Simple change helped making the measurements more accurate

[Bmyers]

I'm guessing those 45 and older most likely was taught how to read a tape measure by their dad, grandpa, or in shop class. What some can do without thinking is becoming a lost skill for many.

My first time noticing this was on a job site when two people from (I won't mention the company) was out measuring for a unit to be built. I listened to them giving measurements....33 inches and two lines. I was thinking what measurement is that? I kept listening and the next measurement was 7 feet 4 inches and 7 lines. I stood there thinking about this and then it hit me that they didn't know what the lines between the inches meant on the tape measure.

I was recently working with some volunteers on a small community improvement project (realize I'm not great with tools, just a very basic skill set thanks to dad and grandpa making me learn over the years) and two of the teenagers were trying to take measurements and every measurement was "just a little over xx inches" or "just a little under xx inches" or "just about xx inch and half".

I walked over and asked them to use the tape measure I had. They pulled it out and was amazed, there was fractions on it and measurements went from over or under down to the 1/8 of the inch. HUGE improvement and I explained the little lines with no fractions were 16ths. No one had ever explained to them how to read the lines on the tape measure,

I had bought a couple of the tape measures with fractions originally for my wife which helped her out a lot with taking measurements.

This little change of what tape measure is being used made it easier for the end users and helped make the measurements more accurate.

I'm glad grandpa made me learn to read a tape measure. Yet, I'm glad there are options to help those that weren't so fortunate as I.

 

[85Hokie]

Funny you mention those type of tape measures .........
In the ol' shop classes I have taught for the last ... 35 years ...... I always went over how to read the tape measure, discovered a way to have the student ID the line length and get THAT correct and then simply count lines that were equal or longer than the line they are looking at ......

I have bought 100's of tape measures over the years ..... and the crazy thing is - I HATED the ones with the cheat sheet on them!!! I would go to Lowes and Sears and look for those tapes that JUST had line on them - so the student had to think ..... and not have the answer in their faces.

It is almost impossible to find a tape that does NOT have them on it !

I also am a stickler of the "lever lock" type tape measures - the person that invented the tape measure was a freaking genius ........... but the person that made it stay out when pulled out was a hellva lot smarter in my book, the first thing you want the tape measure to do it stay out when pulled....... the "level lock" types do that - the rest need to be locked.

And like most things - there are those tapes that seem to last forever and those that break the first time you use them!

 

[michigander]

When I was in school we was taught Metric.... we are suppose to be on metric decades ago lol

 

[85Hokie]

When I was in school we was taught Metric.... we are suppose to be on metric decades ago lol

Aw yes - the ol metric ........... simple as pie - yet we (Americans) are too proud to change to a system that is simple and very effective and logical!

mm - cm - and meters are way to perfect to use to measure with !!!!


I would like to go back in time and smack the living shyt out of that king who developed the foot!

and to divide the unit INTO 12ths ......... fantastic!

then to divide THAT unit into 16th ....... mind blowing ...........

and sarcasm anywhere that fits!

 

[lynnmor]

And now we have Kubotas that need three systems of tools, SAE, metric and vise grip.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Funny you mention those type of tape measures .........
In the ol' shop classes I have taught for the last ... 35 years ...... I always went over how to read the tape measure, discovered a way to have the student ID the line length and get THAT correct and then simply count lines that were equal or longer than the line they are looking at ......

I have bought 100's of tape measures over the years ..... and the crazy thing is - I HATED the ones with the cheat sheet on them!!! I would go to Lowes and Sears and look for those tapes that JUST had line on them - so the student had to think ..... and not have the answer in their faces.

It is almost impossible to find a tape that does NOT have them on it !

I also am a stickler of the "lever lock" type tape measures - the person that invented the tape measure was a freaking genius ........... but the person that made it stay out when pulled out was a hellva lot smarter in my book, the first thing you want the tape measure to do it stay out when pulled....... the "level lock" types do that - the rest need to be locked.

And like most things - there are those tapes that seem to last forever and those that break the first time you use them!

Most of my stuff is old but I don't remember seeing one with fractions between the inches. Just pulled out the closest one and it just has tall, medium, and short lines between the inches on one side and all those and additional very short on the other. Good luck reading down to the 32th on a flexible tape rule.

I would think the kids that couldn't read tape measures or rulers had deprived upbringings, but I have spent some time trying to teach a young man (16) how to keep a time sheet, and how to turn minutes into decimal fractions of an hour. Very discouraging. If I took his time sheet at face value he would have been cheated out of 5 or 6 hours of time in a month. How hard is it to figure out that if you come at 3 and work until 5:45 that you worked 2.75 hrs?

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

I have a cheat sheet tape measure... not using one daily, I never learned how to read anything other than whole, half, quarter and three quarter. Even now, I’m not using one regularly, but I am learning.

 

[ken erickson]

When working with others when it comes to a two man job using a tape measure I always ask, "you want the dumb end or the smart end?" lol, normally I get a lot of blank stares, lol. My Kids are used to it by now.

 

[BigG]

As a former shop teacher I can attest to the lack of the ability to read a ruler. The ability to use fractions are almost a forgotten art.

Sheepfarmer if you ask the young man to look up the app on his phone he will probable be able to to do his time sheet.

The world of education keeps pushing more and more into "higher math". Algebra is taught as a 7th or 8th grade subject. Yet somehow they forget to teach basic math to students first.

One of the reasons I left the world of education was being told to teach my students how to program a CNC milling machine to cut a design. I was forbidden to teach them how to mount the block, how to attach the tool into the mill, how to zero in the machine to the starting point, etc. The computer was the ONLY thing that was important. Such rubbish.

One of the best examples of how out of touch the world of education is: hand writing is not even taught in school anymore.

 

[Orangeglow]

While working on cottage repairs with my 2 nephews, I was the cut to length guy on the saw, and they did the measurement required, and ladder climbing and installing of the cut pieces. During the previous week-end, my nephew had bought a 3 pack of tapes from Home Depot, so we started off using those. We found out very quickly that trying to measure exactly 4 feet was out by 1/4 inch from one tape to the next. We quickly discarded the junk tape measures, and went back to the old reliable ones we had used the week before.

 

[sheepfarmer]

As a former shop teacher I can attest to the lack of the ability to read a ruler. The ability to use fractions are almost a forgotten art.

Sheepfarmer if you ask the young man to look up the app on his phone he will probable be able to to do his time sheet.

The world of education keeps pushing more and more into "higher math". Algebra is taught as a 7th or 8th grade subject. Yet somehow they forget to teach basic math to students first.

One of the reasons I left the world of education was being told to teach my students how to program a CNC milling machine to cut a design. I was forbidden to teach them how to mount the block, how to attach the tool into the mill, how to zero in the machine to the starting point, etc. The computer was the ONLY thing that was important. Such rubbish.

One of the best examples of how out of touch the world of education is: hand writing is not even taught in school anymore.

Big G as a former educator it goes against the grain to tell him to use an app...

I taught students that would need to do arithmetic to calculate medication doses and was horrified before I retired that they didn't understand how to do that kind of problem. Eg if the dose is 3 mg per lb of animal, and the drug is supplied at 10 mg per ml...., how many ml do you need if the animal weighs 1200 lbs? I could just see them killing critters left and right.

 

[motionclone]

Reading a tape correctly is easy to learn but only if you understand what a fraction is and have the ability to learn.
In my experience with young people coming into construction as a laborer they dont have either of those abilities. Me and others like me (professionals of a trade) have come to the conclusion that its likely a combination of lack of a decent public education system and over prescribed medications. Plus the fact that in my state, 99% of the unskilled labor force is on something. Mostly weed.

 

[BigG]

Big G as a former educator it goes against the grain to tell him to use an app...

I taught students that would need to do arithmetic to calculate medication doses and was horrified before I retired that they didn't understand how to do that kind of problem. Eg if the dose is 3 mg per lb of animal, and the drug is supplied at 10 mg per ml...., how many ml do you need if the animal weighs 1200 lbs? I could just see them killing critters left and right.

Oh I am in complete agreement with you that the things that need to be taught are not even shown to todays students. Ask a student to figure the square footage of a room and the strange look will glaze over their face. I think that we as a society are doing things to make our children more dependent upon computers instead of a tool the computer is becoming the controller.

 

[RCW]

I was taught to use a tape, and taught my son as well.

My biggest problem has been the tendency to score Sheetrock with a utility knife, instead of a pencil mark….sometimes I cut the tape…..maybe twice over the years.

While back my son was helping me do a job and did the same thing….3 times. Told him I spent almost as much on tapes as I did Sheetrock for that job!

It’s either proof that genetics works, or that tapes and utility knives are REALLY made for right-handed people….

 

[bird dogger]

When our boys were in both elementary and junior high school, their math teachers just about hated me. Their math books were full of mistakes. The question problems were open ended yet they provided an incorrect answer. They were supposed to use methods of problem solving that made no sense, let alone try to reach the correct answer. And I'd send notes back to the teachers saying they might want to make a note and correct those areas in their text books. I would also show our boys the correct way to solve a problem.

One of the dumbest methods they spent half a year on was called "guess & check" !! When I made the boys do the math correctly, I was told not to help them with their math anymore! So I had them do the lessons the school's way and then the correct way!

Once at a parent/teacher's conference with one of their math teachers, she said our boys were doing real well. (Go figure!) Then she started showing us the new cabinetry that had been installed in her classroom. She was so mad at the installers because just about every outlet opening had been measured wrong and covers wouldn't cover the holes. Some cabinets had two or more holes for each outlet. They were a mess and she couldn't understand how they could have been so far off on the installation.

I told her I knew exactly how that happened and she shouldn't complain at all. Finally she had to ask.......
I said it was quite obvious the installers used the "Guess and Check" method and they were fairly good at it as it only took them a couple of tries to get the oversized holes somewhat centered over the outlets. It's not necessary to be exact with math!

That ended the conference with the math teacher. My wife thought I was being a little to bold. I thought NOT! That teacher's face was still beet red as we left the classroom.

 

[Lil Foot]

I had a young engineer come to my lab a work and tell me to "give me that monkey wrench thing!"
I had no idea what he was talking about, so I asked for a clarification. He got angry, and told me to "just give it to me."
I told him if he could not be civil and clear with his request to just leave my lab.
He returned later with an angry manager and the same demand.
The manager told me to give him what he wanted, and I explained that I didn't know what he wanted.
The engineer repeated his demand for "that monkey wrench thing". I told the manager I don't even own a "monkey wrench thing". They went away.
The manager called me later & explained that he wanted my personal $400, 24", Mitutoyo digital electronic calipers with RS232 readout port. (you know, that monkey wrench thing)
I explained that I don't loan my personal tools, and if I did, it would not be to someone who called electronic calipers a "monkey wrench thing".
The manager authorized him to buy a set with company money. He took them home & brought them back destroyed. He actually tried to use them as a wrench.
What kind of education are mechanical engineers getting these days?

 

[bird dogger]

Bill, it sounds like my kid's grade school teachers are now teaching at the college level. Yikes!!!!

 

[BigG]

I had a young engineer come to my lab a work and tell me to "give me that monkey wrench thing!"
I had no idea what he was talking about, so I asked for a clarification. He got angry, and told me to "just give it to me."
I told him if he could not be civil and clear with his request to just leave my lab.
He returned later with an angry manager and the same demand.
The manager told me to give him what he wanted, and I explained that I didn't know what he wanted.
The engineer repeated his demand for "that monkey wrench thing". I told the manager I don't even own a "monkey wrench thing". They went away.
The manager called me later & explained that he wanted my personal $400, 24", Mitutoyo digital electronic calipers with RS232 readout port. (you know, that monkey wrench thing)
I explained that I don't loan my personal tools, and if I did, it would not be to someone who called electronic calipers a "monkey wrench thing".
The manager authorized him to buy a set with company money. He took them home & brought them back destroyed. He actually tried to use them as a wrench.
What kind of education are mechanical engineers getting these days?
View attachment 62237

The engineers that we get today are great in theory but most never have applied the theory in the real world.

The new park that is built for sports baseball, football, b ball etc. had no parking for full sized cars. It was all compact car parking. The first opening day of baseball there was no where enough parking for all the SUVs and mini-vans. The next weeks at the park were crews cutting out the concrete curbs to allow enough parking in the grass. The parking lot lines were also redone to allow for family sized cars and trucks to park in the sports park.

 

[WFM]

I hated math in school. But some must of stuck with me as being in the welding sheetmetal trades I use math all the time.
My kids were taking advanced algebra in school and would ask for help. I had no clue. "ask your mom "

 

[NCL4701]

For those who can’t read a tape:

Never used one to build anything. Personally prefer traditional tape, folding rule, etc. for actually working on/making stuff.

For estimating construction jobs, particularly interior, quite a bit faster than a traditional tape even if you’re really good with a normal tape. Don’t have to physically put it on customer’s floor, can shoot over most obstructions (furniture, junk all over the floor).