Where is 78 on a tape measure

How nice it must be for you Aussies, Germans and Koreans to drill an 8mm hole, realize you need it a smidgen bigger, and yell down the ladder for a 9mm bit. For the non-mathematically-gifted like me, dividing things with fractions is the worst.

For example, when doing DIY projects you often have to calculate the midpoint of a particular piece—whether it's wood, fabric or metal—and I'd be constantly scrawling equations onto the piece of wood I was working and having to sand the marks off afterwards. That is, until I learned this simple tip to easily find the exact midpoint without having to divide fractions.

Let's say I want to find the midpoint of the board above. We take a tape measure to it That's all you're looking for, ignore the finer gradations. Then we take note of the nearest even number, whether higher or lower than the actual measurement.

In this case the nearest even number is In other words, if the measurement had been something simulated below we'd round down to Then you take that even number and divide it in two. Even a relatively thick-headed person like myself can quickly calculate that half of 18 is 9. If you have managed to graduate with a design degree, or if you build things for a living, or have any visual acuity whatsoever, it's super-easy to eyeball the exact midpoint of two lines less than an inch apart.

If you want to double-check, just run the tape measure, no math necessary. The best part of this system is that it's foolproof. In other words, if I was dumb enough that I divided 18 by 2 and came up with 8, and marked 8 inches from each side, the two marks would be a lot wider than 1 inch apart, and I'd know I screwed up and would recalculate before cutting anything.

I can't remember which magazine, website or blog I first saw this tip on—it was years ago—so I cannot give credit where it's due. Nevertheless, I'm sure this is an old and fairly common carpenter's tip. Another idea: If the round-down is 18 and round-up is 19, just skew the tape until it measures 20 diagonally, and mark at This trick works great when you need to divide a piece into thirds or quarters or fifths or whatever, just by setting the diagonal so that you get a common divisor.

I was also going to espouse this method. I learned it from a Jimmy Diresta tips n tricks vid. You've all got it wrong.

Take another board of identical dimensions and mass, shave off even increments of board, and continously weight the shavving and the remaining board. Once the weight of the shaving and the remaining board are equal, you have reached the center of the board you started with. Then, either measure the remaining bard and transfer that measurment to the piece you want to cut, or simply lay the half sized piece on top of the piece needding cut and make a mark.

You don't even need a tape measure. How do you think they built Cathedrals? But cubits are even hard to find the half of. We have six dogs. Don't have an account? Join Now. Already have an account?

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When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more. Walter Davis. Report as spam. Draw the diagonals and use a speed square to transfer the center point to the board's edge? Jay Davis. Why not buy drillbits and tape measures in mm's? David Appleman. I would like to thank the author for being so kind for posting these directions. As for those posting snotty remarks; really? Did your mama's not teach you anything? If you don't have anything nice to say I'm a financial analyst and can reconcile billion dollar accounts to the penny.

That's my husbands job. It is also the first line that you will encounter after or before a whole-inch mark. The flat metal hook attached with rivets at the end of the tape is meant to grab onto the end of an item so that you can extend the tape.

Without the hook, the spring-loaded tape would reel back. This hook is meant to slide back and forth. This is so you can measure either by butting the tape against an object or by hooking it on the edge of the object. The sliding motion ensures that you get an accurate measurement in either direction. Whether hooking the tape or butting it, make sure you do so firmly. Sometimes this little hook is uncooperative about sliding as it should.

Unfortunately, the movement on the hook isn't accurate on all tapes, and it can lose accuracy over time. If you really need an accurate measurement and you believe that the hook is not moving properly, use a simple technique called "burning an inch.

When you take the measurement, just subtract that extra inch that you added. This eliminates any inaccuracy from the hook. You just have to remember to subtract that inch! Tape measures usually have a red mark every 16 inches. This makes it convenient to mark off wall studs or joists , which typically are 16 inches apart. Unless you are dealing with wall studs or joists, you can ignore this marker. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data.

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Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Tip Whether hooking the tape or butting it, make sure you do so firmly. The 8 Best Tape Measures of Featured Video. Read More.