Saw a drafter at the coffee shop yesterday using a tape measure from the 80s

Ngl I spotted this guy at a diner in Portland pulling out this beat up old yellow tape with the steel hook barely hanging on, and he was marking angles on a napkin like it was 1985. How do you guys handle when someone swears by ancient gear but it keeps throwing off their measurements?

2 comments

2 Comments

annas871mo ago

Got a guy on my crew who still uses this crusty old Stanley Powerlock from the 70s. The hook has about an 1/8 inch of play in it now and he just eyeballs it. Every time he cuts a sheet of plywood it's off by a quarter inch and I'm the one stuck fixing his gaps with shims. Told him to buy a new one last week and he said "this one has good luck." Well your luck ain't sealing weatherstripping bud.

eric7231mo ago

Wait, don't those old Powerlocks actually have a riveted hook that's supposed to have a little play in it so it can grab both inside and outside measurements? The 1/8 inch might be the tab thickness moving on purpose, not a worn-out tape.