How To FIX A Tape Measure That’s Cracked

[@ahorseman4ever1]

Not all of us live 5 miles from home depot. Zack's channel has become a regular follow for me. Thinking outside the box is crucial as a farmer. A friend of mine routinely has told me "if you ain't fixing you ain't farming" Thank you Zack for sharing your insights. Just shared this on fb.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

Ha! I love it, "if you ain't fixin' you ain't farmin'"

[@Jypsie415]

This is Great! Thank you! This trick is going to save the measuring tape that was what my dad and I used! He's passed away now, so it's a bit of a sentimental piece and I was sad that I might have to toss it. Your video has made my day! Thank you!

[@robertthanepohn7559]

I hope you were able to get it working again, I totally get the sentimentality. My father (already well retired) is still alive and well, and hopefully for several more decades to come, but I still regard the things he’s given me as special. I’m fixing a tape measure he gave me probably 20yrs ago, also need to fix the handle of an old hammer I remember him using back when I was a kid. I’m a tool guy, I’ve a big arsenal of tools, while many of my tools are expensive the ones I most value are ones given me by my father and my brother (another tool guy), even if those gifted tools were/are relatively cheap. Hopefully your dads old tape measure will survive to be passed on to the next generation along with your memories of him (and those you make with whomever you eventually pass it on to)!

[@kirknorman2403]

Any ideas for when the first 2.5 inch’s are completely separated?

[@1fanger]

Hi Zack. Thanks for the fix. very few people know about that stress relieving. I learned that in a gunsmithing course I took back in the early 80`s. Every handyman should take a metallurgy and gunsmithing course, even if you don`t want to be one.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

all the little things you pick up along the way seem to end up handy somewhere else down the road

[@aaronmcclain1279]

Where did you go to gunsmith school

[@drochon6672]

Way to go. I live in Ontario Canada. You just saved me the money I need to turn on the lights long enough to watch this video.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

dang, you guys must pay a lot for electricity. It got me 3 days worth!

[@bowieinc]

Any ideas on fixing a bent (creased) tape? Great video. Thanks!

[@robertthanepohn7559]

Good video! Watching a few tape measure repair vids (dang rabbit holes, lol) before I fix a tape measure Igor fro my dad probably 20yrs ago. Yeah my time is worth more than the savings to be had, but I’m a sentimental feller so I’ll fix that particular tape measure, besides you can never have to much repair knowledge, something learned here might come in handy on a totally unrelated repair. 🤷‍♂️

[@isidorogonzalez4849]

Found this too amusing Zack. Thanks for the laugh. And I thought I was hack repairing something to keep from spending money

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

Gonzo!! I hope you didn’t think you had the monopoly on being a cheapskate lol I hope you’re doing well man !

[@Flatlinerrr]

Did the drilled hole and cut open with my tin snips. Then filed the burrs down and wrapped electrical tape around it. Worked great, just can’t cut anything to 2-3” with it 😂 it’s my magnetic Milwaukee tape for rough cutting steel on the band saw. Saved me $20 for a while

[@ahorseman4ever1]

Love the video, very creative. Especially what else the money could be spent on. I have also thought if I had one bad tape i could use sections of that as a backing glued on the back side. You my friend can help all of us who live along way from the hardware store too.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

yeah that may well be a good solution as well.

[@cliffkush]

Good stuff. Used to be able to buy Stanley tape refills.

[@BillHartCooks.]

Nice fix. I usually retire mine before they get to that state though.. I wait until Home Depot, Lowes, or what ever big box home center I am in puts the really good ones on special. Then i buy a couple. When my regular use one starts to show signs of wear I pass it on to one of my kids or grand-kids grab one of the new ones and keep on truckin... But I fall into the group of people you mentioned that depend on mine daily to be spot on.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

yeah that's a good practice of stocking up and rotating thru them as they wear out.

[@quentinbertrand4831]

Nice tip Zack, I'll try this as soon as I can. Got a few cracked tape measures I was considering throwing away. Thanks

[@TheGreasemonkey76]

Two weeks to late! My favorite tape was just converted to measuring tape strips and shim stock! It's was heart breaking, and now just as I finished morning the loss you had to tell me there was a chance to save her! For shame Zack for shame....what a cruel world

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

Oh man, I was gonna do this video earlier too. I'm so sorry Greasemonkey....... let us all observe a moment of silence for Greasemonkey's dearly departed old friend........

[@tommyschauer3093]

HI I AM NEW TO YOUR CHANEL. IT LOOKS LIKE GOOD ONE. I WATCHED ONE OF YOUR OLD ONES (JULY 2016) ABOUT FINDING WATER. DID YOU EVER FIND WATER WHERE YOU WERE LOOKING? ALSO I HAVE USED WIRES LIKE THAT TO FIND PIPES AND SEWER LINES, BUT NEVER FOR WATER. I WONDERED IF IT WORKED FOR YOU? THANKS.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

Hey Tommy, I didn't find any water there but it's likely because of the fact that my digging equipment was insufficient. I plan to dig there again in the future though.

[@webstedge1099]

I once had a 30-foot tape measure that I used to play with and measure random stuff. It had a pushbutton lock and was wider than any other tape measure that I had seen up to that point. After about a year of use, the tape began to rip at around the 1 inch mark, and it kept getting stuck when trying to pull it out. Eventually the ripped section gave out, and once it retracted completely the entire thing was just spinning freely inside the casing. My dad simply told me "it's broken" and threw the whole thing in the garbage can. Middle school me did not make a big deal out of it back then. But now in 2019 finding out that I could've opened that one up and saved it... I look back on that and I feel like crying.

[@tiggywinkle1000]

Neat job - thanks for the video help!

[@2goblet2]

Some may value their time at rates higher than others. While admirable taking the challenge, wouldn't it have been more time effective to purchase another, or replace the defective tape with appropriate new one??

[@ifitsrusteditsmine]

I learnt the hard way to use safety glasses and sturdy gloves when opening spring loaded stuff

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

That's good advice for sure

[@tommyjohnson4162]

Thanks I'm kinda rough on tapes so I gotta try this

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

it's worth a shot any way

[@TheBeerbelly007]

You just crack me up, that's some funny stuff, love it---

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

lol, keeps me busy

[@thomasgreen8532]

Amusing for sure, I suppose it would be ok for a backup, I will probably not do it because my time is more valuable than that. I buy cheap ones just to keep them handy. My good ones stay it in Nail bags.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

Certainly to each their own but to me, fiddling with stuff like that in my spare time is relaxing and I would even say recreation, most people pay money for recreation so by my count I'm doing alright.

[@thomasgreen8532]

Zack Of All Trades , I get it, I love fiddling as well, I have project that need to be done and there are projects that get done, when the get done, I suppose I am a bit of a sob when it comes to tools. I don’t buy junk, and if no longer works like it should, it gets tossed. Once in awhile I even make tools for specialty jobs. Keep on fiddling.

[@johnnyllooddte3415]

ive got a hundred broken tapes...cheap to expensive... i take back every horrible thing ive ever said about you....ahahhaa.. blessings doc

[@johnnyllooddte3415]

but you can buy replacement innards tapes for a dollar or two...ahahahah

[@1fanger]

If you still have the intact spools of tape, depending on how long the tapes are, you may be able to get about $5 on Ebay for it. Amateur radio hobbyists use the tape to make antennas with.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

I also read that old tape is what they make those super cool slap bracelets from lol

[@RIBill]

I feel your pain with chisels. I got 23 stiches from the claw part of a hammer.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

Youch!

[@robertthanepohn7559]

There’s a story there. Thrown hammer bounce back at you? Using the claw as a trencher or pick? Can’t imagine being injured by the claw end if just used for designed purpose. ..fyi, I’ve been smacked in the head more than once (I’m stubborn. Lol!) by a returning hammer thrown at something out of reach that I was trying to dislodge, so no judgment. Lol!

[@RIBill]

@@robertthanepohn7559 Helping my father-in-law install a window. It had been fully framed and sided over. Used a circular saw to cut most of the way, but had to get out the corners. I scored it, put the chisel against the score line and pulled back with the claw. What I didn't know is that my father-in-law inherited this hammer from his father. His father had used it for roofing, at some point and sharpened the claw.

[@scruffy6151]

Good one Zach will i ever do this i dought it but, still a good idea for someone that whats to try it to save there tape.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

that's what I figured

[@WICKEDGIXXERL]

Clear tape works well too .

[@gf88888]

I used adhesive aluminium tape

[@born_again_torinos]

Zack, if it's worth doing...it's worth overdoing. I would have popped the rivets on the hook end, trimmed the tape at the 2" mark and riveted on the hook and called it good. I'd remember to add 2" as soon as I pulled the tape out.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

Oh man, that's good. That hadn't occurred to me

[@born_again_torinos]

Yeah, my nick name is Jerry Riggs.

[@TomsTinkeringandAdventures]

I'm a retired airframer, I stop drill everything.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

Yessir, stop drilling is good for what ails ya.

[@carbonitegamorrean8368]

Big clear bag,, put the work in it with room for a hand or so, anything go south it is caught in said bag

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

fantastic idea!

[@BCElginTex]

I bought a FatMax (based on recommendation from a channel I watch) long tape. The longest they had. I had never spent that much on a tape measure. The first time I used it, I had it laid out on the concrete floor and I lost my balance and stepped on it and bent it at the 12" mark.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

oh man, yeah it is. events like that belong in Alanis Morissette songs

[@MikeyMack303]

I can hear her singing that line: "Can you step on it and bend it at 12 inches?" ;-)

[@tombob671]

And if that doesn't work, cut out a coupon at Harbor Freight for a free one 😜😜😜😜😜

[@jarridcockey3810]

Tom Burgess the one from harbor freight anit worth it when you use day and day out

[@1fanger]

Where`s the fun in that? LOL

[@dankolar6066]

Have, in the past, robbed the belt clip off the tape measure. The tape tends to live in the drawer-and not on my belt. So, the clip proved more useful when attached to something else.

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

Good idea

[@roseymalino9855]

Not to be picky, but, or yes, to be picky, your title said 'fix'. You've suppressed additional damage and, I'll allow credit for restoring serviceability, but not really fixed. It seems to me you could apply some of that creatively you exhibited and fill that missing section that I know has been interfering with your sleep pattern and probably some viewers'.

[@darrellcollins877]

lol cant believe i watched that

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

lol, that's what I was thinking as I filmed it. I can't believe I just filmed that.

[@johndoe-zk1yu]

harbor freight 25 x 1 tape $3.99, free with a coupon. So other than for the fun of it why?

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

Well, put quite simply. I like to fix things and understand how things work when I don't absolutely need to so that if ever there comes a time when for whatever reason I DO have to, I'll be better prepared. If I'm building my home in a place where the nearest harbor freight is a 2hr drive, and if for some reason I only have one tape measure (like my 4 year old lost the other while trying to measure the dog) if my tape measure then cracks, what do I do? Halt work for a whole day and spend $30 in fuel to go get a free harbor freight tape? If I'm able to fix this one so that it gets me by until I make by semi-monthly trip to town for supplies, I'm better off. No snark intended, just explaining my mentality. Thank you for watching, JD

[@johndoe-zk1yu]

There is nothing wrong with fixing things ever, I think harbor freight being too close by might not be a good thing either.

[@johngranato2673]

Not worth the time--especially when you look at Walmart prices (as opposed to Ace).

[@terajarvie4368]

It was my dads

[@ryanseft6528]

My tape was £20 lol just watching as learning

[@michaeltillman1147]

😆 Less informative than entertaining. That's funny for sure. I can't get over the idea that your tape was on crack and you spent how long rehabilitating it? My girl would rather me get another one and spend that time giving lovies. How about a video on taking care of hand tools that ride around in a truck toolbox that leaks and have gotten rusty and grungy? Just an idea for a video if your looking for ideas. 😂

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

lol, you're gonna spend more time going and getting another one and waste even more time that could have been used for lovies.As to the grungy tools problem, step 1: fix tool box. Step 2: go to kzbin.info and click Tool restorations playlist. Step 3: enjoy!

[@eddieespinosa8743]

spend the 11.99 dam it

[@ZackOfAllTrades]

You cant make me do it

[@stygs6]

Yeaaah im just gonna throw it out and tell my boss to replace the cost 😅🫡