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tape measure

K

ken in texas

Member
I have an old tape measure ,covered in leather,with a cloth tape.It has regular foot markings at 12 inches,but there are only ten markings between the foot markings.Can anyone explain the reason for this and what it was used to measure????????????????
 
There are those who feel the math is easier to do (add-subtract) if the plans are done in tenths of a foot rather than inches. The tenths system is still used on plans.
 
I did/do metal working and I once had a job making nut/bolt boxes with dividers in them. The dividers were made by slotting them halfway so the tops would interlock with the bottoms. I soon found out it was a lot easier to use metrics in setting up the slotting press.
 
It is used for engineering/surveying...
Probably just has tenth's marked out...cloth tapes are for rough work...
Steel tapes are marked out in hundreths of a foot....
Surveyors measure in hundreths of a foot....bridge designers still use inches....(I am a surveyor )
The edm's on the equipment will give readouts in hundreths or in metric....
Really not that hard to get onto....
 
Oil Field measurements on drill strings, casing, downhole tools are measured in tenths and hundreths of a foot.
 
You called that a cloth tape, and that is the common name. Most of them had very fine strands of copper woven into the fabric, and they WILL conduct electricity. Something to be aware of.

I've heard some horror stories about folks throwing one over a power line to determine the ground clearance.

Paul
 
Used by USDA and Multiple Peril Crop Insurance adjusters. For field appraisals of crops and measuring the grain in grain bins. Depth of grain and diameter of the bin, etc.

surely other uses.


Gene
 
Dad work road construction for years. They had floding wood rulers that were marked inches on one side and tenths on the other.

Kent
 
Reminds me of discussion in the late 60s, about the US going metric, like the rest of the world. Concept of "metric inch" was proposed as a way for the US to get used to the tenths system. Concept of being used for measuring grain in bins also sounds valid- I have USDA bin capacity charts that register tenths of a foot.
 
So you can measure .1 .2 .3 etc feet. We had one at my high school shop and when you were doing small stuff you wouldn't realize it until it was too late.
 
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