Many of our customers are are doing woodworking projects of their own ranging from beginner projects to very skilled projects. We get many email messages asking for advice, how to do something and so on. Last week I received one such email from a highly frustrated beginning woodworker regarding measurements. Pieces were too short by an eighth inch. He measured carefully for a proper fit, transferred the measurement to the piece to be cut, checked it twice before cutting and it was too short every time. So I first asked if he was certain he was making his cuts on the waste side of the measurement mark. The difference in length is about the width of a saw kerf. He said he was certain of that and he then explained his process. Oh, that’s the problem, you have violated the rules of measurement and layout …
It seems he was using two different tape measures. Violation one. He assumed and trusted they were both accurate. Violation two. The second tape measure was not accurate. The end hook was bent inward causing his measurements to be off and inaccurate. First of all, always, always use the same rule unless you are absolutely certain all are perfectly accurate. If you use the same same rule for all measurements and the rule is off, at least the error will be consistent and you may get away with it. Treat your rules, tapes and squares with care and examine them from time-to-time to ensure they remain accurate.
