How does a measuring tape work? (do I say 5/16 or is it before 8 I only say 5/8) If you could get back asap?

Question

Or send the page desribe it or something gots to start first day tommorow.

Answer 1

5/16 is half of 5/8. A measuring tape is the same as a ruler. If it has 1/16" increments, you can count to where you're measuring until you get used to the layout. Avoid the tapes that have 1/32" increments and also those that put centimeters on the bottom. Too much confusion for a beginner.

Answer 2

Well, you read a measuring tape just like you would expect.

First, you read the feet, say 9 feet
then you read the inches, perhaps 7 inches

finally you read the fraction of inches
the inch is usually broken up into 1/16ths but for lots of work getting within 1/8 is sufficient

look at a single inch on the tape and see which line means 1/2 inch and which lines means 1/4s of inches, and 1/8's

Then you read the tape by saying how many feet, inches, and fraction of an inch you have just measured.

If the measurment is to the 5/8 line (meaning five one-eighths inches past the last inch, then that is the reading

If the measurement is just barely past the last inch line, the reading might be 1/16

I hope this is helpful. A very basic question like this is difficult to answer without show and tell. Its all about simple fractions. Good luck.

Answer 3

Some marks on a measuring tape would read (in order):

1/32, 1/16, 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, 3/16, 7/32, 1/4...

1/16=2/32, 1/8=4/32, 1/4=8/32.

Even though you can say 8/32, it is more correct to say 1/4.


5/16 isn't the same as 5/8. 5/8=10/16. While 5/16 is less than the half mark, 5/8 is higher than the half mark.

Answer 4

A tape measure blade is marked both in inches and in feet. The end hook always appears to be loose and this is intentional. It's designed to slide a distance equal to its own thickness so both inside and outside measurements will be accurate. The upper scale is in 1/16-inch increments, so it reads 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4, 13/16, 7/8, 15/16, and 1-inch. The bottom scale reads in 1/16-inch increments as well, so it reads 1/16, 1/8, 3/16-inch, and so on. Studs read out at 16-inch on center, and are normally marked in red. Trusses or floor joists read out at 2-foot on center and are normally marked in black.

The black diamond on the top scale starting at 19.2 inches is for truss layouts for 8-foot sheet goods—also referred to as the "black truss" markings. Originally the 19.2 was used in metric layouts. If you divide five into 96 inches (8 feet), it will give 19.2 inches—in other words, 5 trusses per sheet.

On the other hand, the "red stud" marking every 16 inches allows for a standard layout of six studs per 8-foot (96") section. Look at it this way: there are 5 black diamonds or 6 stud markings in an 8-foot width.

Truss Example:

Count the black diamonds and notice that the fifth one lands on 8 feet. Since an 8-foot sheet spans half the distance of its size, then the second course would start at the halfway point (4 feet) or, in this case, at the third diamond, which is slightly over 3' 2 3/8". The 19.2 black truss marking is just a better span if you don't want to span 24 inches on center with today's undersized plywood. However, I prefer 16-inch on center for truss layout—especially if 1/2" wallboard will be attached to the bottom cord of trusses. Even with 19.2 layout, I would recommend using 5/8" or 3/4" plywood and 5/8" wallboard.

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So your trying to build a woodworking masterpiece and the plans call for you to cut a board to 4' 11-3/8". No problem….. Until you pick up the tape measure and realize that there is no clear marking for 11-3/8"!!! Now you need to understand how to read a ruler. It's actually a lot simpler than it looks.
The first thing we need to clarify is the symbols used in most woodworking plans. The symbol ' (apostrophe) represents feet. The " (quote) symbol represents inches. So a plan calling for a board to be cut to 4' 11-3/8" is asking for "four feet eleven and three eighths inches". Because this can be confusing most plans will call out this measurement only in inches; in this case 59-3/8" or "fifty nine and three eighths inches".
Now that we've covered the basics it's back to understanding all of those little marks on the ruler. A standard tape measure (or ruler) in the United States is divided up into feet and inches. Each foot is divided into 12 inches. The problem starts with the subdivision of the inches. In each inch there are a number of lines of different length. The longer the length of these lines, the larger the unit of measurement.
For example. 1. The longest line in the inch is in the middle. This is the half-inch mark and there is only one. 2. The next shortest line is the 1/4" (one quarter of an inch) inch mark and there are only two of these. 3. The third shortest line is the 1/8" (one eighth of an inch) mark and there are four of these. 4. The fourth shortest is the 1/16" (one sixteenth of an inch) mark and there are eight of these. 5. Some rulers will go a step further, down to 1/32" but this is often more precise that most woodworking cuts need to be. Click on Image to Enlarge
On the typical ruler the basic (smallest) unit of measurement is 1/16". If you count the distance between two inch marks (one inch) you will find sixteen lines. This is because an inch is 16/16th of an inch long. Because we like to express fractional numbers in the largest unit possible we call it one inch. So it follows that if you have 8 lines, or 8/16" you have a half-inch or ½". And likewise, if you have 4 little lines, or 4/16" you have a quarter inch and so on.
At first it can be a little cumbersome to count these lines but over time you will learn to recognize the lengths and the different units of measurements they represent. This often starts with the ½" mark and progresses down the line. Over time a measurements like 59-3/8" can be located quickly.
OTHER MEASUREMENTS You might have noticed that every 24" on the tape measure are marked with a contrasting black background and every 16" is marked with a red background. The marks are used by construction workers for spacing wood studs in a wall or joists in a floor/roof. 16" spacing is used most commonly for load bearing walls and 24" for non-load bearing walls. The small black diamonds represent a less common spacing scheme.

Answer 5

there is the option of going to wal mart and buying an EZ READ tape measuring tape. (cheaters tape) it has the little marks marked with the fractional values and make it easy to learn.

Answer 6

I'm sorry if My answer offends anyone, but it has worked for several trainees in our shop who thought they didn't understand fractions...

If you've ever had any experience with drugs (marijuana, cocaine, meth, speed, etc.) you probably know your fractions quite well. For example: How many quarters are in an ounce?. How many Sixteenths (1/16) are in an "Eight-ball" (1/8).

Yeah , I know. Please save the lectures.

Answer 7

five sixteenths is a sixteenth over a quarter inch and five eighths is an eighth of an inch over a half inch.