Anybody have experience with Starrett tape measures? Lee Valley is selling them for a good price here:
Wow, not a lot of Starret tape measure users, I guess!
Wirecutter, a reputable review site, says that the Exact Plus “might have been our pick if not for its sheer bulk. With its ergonomic locking lever and durable blade coating, it was a contender, but the fact that it’s as tall as the PowerLock and as wide as the chunky FatMax made it difficult for smaller hands to grasp and use comfortably. It’s also on the pricey side for a 1-inch tape. A big-pawed carpenter on a jobsite, though, could find a lot to like about this one.”
But Lee Valley is selling the Exact, not the Exact Plus. As far as I can tell, the differences are in the case. The tape on both is 1" wide.
Anyway, the price isn’t as good as I thought. LV is selling it for $8.50 plus shipping, and Amazon has it for $9.78 (for me; you might get a different price.)
By the way, Wirecutter is meant for non-professional audiences, but their reviewers are often professionals. They are worth paying attention to, in my view. (Their pick was the Stanley PowerLock.)
I look at wirecutter more for consumer electronic like goods and some house goods - never really noticed a tool review.
My question would be who makes the starrett tape? Starrett doesn’t. cost might be fine - I don’t know it’s not a product I’ve researched. But I doubt it’s a bad product either.
Wirecutter doesn’t review many tools, but when they do, they use experienced reviewers apparently hired just for that task. (They like the Bosch 12v drill/driver.) And the methodology seems solid, more so than some tool review sites.
Starrett doesn’t say where they are made, so I’d assume China or Taiwan.
Oops, and the Wirecutter review is for the Exact Plus, while the model on sale at LV is an Exact, their mid-level, less burly line.
to be fair for wood furniture making it might be perfect. I mean I actually want to find a new tape measure that lays flater but is easier to read them my stanley fat max. which has been my goto for a long time.
Then you might like something like the Stanley Powerlock. For making furniture, you don’t need much standout (or “reach”). 9’ or 12’ should be enough.
I did get a tip from an old-timey carpenter’s book, which was to use the same measuring tool, be it a tape measure, folding rule, whatever, for the entire project. 