ear as well as the over the ear hearing protection from Iso-Tunes, both are great. I bought the over the ear verison when I started wearing hearing aids (guess, I should have been using hearing protection sooner ;-) ) that way I don't have to deal with my hearing aids when I put the hearing protection on and when I take it off.

My job was constant set of confusion, depending on which associate group I was talking to. SI to one group. The next group over used standard units, mostly, except Rankine for temperature and both lbs-mass and lbs-force. The fab guys liked mils. And K & M had a different meaning depending on whether I was talking to IT or finance. Half my job was being the translator between groups.

HI Stumpy: Many thanks for another very informative video. I always get something of value when I watch your channel. I appreciate you and the work that you do, please keep up the good work.

I've also heard heavy and light depending on the side of the line the cut falls on.

The other way I think about it is that the fraction should always be an odd number at the top of the fraction. So you can jump between the ticks in odd increments if its 16th.

Im in the UK and enjoy flicking between imperial & metric to keep my co-workers on their toes 😂

I'm just happy that I don't know anybody who needs to watch this video! Everybody I know graduated from high school! Thanks!!

3, 6 and 12mm sizes for fixings are quite commonly used in my metric country, despite not being the easiest to divide into 10 or 100. Thats partly because they are loose (slightly under) approximations for 1/8 1/4 and 1/2 inch. Traditions stick long after the reasons for them have passed. Also a lot of us still have inperial drill bits, wrenches, etc, to work with old fixings and new USA manufactured equipment. And a lot of our tapes and rules have both imperial and metric marks.

Good video, other than one item, “strong or long” or “short” doesn’t mean the next 16th, but that the measurement is in between marks on the tape. Yes, finish carpenter’s and cabinet installers are generally that accurate. Even some framers.

Great video. Thank you

As a construction supervisor, I had a fair amount of turnover with employees. When most came to work, they could not read a tape comfortably. I had a class in my shop one rainy day. I drew scale two inches on my white board and I took the time to explain how to read a tape. Why there were different size lines as you showed here. They did the best they could learning but only one or two of them I could trust to read measurement that counted on the job. One of them brought one of the newer tapes with all the lines numbered. I looked at the tape and it had so many numbers on it my eyes crossed. I told them If that helped with their measuring, have at it. But learning to read a tape without all those numbers was so much quicker.

DYI-er here. For those who don't pickup a tape every day, start your day off by making sure you know the scale of your ruler. When doing projects in my garage, I can switch between tape measure (different brands on which ever is closest), to speed squares and then to a carpenter's squares. One of my carpenter's square has 1/8th, 1/10th, 1/12th, 1/16th on it for reason I do not know why for use in my garage. (I am sure there is one trade that will use these different scales). You can get into real trouble when you flip that square and use the "wrong" scale. At times I also work with precision flat metal rulers. Some with a space at the end to protect the edge of the scale and others that start exactly at the end of the ruler and go to 1/32th. I also have a T-square where the smallest increment is 1/4". If you count 3 little lines over on that, you may not recover from that mistake. It is easy to use one tape measure everyday, hundreds of times a day, and get it right, but one project every few months using different scales and rulers, take your time.

Not just different in the USA. In Canada you can buy tape measures that have both metric and imperial. And I think I commented on your imperial/metric video, having grown up in Canada during the transition. For me, I switch between both on the same project, on the same tape. For instance if I want to cut something in half, it’s easier to measure and divide in mm as it is to divide a fraction. However, I can’t visualize in metric. My mind can understand what 5’ is, but my mind doesn’t understand 1000mm.

You do the best refresher courses! And I love my ISO tunes.

Great video sir ,thanks for sharing your knowledge .

As a fairly well educated boomer in the UK, I have the luxury of being able to work in both both Imperial and metric, and to swap between them at will, because that's what we were taught. I know some young people who genuinely struggle with feet and inches, and who resist Imperial measure because it seems illogical to them. One great advantage with inches is measuring and marking lengths of a few feet or so. For example, let's say 61": on a metric tape measure, that's 1549mm, or 'one small division to the left of the number 5'; but because the numbers 1 to 9 repeat every 100mm, it's very easy to mark against the wrong division, 100mm out (or more), especially when marking multiple pieces. I've done this more than once! Measuring in inches, the mark will go against the number 61, and that's that.

Being a Canadian who first learned Imperial, then metric, I’m fluent in both. For the most part I prefer metric for most applications (distance, volume, speed, etc). However, I really have a hard time reading a metric tape because the millimetres are too difficult to see. Even with my glasses on. If the lighting is poor or the conditions are less than ideal I’ll use my imperial tape wherever possible.

I shouldn't be surprised that people need this video but you did a very good job of teaching it.

You helped me break it down into halves, quarters eights, and sixteenths. That really does make it easier to read

I'll often hear/say "52 and 11" or "36 and 9" and drop the 16th. Everyone on the job should know if the numerator is an odd number more than 7, you're talking about 16ths. If you're in your shop building fine furniture, 32nds might come into play. But that's a different conversion. Great information James.

I use the Fastcap metric/standard combo tape, they have the metric on one side, complete with diamonds on the 32mm increments, perfect for cabinetry. And if you want to do some steampunk, it has the fractions printed on the side with the outdated system. Another bonus of a combo tape is if you want to convert a simple measurement like 750mm, you just look at the tape and you can see it's about 29 and 17/32 inches

Finally sprung for a double-bladed marking knife using your link.

I'm from the metric side of things and unlikely to change, but I still liked this enough to subscribe. Also thumbs up for the hearing protection thing. It's not only about losing ability to hear stuff... It's also about losing ability to have silence.

So much about how Americans (and Canadians of a certain age, such as myself, who do all our wood working and construction with feet and inches) work, and the craftsperson's way of thinking, are embedded in these practices. Measure twice, cut once, but how to measure accurately, repeatably, and how to transfer marks and measurements accurately, well, that's a core piece of doing quality work. My hot take; Everyone should learn both. Working only in metric is self limiting. And is a non-starter in the US and Canadian trades, including construction and woodworking.

I feel bad for yelling at some friends that are a little younger than me for not knowing how to read tape this past weekend. To be fair they did miss cut a bunch of stuff and we had to do a supply run. I see why my pops was upside my head growing up now 😅 Everything comes full circle I suppose.

Glad you mentioned PPE or protective gear, so many youtubers seem to be cavalier about tool safety which teaches the wrong thing.

Great video thank you, here in the UK I was brought up with the Imperial system, which changed when I was 11, so over we went to metric! I can still work in both, only because we are so mixed up over here, 4x2s sold in meter lengths 8'x4' boards in mm thickness??? MPG but gas sold in litres? Still buying our beer in pints, unless it comes in a can!Crazy! Thanks again keep 'em coming.

In the UK, 4 ' 11/16" would likely be referred to as 4' 5/8" Full, rather than strong. I worked in a flat glass shop in the UK for ten years and even though the UK had been metric for over a decade when I started, 99% of all measurements that came into the shop were in imperial. The stock sheets of glass came in metric sizes so you very quickly learned to convert imperial to metric in your head, so you could easily figure out how many pieces you could get out of a stock sheet. My boss was staggeringly good at it. If you gave him an imperial measurement, say 37' 5/16", he would convert it in his head to metric within less time than I could read it off a tape measure (UK tape measures have imperial one side and metric on the other)

I spent some time in Europe and I much prefer the imperial system. Being able to quickly divide halves just makes sense when it comes to construction. Similarly, Celcius is annoying - setting your temperature in .5 increments? Weird.

The fact you have felt it necessary to do this video says a lot about the American education system. On behalf of them thanks for showing.

Great tip about the Bluetooth hearing protection.

I remember as a kid playing with a tape measure, but first guessing what the measurement would be, then taking note of how far off I was. I actually got a lot better at guessing over time. And everything in my house was well-measured 😉

It gets very obvious with a bit of practice. If anyone really cares about their accuracy on a job site, they’ll take the time to make sure they know a tape measure like the back of their hand. At seventeen years old I was chewed out for not calling and cutting accurate measurements. When I got home I spent the evening studying my Stanley Power Lock like a book. That was all I needed to do to get it down. Of course, I did get made fun of for awhile. But that subsided after I proved myself.

Thank you, Stumpy. Great video!

I’ve always used “strong” or “weak” as a builder to refer to thirty-seconds measurement especially for trim or finish work. Never did I mean a 16th. Good video!

You upset the Frogs? Good boy. You are now an honorary Brit.

Job sites should have a Standard Tape measure on display that you can compare YOUR tape measure to (and everyone else on the job site) so that you know the two are equal. Tapes can get out of wack and that will lead to problems.

more tapes now have the fractions written right on them, which helps carpenters avoid errors, and newbies to read a tape

We've been getting Lufkin (Crescent) "quick read" tapes at our shop for the last few years. They have every inch, quarter and eighth printed on the entire length of the tape. It's eliminated a lot of mistakes made by the new kids coming in that simply can't read a tape.

Laughs in metric.

Thank you.

Your handling of the debate is masteful

James , excellent! Although I am brought up on metric units I am fascinated wth Your video. LIKE!

Thank YOU !

I was working on a crew replacing roof boards in rural Maine, and an older carpenter was on the ground cutting boards to length for us. I called down "6 feet one and nine sixteenths," and he called back up "no, we don't use steenths!" Learned my lesson, I guess. And, I've read tapes for decades, but I never tried your "8 sixteenths plus three more" idea. A nice new thing to learn!

I love this one Stumpy, another great one man😊👍👏👏👏

I am Danish, used SI (aka "metric") all my life, also have no problems reading fractions. Or mapping between the two. My comment is in no way intended as making fun of you or anyone, but I love you humour, and _it_ - not the subject - made me giggle quite a bit. I swear! :-)

In Australia we use the metric system, however it’s a great rundown on teaching fractions.

More pearls of wisdom. And I’m 40 km from Paris at the moment 🌞

You should run this video on the regular. 👍😊❤️

Back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and I was doing my engineering apprenticeship in Wales, college work was done in metric and workplace work was done in imperial. I now live and work in Canada where I amaze my work colleagues by being able to convert not just fractions to decimals in my head but also to convert metric to imperial and vice versa. My tape measure with both metric and imperial measurements on is quite a thing to behold, apparently. And this in a country where we have distances and speed limits in kilometres, the opposite to the UK, where everything but distances and speed limits are in metric. And, as a tinnitus sufferer, I thoroughly endorse your hearing protection recommendation.

Thank you for the plug about hearing protection . When you are working in the shop, you have a pretty small chance that you will get something in your eye, but few people will argue against using eye protection. However, if you are in a loud environment, the chance of hearing damage is 100%, but very few people bother with hearing protection. I guess the difference is because it hurts to get something in your eye, but hearing loss is something that accumulates over time. As I write this my tinnitus is blaring in my ears. I have been conscientious about hearing protection for over thirty years, but now I’m 67 and wish I started younger.

I grew up in the UK when standard (imperial) was still in use, sadly we went metric and I had to learn a new system. Great video James, takes me back.

Many years ago I bought a Starrett “Crazy 8ths” tape, and that was a massive upgrade for me. Thankfully you can get most tapes these days with additional markings.

Thanks again James, great job explaining the tape measure. Fred.

Now if my old eyes can focus on the little marks I'll be all set. Good plug for hearing protection. Should have used ear protection years ago. Great video.

Thanks again Stumpy!

I worked in the HVAC industy for over 25 years ive seen alot of idiots come and go. Little story here... We had a Christmas party and one of the journeyman foreman enlarged a 1 inch section of a tape and had it all marked up with what every line was. He was drunk, old and crotchety. Anyways he stood up and showed this to the estimator we had at the time, and said this is how you read a tape measure!!! The estimator made alot of mistakes but he took it pretty well. It was frickin hilarious !! Good times!!!

This is good for many people

Many of us grew up building things, and reading a yo-yo seems second nature. Reading a tape measure is like driving a car with a manual transmission... some folks just never learned how. At 53, I still have very intelligent friends who struggle reading a tape, and I have to check myself before making comments that might embarrass them, even though I could read a tape as a child before I even had a real grasp of fractions in a mathematical sense. I also worked as a an inspector for a machine shop for many years, where I got intimate with using calipers and mics, etc. So referring to measurements in thousandths or tenths (generally when grinding) can confuse the unfamiliar. Terms as simple as tertiary datum make people's eyes glaze over. Thanks for this great and simple explanation... I will use your method next time I have to teach the cardiac surgeon next door how to measure something.

I wear hearing protection religiously when I'm using my old noisy tape measure and loud pencil. 👍🏻

Thank you again

I've been using metric tapes for five plus decades now but it's still a pleasure to see a tutorial on imperial

Mr. Nubs, thank you for this.