My tape measure died halfway through a beam layout yesterday

I was marking out a 40 foot beam for a boiler support frame at the shop yesterday and my 25 foot Stanley tape just snapped the hook right off at the 6 foot mark. Had to eyeball the rest of the marks using a scrap piece of angle iron as a straightedge and a sharpie. Got the beam cut anyway but the fitup was off by almost a quarter inch on one end. Anyone else ever have a measuring tool crap out at the worst possible time?

2 comments

2 Comments

benlewis2h agoMost Upvoted

A good tape measure dying mid-layout is like your truck dying at a red light.

the_blair1h ago

Oh, I hear you, but I actually see it a little differently. A tape measure dying just means I have to grab another one from the truck or my bag-that's a minor hassle, more like a dead flashlight than a stalled engine. But a truck dying at a red light? That's a real problem. You're stuck, you're blocking traffic, and you might be looking at a tow truck and a big repair bill. So I'd say a dead tape measure is more like dropping a pencil on the job site-annoying, but not a showstopper.