Introduction
A tape measure can be used in a number of different professions with ease, making them extremely popular and functional. Tape measure is usally used in our daily life. At some point, you may need to learn this method. Reading tape measure is fairly simple to them.
The Basics Knowledge of Reading Tape Measure
- Tape measure blade marks are given in fractions, inches, and feet. Within these markings are different height increments that run the full length of the upper and lower scale and which mirror each other.
- The top portion of a standard tape measure is feet, inches and fractions of inches. The bottom portion of this device is centimeters and millimeters.
- 12 inches is 1 foot. 10 millimeters is 1 centimeter.
- On the foot measurement section, the red numbers or ft numbers are the feet measurements. This is depending on the type of tape measure you are using.
- The inches are displayed in large numbers.
How to Read A Tape Measure
The numbers 1, 2, 3, etc., are clearly marked on the blade and have a hash mark on one side or the other of the number or in the middle of the number. These marks run between the upper and lower scales and are the longest marks on the tape measure, which identifies them as inch marks. When you follow the numbers from low to high, these long hash marks are very visible.
In the standard system on most full-sized (1" wide) measuring tapes, inches are broken down into 1/16 fractions. Each line represents 1/16 of an inch starting with the first one after any given number or the start of the tape. Within one inch, the markings at different heights—starting from the shortest to where they meet each other between the upper and lower scale—all refer to measurements.
In the middle of 1 and 2 there's a mark halfway between the two numbers that is half the size of the full length of the 1-inch increment. This mark is the halfway point of an inch and is referred to as 1/2-inch. There are two 1/2 inches in an inch.
The halfway point between 1/2-inch and 1-inch is another short increment which is the quarter mark, or 1/4 of an inch (see photo to the left). If you count from 1 to the first 1/4-inch increment, to the 1/2-inch increment, to the next 1/4-inch increment (which is really 3/4 of an inch), to the next 1-inch increment, you have counted out the 4 quarters that make up an inch. If the increments are marked on the scale, they should read 1/4-, 1/2-, 3/4-, and 1-inch.
To sum it up, if you add two quarters (1/4") together, it will equal half an inch (1/2"), and if you add two 1/2 inches, it will equal one inch. If you add four quarters (1/4") together, its sum will be one inch.
To finish the scale between the 1/4-inch and 1-inch marks, there is another short increment that’s the halfway point in a quarter. This mark refers to an eighth (1/8) of an inch (see photo to the left). Eight 1/8-inch increments equal an inch, four 1/8-inch increments equal a half-inch (1/2"), and two 1/8-inch increments equal a quarter inch (1/4").
The 1/8-inch markings are further divided into short increments that mark the halfway point: 1/16-inch (see photo to the left). It takes sixteen 1/16-inch increments to total one inch, eight 1/16-inch increments to reach a half inch (1/2"), four 1/16-inch increments to reach a quarter inch (1/4"), and two 1/16-inch increments to reach an eighth inch (1/8").
Tips and Suggestions
- Place the object you are trying to take measurements of on a flat surface or sawing table. It is important that the object is flat or your measurements may be slightly off. If you are attempting a home project, you could ruin your plans if your measurements are not correct.
- Larger objects should be read in inches and feet. There are times when you may need to use centimeters or millimeters for what you are trying to accomplish. English instructions are completed in inches and feet measurements.
I hope these introduction about reading a tape measure can relly give some useful suggestion to your read tape measure. It is easy to have a read and try, I am sure you can do it well.