R1 Measuring Tape

  At last - a tape that works the same way around that you do!  The world is tough on left-handers, I know (though we help wherever we can - see our left-handed marking knives!), but this is one area where it seems that someone got it wrong for "the rest of us"!  5 m / 16 feet long with inch and metric scales.

The answer to easy marking out with the tape reading the correct way up, whilst allowing you to mark naturally with your right hand is the M3 Measuring Tape from M-Power Tools.  A simple solution to a very vexing question.  These illustrations tell the whole story:-

Point-2-Point

  This is one of those "why didn't someone do it before" type tools: invaluable once you own one, yet you never even realised beforehand that you needed it!  Maybe as the general level of mathematical ability falls, it will become even more essential in our workshops!  So what is this indispensible tool?  It is a multi-point divider enabling you to divide a board, or the line between two points, into up to seven equi-spaced pitches ready for positioning dowel holes, biscuits, screw holes or whatever.  The Point-2-Point achieves this  quickly simply and accurately.  Its setting can be firmly locked in place to avoid alteration and to permit it to be replicated at other points on the workpiece.  The maximum span of the seven pitches is 600 mm (24").  I know there are other, clever, ways of doing this job, but what's wrong with doing it the quick, easy and accurate way?  After using one for some time, I would pass on just one tip about its use: the results will be more accurate if you always extend the unit beyond the end-point dimension you require and then compress it to the exact end point positions.  Thi simply takes up any slack in the mechanism and is, of course, nor more or less than good practice with any mechanical device.  Another great gizmo from M-Power!

Heavy Duty Tape:  If you're looking for an affordable, accurate measuring tape then this is the answer. This tape is seriously heavy duty with its robust 'soft touch' casing and its heavy gauge tape: at this price you really can afford to chuck it around.

There are some tools that are so essential, yet so economical (if bought approproiately) that they should be treated a consumables.  Without doubt, steel rules are in that category.  The rules shown below are stainless steel single-sided rules with an anti-glare coating and clearly legible scales in both imperial (inch) and metric (mm) units.  The reverse side carries useful data such as imperial/metric conversions and thread size data for ISO metric threads.  We are not going to claim that these are "toolroom standard" but they are very reasonable, decent everyday rules appropriate for daily workbench use and economical enough to lose every once in a while!

This excellent little 150 mm (6") digital caliper is a very real boon, especially for those of us to whom Father Time is calling loudly and who now find themselves "visually challenged".  I find reading a vernier scale very difficult now, without the aid of a jeweller's lens - even then the old grey stuff frequently forgets the answer I've read before I get to write it down.  So what a boon this little beauty is.  The measured dimension is displayed in large clear digits to 0.1mm or 0.01 inches with an accuracy of 0.01 mm or 0.005 inches (either selected at the press of a button, giving instant conversion from imperial to metric units) and is displayed until the auto power-off kills the display after a period of inactivity.  Differential measurements are a doddle too as the value can be zeroed anywhere.  This versatile tool measures external and internal features as well as depths and step heights, all with the same ease and precision.  The SR44 battery IS included and is easily replaced with spares from a drug store, electrical store or chemist's.  The whole is also lightweight, being made of carbon fibre reinforced composite material.  There's even an output port to connect to a computer - if you know what to do with it!  Please note that supplied units may differ visually from the accompnying illustration. 

For those who eschew the use of plastics - however good - for such products there's an all-stainless steel version of the digital caliper too, supplied in a carrying case.Finally, for the traditionally inclined, we feature a genuine 6 inch/150 mm vernier caliper - that is to say, one that features a vernier scale instead of a digital readout. This is also all-stainless steel and presented in a carrying case - in plastic. 

For even greater accuracy in measurement we also carry a nice digital micrometer as well as a traditional  micrometer (featuring tungsten carbide anvils), both at very reasonable prices. Since that moves us into the area of the engineering workshop, we have also included a robust 6" engineer's square in this section.

©1997-2006 P. Hemsley.  The information on this website is the copyright property of Peter Hemsley.  Coeur du Bois and The ToolPost are trading styles of Peter Hemsley.  Whilst reasonable efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of information presented, no liability can be accepted for errors in this information nor for contingencies arising therefrom.  If you are inexperienced in any aspect of woodworking, we would strongly counsel that you take a course of formal instruction before commencing to practice