Loose Tape Measure Hooks
George VondriskaDescription
Ever wonder why a tape measure hook wiggles when you press or pull on it? So did George Vondriska. He found out that the hook slides in both directions to accommodate for the thickness of the hook, so you receive an accurate measurement each time, no matter whether you are pushing or pulling against an object.
So I go to the store and I get a tape and I'm looking at all these different tape measures they have and as I pick them up and I'm wiggling the hook on the end, on every one the hooks are wiggly. And I says to the guy, I says, "What's the deal with the wiggly hooks?" Well, the answer is the hook on a tape measure is supposed to be loose and this kinda freaks people out all the time. The reason for it is that we're gonna commonly use tape measures two different ways. In one application we're gonna do an outside measurement where we hook the hook on the edge of something and then we take a reading. Or alternatively, we push the hook against something and we take a reading. What happens is that the hook moves back and forth by the thickness of the hook. So, it's actually slotted holes underneath these rivets. The length of the slot allows this to move to my left or to my right by this thickness. When it does that, it keeps it accurate. Otherwise, what would happen is the thickness of this chunk of metal would give you an incorrect reading either on the outside dimension or the inside dimension. So, the fact that it wiggles back and forth, don't sweat it. It's supposed to be doing that and, again, what that does is it allows the tape measure to accurately do both outside dimensions and inside dimensions.
The other thing to mention is that dropping the tape measure is almost always a death knell for the accuracy of the tape measure because that end will bend.
And if the amateurs let a tape retract from too much a distance, the impact on the hook and the end of the tape will eventually throw this off. I cringe when I see this happen, and end up educating the culprit.
I remember when I got my first tape measure, a long, long, time ago, I thought it was broken so i tightened the thing up, no more wiggle. Measurements always a bit off. Figured it out later in life. So lessen learned.