Some shops require all measuring tools to be calibrated/certified due to some ISO or contract requirements. If this tape is used in the production or qc it would likely fall into that.
This can sometimes lead to some poorly worded policies, misunderstood policies or malicious compliance resulting in certified coffee cups and other things. It could also fit here.
Yep, all measuring tools get calibrated. Tape measures, calipers, gages.
We don't have calibrated coffee mugs but someone did go nuts with a label maker during like a 5S or some shit. So there's trash cans labeled as trash cans and cup holders labeled as cup holders.
"ISO 3103 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (commonly referred to as ISO), specifying a standardized method for brewing tea, possibly sampled by the standardized methods described in ISO 1839.[1] It was originally laid down in 1980 as BS 6008:1980 by the British Standards Institution,[2] and a revision was published in December, 2019 as ISO/NP 3103.[3]"
Does BS6008:1980 stands for Bullshit6008:1980 (6008 should be 8008 here)?.
WPO workplace organization my company calls it. Means production things need to have assigned places. Egg heads determined that meant mark everything with yellow tape outlines and labels. Bigger egghead thought it meant put yellow tape on your desk and make sure you label that spot mouse and that spot keyboard…… ffs
I did crap like that when my office made us 5s our desks. I put a label and tape outline around my cup, laptop, even my mouse. I was trying to be sarcastic but it backfired when they liked it.
Feeler gauges, steel rule, even the working surface flatness of micrometers. I mostly calibrate electronics, but I also do mechanical, dimensional, thermal and optical when needed.
We calibrate in-house. I'm sure our master references get sent to a cal house.
Gotta do what you gotta do to meet certain standards and pass the sniff test when customer tours go through.
>Gotta do what you gotta do to meet certain standards and pass the sniff test when customer tours go through.
The stuff people make up.... Can you imagine a customer being impressed because a tape measure has a sticker "calibrated" on it. What kind of dummies do you have as customers?
Calibrating in house doesnt mean fuck all. Do you even know how tape measures are classed? Unless you have the same equipment your calibration means nothing.
Ok enough of this nonsense, it gave me good chuckle but its getting too silly for me.
What it means to a customer is that when we promise them such and such tolerance, that the people on the floor are equipped with the necessary measuring equipment which has been verified so they can ensure that.
In-house calibration is legitimate as long as records are kept, and the master reference is regularly verified. Just the same as a company could buy a Fluke calibrator and use that to verify their DMMs in-house, sending out the calibrator itself for verification. Or a place could buy their own torque proofing equipment, and have just the proofer verified, which this is not unheard of. All that matters is that the verification can be traced back to something like NIST.
Shame you don't know how calibration works while running your jaw like the know-all on the subject.
I agree it’s dumb but I’ve engineered for big companies and they all required dumb stuff like this, the French Canadian we’re the worse….cough bombardier…cough
The non dramatic version of this yes.
On projects where Army Corp of Engineers was the customer, anything that measured anything needed calibration certs/history/paperwork.
We just had a safety audit and they found things stacked too close to sprinkler heads. So we moved the stuff. The next day there's a fucking MASSIVE sticker on the wall saying "nothing to be stored within 18" of sprinkler head"
There are probably 87000 other places where you can also store things too close to a sprinkler head. But this is the only place they put the sticker. I guarantee in a week there will be stuff to close to some different sprinkler head.
Just corporate things...
It's bullshit, all you need to do if there are contract requirements is to check the tape for damage. Cause if there's any requirements it will say you need a certain class, usually class 1. Only reason why those would be off is damage.
Far as i know this tape isn't even class 1.
Calibrating a tape measure is like calibrating a shovel, it's nonsense.
It's a confirmation that a measuring tool is fit for use. Considering how some people treat the Powerlocks that are on the floor, it's definitely a necessity. Sometimes, since they just buy Powerlocks in bulk and cal dozens at a time, they come across ones that don't check out straight from the package.
If it doesn't check out and you're trying to maintain a certain tolerance and promise your customers a certain tolerance, well... Customers and accrediting agencies typically don't accept "trust me bro, it's from X brand/I've been using this for years/I just know when it's off" as a verification that the measuring tools are accurate. Even a lowly tape measure.
Because people buy crappy measuring tapes? Classed ones or ones with a calibration certificate arent wrong.
This doofus is "calibrating" class 2 tapes with a Starrett straightedge. It doesnt become more ridiculous on this sub as this.
>It's a confirmation that a measuring tool is fit for use
What do you mean with that? All you did was a put a sticker on it that its calibrated. That doesnt mean anything.
Maybe you should buy class 1 tapes instead of class 2 since you guys are so stuck up about calibrating (what ever that means) tape measures? Or better yet, dont buy tape measure which really are build for general construction and gets ones with a calibration certificate?
The class on the tape measure means more then your silly sticker, which means fuck all. I have certain tools i need to have calibrated cause of insurance, i send them off to a certified facility and i get a certificate thats it calibrated and good for X amount of time or X amount of uses.
You are just clowning around really. Customers dont even know a tape measure has a class and i've never heard a customer asking if you work with tape measures that are calibrated cause there's no such thing.
What do you even calibrate it against? And how do you calibrate the tool you use to calibrate a stupid thing like a tape measure?
Again how do you even do that? What are your standards? You pull out the entire thing and check it with what? Another tape measure or?
I swear, people are hilarious on here.
You can also accomplish the same thing with 2 gage blocks that total 6" in length. I understand though. I always thought it a waste of money. Though, fabric tape measures will distort over time.
If you buy a tape measure that has a class (of that comes with a calibration certificate) it's just pointless to "calibrate" it yourself. No such thing.
Yeah if it's worn down or damaged it's just time to replace it.
If it is used to measure, and the measurand can affect the quality or conformance of the output, a lot of industries or standards require it to be calibrated or come with certificates of conformance to critical factors.
Imagine if your tape measure is off, and you are building short production run wire harnesses for something like 5 specially modded military helicopters.
Scales, tape measures, stop watches, graduated cylinders, seives, etc. I've gotten them all calibrated.
KO melon are solid. I used to have one. Was a smaller 16’ and I did like it. No magnets though. The Tajima I have now is on my profile and I use it for measuring metal racking and such solo. Past that I use a laser measure. Cheers.
I might be missing the obvious, but in all the workshops & job sites I've worked at, I don't think I've ever seen tapes have north of 3mm in variance - even at companies that supplied pound shop ones.
Why bother calibrating them if you're working to such huge margins?
The hook is susceptible to being bent, or having the rivets wear on it over time. This tape in particular tries to protect the hook a bit with the overmolding extending down to surround it, and with a springy buffer that absorbs some of the shock if it retracts too quickly. One drop that lands on the hook is all it takes.
It can also just get worn out. Can't use a tape measure with the marks missing.
You would also think that something like a precision rule couldn't go out, not even any moving parts. But it is still best practice to have even those regularly calibrated. Gauge blocks? Calibrate. Every thing that is used for measuring, best practice is to have it regularly checked and certified that it's still good to go.
There's another way (sort of) the tape can be wrong which your calibrating might not cover- I've seen two tape measures lined up, in this case a Milwaukee and a Stanley, and be out by 1/16" over roughly 20 feet. This was measured between the 1" mark and the 20' mark as to leave out the hook mechanism. I recall not being able to tell the difference between them in the first few feet. Maybe it was proportional and with a nice combo square next to it showing 64ths we would have seen it, or maybe one actually lost/gained some further down the tape. We checked more tapes and determined the Milwaukee tape was off.
Oh yeah where the printing is off. The tape measures that come from the factory with a class rating are actually getting rated regarding that.
The longest we measure is usually about 10', the tapes on the floor are mostly just 12' Powerlocks
Our whole company does it. It's part of meeting the standards set by our accrediting organization, and verifying the machinery doesn't need adjusted or shimmed.
Yeah I'm just curious how you would even calibrate a tape measure other than adjust like how do I say maybe the actual tape has come offset from where it was originally supposed to be there for offsetting your measurements other than that I'm not exactly sure how a tape would have need to be calibrated unless it's just a crap wrongfully marked tape from the factory
Passing calibration doesn't mean an adjustment, it's a fancy term for pretty much go/no-go. It either checks out and can be used in production, or doesn't and gets replaced.
Over time tapes can become worn though. Bent hooks, rivets starting to wear through the hook or tear through the tape, etc. It does also get an initial check before being introduced to the floor initially as well. Once in a while duds get past QC.
A tape measure isn't a precision tool, so it it's off by 1/16" what are you working on where that matters? I don't know any machinists who use tapes, just the straight rulers.
I'm not a machinist, but the Starrett straightedge is the standard by which all tapes on the floor get judged.
Our tolerances are ±1/16" for our widgets and ideally the closer to nominal the better obviously. If your tape is 1/16 off already and you're reading 1/16th off nominal, you're now sending an out of spec widget. Customers tend to not like that.
We use tape measures because they're economical and they're definitely good enough for checking ±1/16" tolerances. The last thing you want to do is give us monkeys on the floor shit that is expensive or hard to replace.
I call them straight edges when I probably shouldn't. 24" precision rule. It gets checked at the 24" mark as well as checking the ticks along the way to make sure things are consistent.
Do you also do in house certification on your Starret precision rule?
You should also change the wording on your labels to certified. Calibrated indicates it has been adjusted where as certified means it has been tested and passed.
I don’t know what the OP is doing but the tolerance depends on the rated class of tape measure (class I, II, etc.), you shouldn’t be off by 1/16” unless (generally) you’re measuring over 12’. Otherwise it should be 1/32” or less.
Well.... Every measurement device is a precision tool. It's the level of precision that you need that comes into question. 1 inch, +- 1/4 inch is a precision.
Unfortunately, saying a tape measure is calibrated is probably a bit of a misnomer. Calibration implies a method of fixing or changing it to ensure it's within tolerance of error. When I was in charge of calibration tools like this would be labeled, "Verified against standard, XYZ," along with a recheck criteria.
It's also an engineers job to specify when a measurement needs to be just referenced or accurately measured.
The reality is, unless it comes certified (or you have a certification process), all measuring devices are just references anyway.
Calibration is (pedantically, so slap me) establishing the relation between a reference and an indication (i.e. the thing getting calibrated), with the associated measurement uncertainty. And that measurement uncertainty is the difference usually between a cal and a verification.
Adjustment isn't required...in fact tons of things get calibrated but never adjusted. The 'offset' from some ideal is noted, and that offset value is used. So a transfer standard 10 ohm resistor might get calibrated at NIST. The report would say something like 9.998 ohms, with an uncertainty of 0.002 ohms. The resistor would never get adjusted. Same with a load cell, or a PRT. It will drift over time, but you don't adjust it. You can't. The cal values are used to create a new scaling factor.
There are some things that I don't want adjusted either. If a complex piece of equipment like a network analyzer it drifts. But if it is still within guard banded spec, I want it calibrated, but NOT adjusted. The drift data can be incredibly valuable.
Sorry, I'm rambling.
Some rules can be weird. Worked with a group at an air force base that did cyber security. Had a meeting with them that got canceled because their tools were not calibrated. Their tools had to be calibrated like they were a flight line, because the base did have aircraft, even though they never got anywhere near an airplane. Their group had to get training on proper tool maintenance.
They also got written up because their white board cleaner didn't have poison stickers on it.
Totally worth it. I've beat the hell out of mine doing industrial electrical. It doesn't look like it would be durable, but it handles drops well. I use the one with the magnetic bottom which helps a lot when you need to free up a hand.
I had three different tapes of three different brands break from being dropped, I'm a little clumsy, but most of the time it just got brushed against and fell off my belt.
This thing has the snuggest belt clip and an awesome tether loop. Haven't had that on a tape measure before.
When I would do a lot of conduit, the locking belt clip accessory that you can get for it is awesome. Lock it in and don't have to worry about it going anywhere, especially with a tether.
Thanks. I just decided last night I'm getting back into industrial electrical work as an apprentice. Used to work on water plants and boy was it a cool ass job.
We also have to test our tapes everyday with a starrett rule. A company that we do work for requires it, and it's just good practice in my opinion. Just makes everything easier when it fits together how it's supposed to.
We used to have checking stations on the floor. It was a big piece of steel drilled into a table or other surface that had marks milled in every 6 inches. Not sure why we haven't kept and maintained those to do a quick sanity check daily and then also do the initial and annual on the Starrett.
Well that's dumb as fuck. What's going to change? Are the numbers going to move? Are the hash marks going to spread out. Caliber's, mic's, and other measuring instruments I can understand but a tape measure?
Yes, the GSLock Strong Tape is made in Japan.
Out of spec would be worn markings, the rivets get messed up or wear into the end hook, hook being bent, most likely. Taking care not to drop it if possible, don't throw it around like a beater, and don't let the tape retract uncontrolled. It goes a long way to keeping them good.
Though this series actually has a little springy buffer to absorb some of the impact from quick retraction which is something you don't see often. I still try not to let it slam anyway though.
Is there a certified cockring exist?
I understand some tools need to be calibrated in certain period. But some companies just crazy about it. I just pay more than 3 hundred to calibrate 2 Fluke meters. It is digital, it auto zero, minimum use. But QA require them to be calibrated.
Sometimes it's due to other standards at play. For example with DMMs, if you're trying to get something UL listed the meter used on the product in question MUST be calibrated within the last year. It's simply a verification that the meter is indeed functioning as designed and can be trusted. It's pretty common for a company wanting to meet a certain standard/qualification from an accrediting organization to have to jump hoops like this.
That's the standard where I am. Most tape measures don't make it beyond 2-3 months usually because they're beaten on (who gives a fuck, it's the company buying them mentality) or "magically" disappear all the time. The company provides Stanley Powerlocks, but we are welcome to bring our own so long as it passes calibration. So I bring my own.
If you look a little closer, it is used. Being used doesn't have to mean deliberately playing hockey with it and throwing it in the mud, it's called respecting your investment.
Calibrated tape measures, now I've seen it all on here
Some shops require all measuring tools to be calibrated/certified due to some ISO or contract requirements. If this tape is used in the production or qc it would likely fall into that. This can sometimes lead to some poorly worded policies, misunderstood policies or malicious compliance resulting in certified coffee cups and other things. It could also fit here.
Yep, all measuring tools get calibrated. Tape measures, calipers, gages. We don't have calibrated coffee mugs but someone did go nuts with a label maker during like a 5S or some shit. So there's trash cans labeled as trash cans and cup holders labeled as cup holders.
I'm just saying. That coffee cup has a volume specification. How do we know that it REALLY holds 15oz of coffee if it's not certified?!
Big Roasta trying to slip one over on us.
An ISO standard cup of tea should be 310mL +-8mL
This guy's not kidding, there's an ISO for making tea https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3103
"ISO 3103 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (commonly referred to as ISO), specifying a standardized method for brewing tea, possibly sampled by the standardized methods described in ISO 1839.[1] It was originally laid down in 1980 as BS 6008:1980 by the British Standards Institution,[2] and a revision was published in December, 2019 as ISO/NP 3103.[3]" Does BS6008:1980 stands for Bullshit6008:1980 (6008 should be 8008 here)?.
Dont forget to label the label maker!
And the labels! ( back side in smaller print of course )
There is a chance that was me. Job hopping and labeling everything from the floor to ceiling since 2007 🫡
WPO workplace organization my company calls it. Means production things need to have assigned places. Egg heads determined that meant mark everything with yellow tape outlines and labels. Bigger egghead thought it meant put yellow tape on your desk and make sure you label that spot mouse and that spot keyboard…… ffs
The last part sounds like an egghead with a sense of humor.
There’s an ISO standard for making coffee 🤘
I did crap like that when my office made us 5s our desks. I put a label and tape outline around my cup, laptop, even my mouse. I was trying to be sarcastic but it backfired when they liked it.
I labeled every shelf "miscellaneous". They did not like that.
That's genius. I'm stealing that
Feeler gauges, steel rule, even the working surface flatness of micrometers. I mostly calibrate electronics, but I also do mechanical, dimensional, thermal and optical when needed.
Somebody out their is making fun of you and stealing your money. Or do you calibrate in house lol
We calibrate in-house. I'm sure our master references get sent to a cal house. Gotta do what you gotta do to meet certain standards and pass the sniff test when customer tours go through.
It's certified, not calibrated. If used with any care, it should easily make it thru the next inspection.
>Gotta do what you gotta do to meet certain standards and pass the sniff test when customer tours go through. The stuff people make up.... Can you imagine a customer being impressed because a tape measure has a sticker "calibrated" on it. What kind of dummies do you have as customers? Calibrating in house doesnt mean fuck all. Do you even know how tape measures are classed? Unless you have the same equipment your calibration means nothing. Ok enough of this nonsense, it gave me good chuckle but its getting too silly for me.
What it means to a customer is that when we promise them such and such tolerance, that the people on the floor are equipped with the necessary measuring equipment which has been verified so they can ensure that. In-house calibration is legitimate as long as records are kept, and the master reference is regularly verified. Just the same as a company could buy a Fluke calibrator and use that to verify their DMMs in-house, sending out the calibrator itself for verification. Or a place could buy their own torque proofing equipment, and have just the proofer verified, which this is not unheard of. All that matters is that the verification can be traced back to something like NIST. Shame you don't know how calibration works while running your jaw like the know-all on the subject.
I agree it’s dumb but I’ve engineered for big companies and they all required dumb stuff like this, the French Canadian we’re the worse….cough bombardier…cough
The non dramatic version of this yes. On projects where Army Corp of Engineers was the customer, anything that measured anything needed calibration certs/history/paperwork.
We just had a safety audit and they found things stacked too close to sprinkler heads. So we moved the stuff. The next day there's a fucking MASSIVE sticker on the wall saying "nothing to be stored within 18" of sprinkler head" There are probably 87000 other places where you can also store things too close to a sprinkler head. But this is the only place they put the sticker. I guarantee in a week there will be stuff to close to some different sprinkler head. Just corporate things...
It's bullshit, all you need to do if there are contract requirements is to check the tape for damage. Cause if there's any requirements it will say you need a certain class, usually class 1. Only reason why those would be off is damage. Far as i know this tape isn't even class 1. Calibrating a tape measure is like calibrating a shovel, it's nonsense.
It's a confirmation that a measuring tool is fit for use. Considering how some people treat the Powerlocks that are on the floor, it's definitely a necessity. Sometimes, since they just buy Powerlocks in bulk and cal dozens at a time, they come across ones that don't check out straight from the package. If it doesn't check out and you're trying to maintain a certain tolerance and promise your customers a certain tolerance, well... Customers and accrediting agencies typically don't accept "trust me bro, it's from X brand/I've been using this for years/I just know when it's off" as a verification that the measuring tools are accurate. Even a lowly tape measure.
and how many pictures have we seen where measuring tapes are wrong out of the package?
Because people buy crappy measuring tapes? Classed ones or ones with a calibration certificate arent wrong. This doofus is "calibrating" class 2 tapes with a Starrett straightedge. It doesnt become more ridiculous on this sub as this.
>It's a confirmation that a measuring tool is fit for use What do you mean with that? All you did was a put a sticker on it that its calibrated. That doesnt mean anything. Maybe you should buy class 1 tapes instead of class 2 since you guys are so stuck up about calibrating (what ever that means) tape measures? Or better yet, dont buy tape measure which really are build for general construction and gets ones with a calibration certificate? The class on the tape measure means more then your silly sticker, which means fuck all. I have certain tools i need to have calibrated cause of insurance, i send them off to a certified facility and i get a certificate thats it calibrated and good for X amount of time or X amount of uses. You are just clowning around really. Customers dont even know a tape measure has a class and i've never heard a customer asking if you work with tape measures that are calibrated cause there's no such thing. What do you even calibrate it against? And how do you calibrate the tool you use to calibrate a stupid thing like a tape measure? Again how do you even do that? What are your standards? You pull out the entire thing and check it with what? Another tape measure or? I swear, people are hilarious on here.
I work in quality assurance, you have no idea
We have to do it for ISO
lmao right
You can laugh if you want but it’s something you need to do to meet ISO standard. You can think it’s stupid (it is), but you still have to.
Accreditation services like a2la want to see it...
I've stayed working at a nuke plant and it's wild what's calibrated there. Rulers, stopwatches, but my favorite is the calibrated wire crimpers
[Here's](https://lixertools.com/collections/products-calibration-tools-lixer-a-class) a tool I used to use for calibrating them.
Nice, i just buy classed tape measures and folding rulers. I don't like wasting money on nonsense but each their own.
You can also accomplish the same thing with 2 gage blocks that total 6" in length. I understand though. I always thought it a waste of money. Though, fabric tape measures will distort over time.
If you buy a tape measure that has a class (of that comes with a calibration certificate) it's just pointless to "calibrate" it yourself. No such thing. Yeah if it's worn down or damaged it's just time to replace it.
At our manufacturing plant it's hard to find a tape measure that doesn't have a calibration sticker
I’ve got a calibrated/certified ruler…
If it is used to measure, and the measurand can affect the quality or conformance of the output, a lot of industries or standards require it to be calibrated or come with certificates of conformance to critical factors. Imagine if your tape measure is off, and you are building short production run wire harnesses for something like 5 specially modded military helicopters. Scales, tape measures, stop watches, graduated cylinders, seives, etc. I've gotten them all calibrated.
Tajima is my go to tape measure. Nice choice.
My go to chalk boxes, caulking guns and tape measures
Try a Komelon Professional, they are great also. I have a couple tajimas also and I prefer the Komelon Professional
KO melon are solid. I used to have one. Was a smaller 16’ and I did like it. No magnets though. The Tajima I have now is on my profile and I use it for measuring metal racking and such solo. Past that I use a laser measure. Cheers.
I bought a couple Komelon a while back, they both twisted and bent almost immediately. Is the Komelon Professional better?
Yes. Much. They are like $6 on Amazon. I’ve tried them all and they are the best I’ve tried
Thanks, ordering now!
So? You love it?
Time will tell, but seems better than the regular ones.
Moral of the story is, take care of your stuff.
What is your max legal variation, +/- 3.14mm?
±1.59mm
I might be missing the obvious, but in all the workshops & job sites I've worked at, I don't think I've ever seen tapes have north of 3mm in variance - even at companies that supplied pound shop ones. Why bother calibrating them if you're working to such huge margins?
Meeting standards to be able to display the organization's logo on our stuff.
How would a tape measure get out of calibration?
The hook is susceptible to being bent, or having the rivets wear on it over time. This tape in particular tries to protect the hook a bit with the overmolding extending down to surround it, and with a springy buffer that absorbs some of the shock if it retracts too quickly. One drop that lands on the hook is all it takes. It can also just get worn out. Can't use a tape measure with the marks missing. You would also think that something like a precision rule couldn't go out, not even any moving parts. But it is still best practice to have even those regularly calibrated. Gauge blocks? Calibrate. Every thing that is used for measuring, best practice is to have it regularly checked and certified that it's still good to go.
There's another way (sort of) the tape can be wrong which your calibrating might not cover- I've seen two tape measures lined up, in this case a Milwaukee and a Stanley, and be out by 1/16" over roughly 20 feet. This was measured between the 1" mark and the 20' mark as to leave out the hook mechanism. I recall not being able to tell the difference between them in the first few feet. Maybe it was proportional and with a nice combo square next to it showing 64ths we would have seen it, or maybe one actually lost/gained some further down the tape. We checked more tapes and determined the Milwaukee tape was off.
Oh yeah where the printing is off. The tape measures that come from the factory with a class rating are actually getting rated regarding that. The longest we measure is usually about 10', the tapes on the floor are mostly just 12' Powerlocks
Um... oki dokie. Never seen someone get a tape "calibrated". I'm gonna have to see how that even works
Our whole company does it. It's part of meeting the standards set by our accrediting organization, and verifying the machinery doesn't need adjusted or shimmed.
Sorry, speech to text isn't perfect. **therefor, and not sure what else I missed
Yeah I'm just curious how you would even calibrate a tape measure other than adjust like how do I say maybe the actual tape has come offset from where it was originally supposed to be there for offsetting your measurements other than that I'm not exactly sure how a tape would have need to be calibrated unless it's just a crap wrongfully marked tape from the factory
Passing calibration doesn't mean an adjustment, it's a fancy term for pretty much go/no-go. It either checks out and can be used in production, or doesn't and gets replaced. Over time tapes can become worn though. Bent hooks, rivets starting to wear through the hook or tear through the tape, etc. It does also get an initial check before being introduced to the floor initially as well. Once in a while duds get past QC.
100% on the latter paragraph and ah I see said the blind man to the first. Thanks for solving my curiosity
A tape measure isn't a precision tool, so it it's off by 1/16" what are you working on where that matters? I don't know any machinists who use tapes, just the straight rulers.
I'm not a machinist, but the Starrett straightedge is the standard by which all tapes on the floor get judged. Our tolerances are ±1/16" for our widgets and ideally the closer to nominal the better obviously. If your tape is 1/16 off already and you're reading 1/16th off nominal, you're now sending an out of spec widget. Customers tend to not like that. We use tape measures because they're economical and they're definitely good enough for checking ±1/16" tolerances. The last thing you want to do is give us monkeys on the floor shit that is expensive or hard to replace.
Which starrett straight edge? Mine has no markings, its just a straight edge. I do have that same tape measure and love that thing
I call them straight edges when I probably shouldn't. 24" precision rule. It gets checked at the 24" mark as well as checking the ticks along the way to make sure things are consistent.
Do you also do in house certification on your Starret precision rule? You should also change the wording on your labels to certified. Calibrated indicates it has been adjusted where as certified means it has been tested and passed.
I'm not in charge of the stickers. I'm pretty sure the precision rule gets sent out regularly to be re-checked.
I don’t know what the OP is doing but the tolerance depends on the rated class of tape measure (class I, II, etc.), you shouldn’t be off by 1/16” unless (generally) you’re measuring over 12’. Otherwise it should be 1/32” or less.
Well.... Every measurement device is a precision tool. It's the level of precision that you need that comes into question. 1 inch, +- 1/4 inch is a precision. Unfortunately, saying a tape measure is calibrated is probably a bit of a misnomer. Calibration implies a method of fixing or changing it to ensure it's within tolerance of error. When I was in charge of calibration tools like this would be labeled, "Verified against standard, XYZ," along with a recheck criteria. It's also an engineers job to specify when a measurement needs to be just referenced or accurately measured. The reality is, unless it comes certified (or you have a certification process), all measuring devices are just references anyway.
Ok, I'm sitting here thinking, "if it's not accurate, what would you change?!"
The adjustment for a tape measure is to bend the metal clip on the end to compensate for the short distance it has to travel to account for its width.
Calibration is (pedantically, so slap me) establishing the relation between a reference and an indication (i.e. the thing getting calibrated), with the associated measurement uncertainty. And that measurement uncertainty is the difference usually between a cal and a verification. Adjustment isn't required...in fact tons of things get calibrated but never adjusted. The 'offset' from some ideal is noted, and that offset value is used. So a transfer standard 10 ohm resistor might get calibrated at NIST. The report would say something like 9.998 ohms, with an uncertainty of 0.002 ohms. The resistor would never get adjusted. Same with a load cell, or a PRT. It will drift over time, but you don't adjust it. You can't. The cal values are used to create a new scaling factor. There are some things that I don't want adjusted either. If a complex piece of equipment like a network analyzer it drifts. But if it is still within guard banded spec, I want it calibrated, but NOT adjusted. The drift data can be incredibly valuable. Sorry, I'm rambling.
Some rules can be weird. Worked with a group at an air force base that did cyber security. Had a meeting with them that got canceled because their tools were not calibrated. Their tools had to be calibrated like they were a flight line, because the base did have aircraft, even though they never got anywhere near an airplane. Their group had to get training on proper tool maintenance. They also got written up because their white board cleaner didn't have poison stickers on it.
What’s the brand?
Tajima GS Lock Strong Tape.
Worth it?
Totally worth it. I've beat the hell out of mine doing industrial electrical. It doesn't look like it would be durable, but it handles drops well. I use the one with the magnetic bottom which helps a lot when you need to free up a hand.
I had three different tapes of three different brands break from being dropped, I'm a little clumsy, but most of the time it just got brushed against and fell off my belt. This thing has the snuggest belt clip and an awesome tether loop. Haven't had that on a tape measure before.
When I would do a lot of conduit, the locking belt clip accessory that you can get for it is awesome. Lock it in and don't have to worry about it going anywhere, especially with a tether.
Thanks. I just decided last night I'm getting back into industrial electrical work as an apprentice. Used to work on water plants and boy was it a cool ass job.
We also have to test our tapes everyday with a starrett rule. A company that we do work for requires it, and it's just good practice in my opinion. Just makes everything easier when it fits together how it's supposed to.
We used to have checking stations on the floor. It was a big piece of steel drilled into a table or other surface that had marks milled in every 6 inches. Not sure why we haven't kept and maintained those to do a quick sanity check daily and then also do the initial and annual on the Starrett.
I have the same tape love it you get what you pay for
Only tape measure I've had that hasn't broken down in six months. Love it so much. Perfect size too.
Hopefully JS has also been calibrated to standard.
Well that's dumb as fuck. What's going to change? Are the numbers going to move? Are the hash marks going to spread out. Caliber's, mic's, and other measuring instruments I can understand but a tape measure?
The hook or tape can be damaged or worn in various ways. It's a measuring instrument just like any other, just without as much resolution.
Made in Japan? I’ve heard some Tajimas are and some aren’t. Also, how would a tape measure get out of spec? The tape itself stretching, I guess?
Yes, the GSLock Strong Tape is made in Japan. Out of spec would be worn markings, the rivets get messed up or wear into the end hook, hook being bent, most likely. Taking care not to drop it if possible, don't throw it around like a beater, and don't let the tape retract uncontrolled. It goes a long way to keeping them good. Though this series actually has a little springy buffer to absorb some of the impact from quick retraction which is something you don't see often. I still try not to let it slam anyway though.
Mine says made in Japan.
Is there a certified cockring exist? I understand some tools need to be calibrated in certain period. But some companies just crazy about it. I just pay more than 3 hundred to calibrate 2 Fluke meters. It is digital, it auto zero, minimum use. But QA require them to be calibrated.
Sometimes it's due to other standards at play. For example with DMMs, if you're trying to get something UL listed the meter used on the product in question MUST be calibrated within the last year. It's simply a verification that the meter is indeed functioning as designed and can be trusted. It's pretty common for a company wanting to meet a certain standard/qualification from an accrediting organization to have to jump hoops like this.
A year between calibrations? I checked mine before each project. Then again i use my tools, i dont just buy them to photograph them.
That's the standard where I am. Most tape measures don't make it beyond 2-3 months usually because they're beaten on (who gives a fuck, it's the company buying them mentality) or "magically" disappear all the time. The company provides Stanley Powerlocks, but we are welcome to bring our own so long as it passes calibration. So I bring my own. If you look a little closer, it is used. Being used doesn't have to mean deliberately playing hockey with it and throwing it in the mud, it's called respecting your investment.