What is this odd looking tape measure?

L

livemusic

Member
I got a tape measure at an estate sale but it's not 'normal.' label says Standard Powertape Flexometro. 5m-16ft

What appears to be an inch is actually quite more than an inch. Any idea what this is?

I am trying to attach photo. This is it placed next to a yardstick showing inches.
 

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Don, if it's graduated in tenths, one foot should show "10," right? It shows a little over 9. Look at the Powertape just below the 12 inch mark on the yardstick.
 
You’re absolutely correct! The photo isn’t very clear and I misread the number on the yardstick opposite the ten units mark. It’s a mystery.
 
In the old days tobacco bases were allotted by Feds. In order to check compliance, bases were actually measured by a Fed agent. I was just out of High school and had the job of measuring the farmers tobacco base.

The tape we used was graduated in ACRES. The length and width were recorded and multiplied together to calculate ACRES. No conversion was necessary.

This is probably some special graduated tape.
Ron
 
I really can't tell much from the photo but perhaps it's a tree tape, used by loggers to measure trees to calculate board feet. I haven't seen one for years but I remember them having a long inch.
 
I'm not sure, but you guys may be reading too much into this. I've owned a couple of inexpensive tape measures that were simply designed/manufactured poorly with the scale being way off when compared to a quality tape measure. I wonder if that is all that is going on here. Looks like 9" on the tape is about 12" on your yard stick.
 
Really need a better picture. Are there any words or description on the tape itself?

It looks to me like the 10 is at about 13.12 inches or one third of a meter (39.37 inches). The smaller numbers between the big numbers look like they divide the third of a meter into thirds again.

Nope, sorry, I don't have any idea why you would want to divide a third of a meter into thirds, much less just dividing a meter in thirds.
 
I don't buy the notion that it is just poor quality, as it is so far off, and made by Stanley (according to the Amazon description). However, it also says SAE and Metric on the tape, so it should be inches and centimeters. Two questions:

1 - Are you certain the yardstick is "normal" inches
2 - Any chance of a much better picture that can be blown up and still legible?
 
Isn't "Flexometro" Spanish for tape measure? I think the Amazon link is just one of many similar 3 meter 16 foot tape measures that may or may not resemble the one in question.
 
Scrivet":1acunp42 said:
Isn't "Flexometro" Spanish for tape measure? I think the Amazon link is just one of many similar 3 meter 16 foot tape measures that may or may not resemble the one in question.
Click to expand...

Yes, from my translations, "Flexometro" is Spanish for tape measure. I found one very much like this with a Spanish description. It didn't call attention to any special purpose or scale. SAE/Metric on the case should indicate inches and centimeters as base units. With the pictures provided, it's a mystery....
 
Trying several different conversions the closest I can get is that the small black numbers are centimeters and the big black numbers are 10ths of a foot. It still doesn't account for the difference with the yard stick. Unless there is something wrong there.

It would be nice to have a much clearer picture though, so the red numbers could be read, and if the tape was on top of the yard stick so that the edges wear touching the markings.
 
I had hell posting the photo but I will see what I can do to get something better up.

There is nothing wrong with the near 40-year-old yardstick, it is dead on, compared to a normal tape measure.

On the suspect tape measure, one "inch" equals about 1 5/16 inches on a normal tape measure.

And IMO, there is no way this is a manufacturing defect, no way would anybody make anything that far off.

EDIT: Here is a link to the original photo, close to 5mb in size -- https://www.dropbox.com/s/a5picyf05gexn ... l.jpg?dl=0
 
Thanks for posting the original photo. MYSTERY SOLVED!

The minor units are centimeters and the major units are 'cun' ('body inches' in Chinese). One cun is 3-1/3 cm. The '1尺' at the 10 cun mark represents 1 Chinese foot with 尺 meaning foot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cun_(unit)
 

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Urbish":1w7jzrvv said:
Thanks for posting the original photo. MYSTERY SOLVED!

The minor units are centimeters and the major units are 'cun' ('body inches' in Chinese). One cun is 3-1/3 cm. The '1尺' at the 10 cun mark represents 1 Chinese foot with 尺 meaning foot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cun_(unit)
Click to expand...

Well, ain't you special! Thanks a bunch, I have asked a bunch of people what this dang thing is! Not much use to me, lol.
 
livemusic":19a0sbkf said:
Urbish":19a0sbkf said:
Thanks for posting the original photo. MYSTERY SOLVED!

The minor units are centimeters and the major units are 'cun' ('body inches' in Chinese). One cun is 3-1/3 cm. The '1尺' at the 10 cun mark represents 1 Chinese foot with 尺 meaning foot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cun_(unit)
Click to expand...

Well, ain't you special! Thanks a bunch, I have asked a bunch of people what this dang thing is! Not much use to me, lol.
Click to expand...

I'd use it to sue Subway as their foot long ain't a foot long in Chinese feet. They never specified which foot they're referring to.
 
It's hard to fathom that from all of several images I found of this tape measure over several months... items for sale... I never saw any explanation that it's a Chinese ruler.
 
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