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PSA: Check your tape measure hook before a big trim job
Spent a whole afternoon last week cutting crown molding for a 12x14 bedroom in an old house. Measured twice, cut once, and every single piece was 3/16 short on one end. Thought I was losing my mind. Turned out the rivet on my Stanley tape was loose and the hook was sliding around. Cost me an extra trip to the lumber yard and about 2 hours of re-cutting. Anybody else had a tape measure fail on them at the worst time?
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wesley_adams1d ago
Nah, disagree hard on this one. If you're checking your tape measure hook before every trim job you're wasting time you could be spending cutting. I've used the same rusty 25 footer for like 8 years and never checked the rivet once. You did get burned on the crown but honestly that sounds like bad luck, not a systemic problem. Crown molding in an old house with wonky walls, the hook slop is probably 1/32 at most and you're blaming it for 3/16 short? Bet your saw setup was off or you were reading the tape wrong. People overthink this stuff, just cut and move on.
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