On Milwaukee tape measure right now out the store?

 

Does anyone know  if  the craftsman  pro has the anti-shock on the back of the tape?

 

I stopped at home depo but nothing on the shelf guess you have to order it.. no time to check out the craftsman...

I haven't bought a new tape in a long time.  I'm surprised they added a magnet to them.  What is the magnet used for?  I'd have a fuzzy tape if I used it in the metal shop.

The magnet has has a small benefit to me but not so much in a standard cabinet shop. 

 

I notice Menards is selling craftsman tapes now.....

Just about everywhere is selling Craftsman now. 

There goes any quality control. I use to buy all craftsman tapes when they offered the exchange warranty. 

 

I guess I wish Sears was Sears back in the day.....It was something in the day....

I had a tape similar to that Milwakee, "Had" is the operative word here, I round filed it a month later (threw it in the can).

What I hated about it, was that the metal hook sat flush with the bottom of the housing, as you see in the Milwaukee, the hooks position means you have to pull the tape out each time to use it, meaning you must have two hands to use this tape.

 

I know it sounds trivial, but I like to just set my tape on the surface, let the hook rest over the edge and pull it back, it's a one hand operation like that,as it is with the Stanley below.

 

 

I guess the red tape design is supposed to protect the hook perhaps? Because after long use, the Stanley hook can start to bend back. But I'd rather purchase a Stanley now and then with the convenience of the exposed hook, rather than purchase the red tape that pisses me off all the time.

Just my own little gripe about the red tape and others like it, other users may not care.

 

Also because of the height of the tape off the surface with the red one, the hook would come off the edge frequently, very frequently.

I won't buy Stanley because there is no anti-shock underneath...I learned but anti-shock when True Value sold Service Star tapes in the 80's. Best tapes I ever used. No longer available...

 

 I don't care for Milwaukee tapes but after Irwin stopped making them I had to make the change.. now my Milwaukee is open underneath....

 

Edited November 16, 20196 yr by BillyJack

John, was there no way to modify the case on the red tape?  Had it been mine I would have tried to remove that little tip that arrested the return tape.  I really like this new one shone in BillyJack's last post.  If the tape hook continues to come off while trying to stretch it out, use a small punch or awl and place a small hole making a burr on the back side of the hook.  It may bite your finger, but it will stay better on your project.  

Tapes? Don't use 'em. 

3 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

Tapes? Don't use 'em. 

That away Gene! You know, I don't really use em anymore either. Story sticks and such for me mostly. But when I did a lot of sheet work, and flat work, always had one clipped to my pocket.

7 hours ago, FlGatorwood said:

John, was there no way to modify the case on the red tape? 

I suppose I could have Steve, but really I just wanted my ol Stanley back. I like the way the Stanley sits flat on the work, and it's what I've used for eons, one of those things that didn't take much for me to go back to my old trusty. I was a framer in the late 80's and we all used Stanley Powerlock back in the day, and I just stuck with it. I've tried differing tape measure gadgetry over the years and seem to come back to my ol silver.

2 hours ago, Gene Howe said:

Tapes? Don't use 'em. 

For more of my woodworking projects I have adapted your method. 

 

But for my carpentry and framing projects yeah the old Stanley is a go to because hey it works.

After 36 years I still don't use a story still. But if you show up with anything other than a tape measure I'll send you home..

1 hour ago, BillyJack said:

I'll send you home..

Which is where I wanted to go in the first place.

Last summer, working on a motel job, a young guy asked to borrow my tape.  All I had was my Lufkin red end.  When I handed it to him, he acted like he didn't know what to do with it.

When I was a pup, everyone with a pencil behind their ear had a Lufkin.  Doesn't do what a tape does, but it has a place in my tool bag.

Jim

22 hours ago, HandyDan said:

I'm surprised they added a magnet to them.  What is the magnet used for? 

 With the use of metal studs now you can just stick it instead of hooking.

We did tape comparisons back in the early 80's . Lufkin has been around a long time but the anti shock tapes were new and desirable. ...When I worked with Gary White  at his cabinet shop in Alabama in 1985 he used a folding tape around the shop, but usually only used it to set up the old Craftsman table sa as he didn't trust the fence...