STANLEY PowerLock Tape Measure, Heavy-Duty, Engineer’s Scale with Metal Case, 12-Foot (33-272)

It is incredibly useful- for avoiding the awful bane of fractions and varying incompatible denominators. Fractions just should not be used at all, there is no good reason. If it was a great idea, we'd use fractional cm too. I work in engineeering, from 0.001" to 12 ft or so. This will be so handy. I was using a tape with fractional inches vs. mm on the other side, and just converting mm to inch.xx, but this will save that step. With judicious reading I should be able to get to accuracy similar to a 1mm division. Metal case for longevity. Works just like it should. Fast delivery. Quality product. Plus it even says "Engineer" right on it, in case I forget. I did not find the markings to be blurry or grayed as of 5/2016. Maybe they had a bad production run previously. How could it be better? Mark it in Inches, 1/10" one side, down to 1/50" all the way down. Mark the other side in meters, cm, and mm. Maybe add some small special mark for each one foot. That would be all purpose.

I’ve had a few of these over the years but they keep disappearing on me. It’s a very handy, accurate and reliable tool that will last a long time if you can hold on to it.Stanley could make it even better if they put an inside measurement window on the top!

Stanley quality and measures in tenths. Working in the metal fab industry means measuring things all the time. I don't have an 8 ft caliper so I wanted something to check things in the shop. I have yet to see a dimensional drawing from out customers that uses fractions. This tape measure is accurate and allows me do measure what I need quickly and easily with no math involved. There are 16ths on one side and 10ths on the other. The 1st 6 inches it down to 100ths.

It would have been better maybe to have metric conversions but I think that might make it hard to read. As it is, the tape is easy to read. Fractions and Decimals are provided. This is not a heavy duty tape, this is for finishing or fine work. It's perfect for it's intended purpose. It's small enough to be carried in a rucksack or in a toolbox. I carry it with me everyday, so the size makes it more useful than the bells and whistles. The bells and whistles are good too. Twelve feet is not enough for heavy duty but you can buy something else for tougher work.

STANLEY PowerLock Tape Measure, great for work

I work in a CNC Machine shop, and I use this particular model of tape measure and have for well over 20 years. I replace them every 2-3 years as I wear them out using them. I can measure parts withing .010"-.020" with this tape measure.

I make high end furniture. I keep this baby in my pocket and use it for nearly everything - at the lumber yard, to select boards from my stock, to cut planks to rough lengths, measuring cuts on my chop, table& band saws. Sure, the geeks will argue that this is not a precision measure; of course I have other tools and techniques for dead on precision and fit, many of which don't even involve measuring. I learned the value of this little tape measure from my mentor, a winner of a lifetime achievement award for his Early American Furniture reproductions; he keeps his clipped to his belt. I've carried one myself for about 8 years and have not worn it out - I ordered this one because I made the mistake of leaving my original one laying around and it took me awhile to find where someone else stored it - couldn't wait to find it. Due to its 1/2" blade,the case is thin enough to fit in my side pants pocket without the annoyance of a thicker (3.4") tape measure. I much prefer the metal case over the plastic ones that others sell. And, as an added bonus, it is NOT made in China, though, unfortunately, they are no longer made in USA.

Fine increments only for first inch or so. Should have been for entire length. Of no use to me.