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I just wanted to give everybody a tip from experience.
A month or so ago I picked up a new tape measure. A new Stanley Max Steel model caught my eye for it’s claim to have a 9′ standout.
Well the claim was wrong, the unit is about as flimsy as most other cheap units. It is good for maybe half as long a standout.
Knowing Stanley had a good reputation, I dropped them an e-mail. They were nice enough to get back to me and offered to mail me a return postage envelope to send the unit in for replacement. Of course, being typical of too many American companies, they figured we have the same postal system here in Canada (we are one of your states right?), so the return postage is useless.
Anyway, my local hardware supplier graciously refunded my purchase and I bought one of their house brands with a lesser 6′ standout. They didn’t lie and it was half the price.
Maybe companies wishing to protect their reputation will try to advertise more accurately in the future.
Maybe companies wishing to export products will send some of their staff to school long enough to look at a map of the rest of the world.
Maybe I saved somebody else on this forum a trip back to the hardware store to return a hunk of junk.
Replies
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I dropped Stanley tapes (no pun intended) from my tool pouch 20 yrs ago. Been using, with great satisfaction, Lufkin tapes. My biggest truck w/Stanley tapes was their reluctance to retract after a few launches.
That Fat Max sure does look nice, though.
Regards, 14-0
*Ib alwaystest the standout before I buy. Sometimes even when I'm not buying, when there's a tape for sale at the checkout...something to do.Rich Beckman
*I dont know about yours, but i can get my fat max out at least 9', more with a little artful arching. I think its the best tape i have ever had. It is a bit heavy, but still love it. If i did have a gripe, it would be the fact that i keep breaking the clips off the back. It just isnt made to go on a belt.
*I like the Stanley 30 foot tape (not the almost useless 25') - fits well in the bags, cheap ($10.00 in CA), 7' standout. Only minor drawback is you usually need to start the retract by grabbing the tape and giving it a firm shove into the box, but it becomes second nature. But they're tough, you can drop 'em and stuff.
*There's a line of ergonomically designed kitchen tools by "OXO". The 25' tape they put out is in a black and red rubber case that feels great! The tape end is riveted three times--not flimsy at all, and when you lock it down, it stays put. I just measured the standout at 94". It survived several falls off my roofing project as well as a close encounter with a fox terrier--best tape i've ever had. Didn't cost the moon, either. I recently saw an OXO display with a bunch of other outstanding hand tools like sumptuous-feeling screwdrivers and pliers, too.
*A long time ago I stopped reading manufacturers claims, you know, the ones that claim "unbreakable", "Best according to blah blah blah", the best one being "manufacture tested and approved!" Now, you guys are going to sit back with my comparison and think "what the f**k is this guy thinking" but...When roadracing I (my sponsor) supplied a then top shelf motorcycle (CBR900RR), the "claim" was a sub mid 10 second quarter mile, first off I have NO idea what a quarter mile quote is worth in roadracing (squat in the real world)but just for kicks we went to the drag strip and clicked off a few passes just to see......The best (mine) we could get out of the fully prepped Two Brothers worked bike was 10.98 on slicks.Now, keep in mind, the ADVERTISED times of this bike were made at a PERFECT track, with PERFECT conditions, with a PERFECT tune, with about a billion dollars worth of Hondas BEST engineers standing by to correct for IMPERFECT marketing... Same as all tools, same as all businesses, same as all tapes, nail guns, circular saws, blah blah blah.Buy what works for YOU, ignore the hype. Do like Rich says and try it while your standing there, if it does'nt work? throw it back. The only time this theory does not work is the CHEVROLET theory....when prompted to do very extreme things....they will NEVER let you down!
*tapes are tools. Oil'em lightly when it rains, don't drop them too much. If it won't stand out 9', take a step towards what your'e hooking. Geeze....have not invested the nearly twenty for the fat max. Contractor grade 30' has a lifetime warranty at HD, and I am currently holding them to it, on the retractables and the 100' steel tapes. Have saved hundreds....
*Nathan,You won't be saving for much longer. I also liked the contractor grade with the lifetime warranty (easy 9' standout, BTW). When I returned the last one at HD they argued about replacing it. They finally agreed, but told it it was my last one as Stanley had dropped the warranty. Too many returns I guess.Jerry
*Ironically Dave, I usually take the clips off before I start using the tape!blue
*I'm with you George. Getting them back in is an artform but they usually do well if you keep them clean and dry.I also despise the 25 footer. I don't even try to reach 9'. The damn tape would be so curved, you couldn't read or believe the number.blue
*I'd returned my Stanley contractors grade several times for a fresh one too and was happy as a pig in $h*t till I got the Fat Max. Now every other tape is i way down the list and I've been heard saying "Where's b my tape!"
*Been using a 30' Fat Max for month .....it's been a good tape. Considering what it's been subject to, it's held up well. The downside is that it is heavy ... it occasionally causes serious problems with plumber's crack .....time for the suspenders.
*I think the fat max is to fat and heavy. The tape is to thick to bend the way I want it to. The contractor grade one was fine for awhile , but the warranty issue is true. They got to many back and quit honoring the warranty(more yellow shit, just from another company). I use the regular old one in the chrome case. 30' works best for me, I bend them alot for some reason, as I stretch them along the lumber with my thumb right at the case. I keep a spare always in the truck, and figure a tape will last 3 months in the good weather, a little less in the nasty. Cost of doing business. Could go to Sears, get a craftsman, get a free one every 3 months, but as a contractor, I feel I'm ethically superior to that sort of scamming. Keith C
*What happened to replacement tape cartridges? I seem to get a nick in the first 9', and the tape soon fails.
*To be totally honest, I never even considered the 9' standout necessary until I saw the tape. I used it as a measure of the general stiffness of the tape. The thinner, lighter and seemingly more durably cased Mastercraft I picked up probably has a stiffer tape. In usage over the last month it has proven so. The fact is it cost half as much with less hype. I guess hype is worth something at the checkout. I promise to never be fooled again!
*Two things. Always reqire your hired help to have a spare tape measure of any kind around, if theirs shit's to bed in the middle of a job they're useless.Sears will only take back tape measures one at a time, I use to bring them back three or four at a time, just use to beat them up because of the replacement policy, but they got wise and now claim that more than one at a time makes you a contractor and the replacement policy is only for homeowners. Now it's either Luftkin or Stanley, no difference to me, I usually lose them before I break them anyway.
*I have a Craftsman that I can't destroy. Everybody kids me about my "Crapsman", but until I manage to tear it up, it works just fine.Dropped many a time and it still retracts with a snap.
*Just have to remember to add an eighth of an inch to every measurement you pull so that your tape measures the same as everyone else's.
*Ralph, that's B.S!Sears brand tape is the same as Craftsman, but without the name or the warranty! The only real difference is the cost. The Sears brand cost less. I lose my tapes more than break them, so the Craftsman return warranty policy does me no good. As for runout, they both seemed the same to me.As for 25 footers vs 30 footers, the 30 footers took up too much space on my tool belt. The 25 worked just fine, all the time. If something was longer than 25 foot, I usually measured out 20 feet, made a pencil mark and then measured from the other end to that mark and/or drove a nail at the pencil mark, hooked my tape on it and continued along. If I had to measure something longer than , say 45 feet, I used my 100 foot steel tape.Blue, I too always remove the clips. Tool belt tape holder works fine for me. BTW, you notice that the Craftsman tapes (and Sears brand too) are now going to a newer, non-glare finish? The old style was brighter yellow than these newer ones. I like this new style; it does reduce eye strain.Davo.
*Davo, did you miss the little at the end of the sentence?But, seriously, I've dropped enough tapes to know that the little hook can and does get bent enough to throw off a measurement by as much as that one eighth inch. Now that may not be much of a factor in framing, unless you compound the error on a long run (without the 100 foot tape) but it can throw off a trim carpenter who is not paying attention or who is having measurements called out by someone else. Miscut a few pieces of high dollar trim and you'll understand.
*I tell ya, the OXO tool is THE BEE'S KNEES!!!
*But will it fit in my bags?
*Give me a free case of Big Max tapes and I'll hand them out to all my competition. Toooooo big......Toooooo heavy. and al marketing hype.I like a compact lifetime warranty tape that can get wet. I own Craftsman and now a new Stainless steel tape that does still rust but last a bit longer than all in the lake building docks.Tapes in and near the stream,aj
*If this is a ? about the OXO, well, it fits in mine. Looks like you might have to dissect it if you want to remove the clip, however, as it goes through the case instead of just being screwed on the outside of it. I should mention another cool feature, a rubber grommet in the hook to keep it from sliding around when you make contact in either push or pull mode. Thought this might throw the accuracy off, but i measured it against my Starrett and it's good after a year of near-constant use.
*Who carries Oxo? Web site maybe? You've got me curious.
*OXO Good Grips makes lots of kitchen gadgets with handles that are ergonomically designed in an easy-to-hold hard rubber. Not having much luck on the web finding info on this particular tool for you (mostly kitchen stuff), but i got mine at Target, and i doubt i paid over $10 for it. Here's a pic of a smaller one (16')i found:http://www.totalliving.com/oxotools4.html
*I like the idea of a clip that is integral. Unlike others here I use the clip all the time. I hate the way they spin on the case and eventualy the screw holding it to the case even strips out. But I'd like a tape that is at least 20-25 feet long. Whats this one like if it gets wet ?
*I've used lots of different tape measures and I somehow always go back to the Stanleys. The Max steel is my current favorite and it'll go a good 8 feet without folding. I like the 25 foot ones. Clips are nice when you need to take that bulky tool belf off! By the way, aren't we supposed to hold the tape by the casing when measuring? (All that weight?!...)fv
*Here it is: OXO Catalog. Do they really mean that the smallest increment is 1/8"? Looks like one of those Brookstone tools that you get for Christmas from someone you know who has about 8 years of college and really good intentions.By the way, I checked my Fat Max and it has 11' of standout. One of the reasons I like that is because I use my tape as a pointer a lot.
*I picked up a Big Max on display at HD, and immeiately put it back on the shelf. Way too big. For a while Stanley was making a 25 footer with a smaller case ( about 25 % smaller). Fits in the hand beautifully, with the same standout as the full size one. Only one store in Fairfield county, Ct had them in stock. For about a year. Can't find them anywhere now. Anyone know where they went?
*I use the tape both in the bags working on houses and on my pocket in the woodshop. Because the surface inside the clip is smooth, it doesn't wear out your pocket or belt. OXO puts out both 16' and 25' tapes. This one has been repeatedly drowned, and while i've never oiled it, it still recoils just fine.
*Matt, i have the tape in front of me and it has 1/16th's marked on both sides, though on the port side, it says "1/8, 3/8, 5/8, 7/8" on the appropriate marks. It has black blocks to outline the 16" OC marks, carats at 19+ OC, red blocks outlining the feet increments.Do my eight years of college and good intentions disqualify me? ;-)Thanks for finding that site i didn't see.
*Ralph,I apologize.....Gee,I did miss the little .I'll try not to let it happen again. BTW Rein,you made me curious, so this afternoon I checked my Sears brand for stand-out. Well, 9 ft. it could'nt do. The tape bent at 6ft.-6inches. With a little finesse, I could get it to do 7ft, but really, who cares?Davo.
*I like the Fat Max even though it is too big. Beware letting go with a lot of blade out and fingers anywhere near - first time I did that it cut me across all 4 finger knuckles.
*Here's an FYI folks, the craftsman leverlock tapes are made by starret. when sears first switched to the newer style with the tension winding gizmo, I called them and complained because that little lever kept hanging up on everything. well they called me back and said that they had received alot of the same complaints and would send me two of the old style as a way to make it up to me. when the box arrived in the mail it had the starret name and address on it and when I opened it up the letter enclosed saying they were sorry that I didn't like their new tape was starret letterhead and was signed by the the company president. FWIW
*Lifetime Warranty means, when it dies that is the end of its life. Therefore the end of its warranty.
*OK, the 8 years of college crack was probably a little out of line.I guess the thing with tape measures is that once you get into the better quality ones, it's pertty much personal taste.
*How about this-I keep a Fat Max around for measuring walls when I am running crown ,and I can get it to stand out just over eight foot before it flexes too much to be accurate. I also keep a Stanley sixteen foot tape that i use for most other things. I would like a one inch by sixteen tape , but haven't found one. Maybe alot of it is personal taste-I couldn't stand the Lufkin tapes that I tried.p.s. Blue, I take the clips off to.
*There are actually two different styles of Stanley Max tapes that I've found. The Max Steel is just another Stanley tape (to me, anyways). However the Fat Max is a step up. They are bulkier, but the standout length is great! I've actually found I can latch onto a wall 12+ feet away when setting roof trusses. The double edged hook is also a great addition. It takes some getting used to, but I'm hooked on Fat Max. Would like to find a 35'er though. Anyone seen them out?
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I just wanted to give everybody a tip from experience.
A month or so ago I picked up a new tape measure. A new Stanley Max Steel model caught my eye for it's claim to have a 9' standout.
Well the claim was wrong, the unit is about as flimsy as most other cheap units. It is good for maybe half as long a standout.
Knowing Stanley had a good reputation, I dropped them an e-mail. They were nice enough to get back to me and offered to mail me a return postage envelope to send the unit in for replacement. Of course, being typical of too many American companies, they figured we have the same postal system here in Canada (we are one of your states right?), so the return postage is useless.
Anyway, my local hardware supplier graciously refunded my purchase and I bought one of their house brands with a lesser 6' standout. They didn't lie and it was half the price.
Maybe companies wishing to protect their reputation will try to advertise more accurately in the future.
Maybe companies wishing to export products will send some of their staff to school long enough to look at a map of the rest of the world.
Maybe I saved somebody else on this forum a trip back to the hardware store to return a hunk of junk.