Metric only tape measures

[sickasapike]

Just bought 3 new tape measures from thetapestore.co.uk, metric only, a 5m fatmax and a couple of 2m pocket jobs with no bloomin' inches, how wonderful.

Next day delivery too, and my paypal transaction messed up, long story short the payment was reversed (watch out, paypal remembers old addresses that are supposed to be deleted and can attach them to orders overriding what you typed in to the web site you're buyng from, good thing I noticed - tapestore said it'd happened before), I called tapestore to sort out the paypal problem and they trusted me (as a first time customer) to resend the cash and posted anyway, highly recommended !

Wonderful, still have my old ones in case I need to measure any fossils but so nice, wish I could find a big framing square thing like that !

 

[MusicMan]

Yes they're great to deal with, and sell the Fisco Class I tapes, much better than Stanley! The BMI tapes are really good too, only class II certified but I checked mine against a calibrated vernier gauge and it was Class I at least up to 600 mm, and a nice design too.

 

[sickasapike]

and sell the Fisco Class I tapes, much better than Stanley!

<fingers in ears> La la la, not listening..

 

[RossJarvis]

and sell the Fisco Class I tapes, much better than Stanley!

<fingers in ears> La la la, not listening..

I was lucky enough to get two Fisco tapes, made in England with inches only, marvellous. I had to get them brought over from the US as they're not available over here though!! Unfortunately the tape wasn't particularly robust and has buckled, just like my Stanley's at the end on one. This happens if you let them rewind a long way under their own power, they go "twang" you go "****"!

 

[MikeG.]

Just bought 3 new tape measures from thetapestore.co.uk, metric only, a 5m fatmax and a couple of 2m pocket jobs with no bloomin' inches, how wonderful..........

Absolutely. I really don't know why we have to go to a specialist to find a metric only tape, which transforms life on a building site. Nobody has been taught inches for about 40 years now, so it's high time all tapes were metric only. I did see a metric folding rule the other day. I'm highly tempted by that.

 

[Woodchips2]

I would really miss my metric/imperial tape. I've made so many mistakes forgetting to use the same scale that life wouldn't be the same

Regards Keith

 

[sunnybob]

Dont need to go TOO specialist..
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-pr ... e-ax844580

metric only, reads left to right and right to left, and even the same on the underside.
had mine a year now and its my "go to" tape measure, although i still keep an imperial one in the drawer for when I have to deal with someone who is not converted.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I use metric for small stuff and imperial for larger. I can work happily in metric, but I couldn't estimate in metric if my life depended on it.

 

[NazNomad]

Are their prices reasonable? I was just browsing the website and they have an item for £3.89 that's only 77p from Amazon.

 

[HappyHacker]

I bought some steel measures from them with inches on one side and metric on the other. I use both units and having one on each side makes life much easier.

 

[graduate_owner]

Talkng of letting them go twang, one of mine is vicious. Damn near slices my finger off if I let it go when it is extended more than a few feet ( or a few dozen cm)

K

 

[MikeJhn]

Perhaps you bought them at Arkrights and they are related to his till. :lol:

Mike

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I won this in a raffle last night along with a six inch one and some pencils. They're quite good for a rubbish make, they have conversion tables and tapping drill sizes on the back and they're etched. I think the 1ft mark might confuse the unknowing, though. (sorry about the flash bounce)

 

[Geordie Joe]

I won this in a raffle last night

Were you trying to win it?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

No - but I didn't want ten multi coloured tea lights.

 

[DTR]

I won this in a raffle last night along with a six inch one and some pencils. They're quite good for a rubbish make, they have conversion tables and tapping drill sizes on the back and they're etched. I think the 1ft mark might confuse the unknowing, though. (sorry about the flash bounce)

Have you checked that they're straight? I bought a cheap 3' rule and it was akin to a banana.......

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes, they are actually quite good. Curiuosly the the six inch is marked "6in" dead on the five and a half inch mark.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Just bought 3 new tape measures from thetapestore.co.uk, metric only, a 5m fatmax and a couple of 2m pocket jobs with no bloomin' inches, how wonderful..........

Absolutely. I really don't know why we have to go to a specialist to find a metric only tape, which transforms life on a building site. Nobody has been taught inches for about 40 years now, so it's high time all tapes were metric only.

But when you come to hang a door, everything makes sense in Imperial. It is 78" x 30" x 1 1/4", or 80" x 32" x 1 3/4", the hole for the latch is a convenient imperial position, the hinges a round Imperial size. You can do it, but it feels like fighting it to work in Metric ? I'm old enough to be bilingual; if it is 32", then let it be 32", not "about 813mm".

I do have one of those vice-versa tapes though. Good for bigger jobs.

 

[MikeJhn]

When the building industry first embraced metric in 1963 we had to put both dims on drawings Imperial and metric in brackets after, these dims would be in mm reasoning being, after the drawings on site had been rained on or a muddy foot print on them they could still be interpreted, I am old enough to be bilingual as well, but still find myself saying that's about 10ft, in smaller increments its always mm, but I seem to loose focus at about 990mm, when using a tape its always a metric one I go for first.

Sheffield Tony

The only reason it makes sense with doors etc is that the timber manufactures have not changed to metric, one assumes due to tooling cost or export to that funny dangerous country over the pond.

Mike

 

[Sideways]

I like the Komelon brand tapes made in south Korea. Good quality. High vis. Many variants including magnet tips, QR belt clips etc. My latest 8m powerblade 2 is double sided, metric imperial with a stand out of over 9'. At least one of axminsters own brand tapes is a rebadged standard Komelon design.
I have a mixture of metric only and "bilingual" tapes. I do find myself cursing if I need inches and have nothing but metric tapes in the building. I prefer metric for the obvious reason but yards, feet and inches are better 'sized' units. They're derivatives of body dimensions so it's no surprise that they feel more intuitive.