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Your Journey into Woodworking begins now!!

To learn Woodworking, you start at the beginning. Therefore, the first skill to master is measuring. And to do so you'll need to know how to read a measuriung tape. So if you're not familiar with this woodworking tool, this is where you would start. If you cannot read a tape, don't fret too much about it. There are many who have never learned to use a tape. However to work with wood, it's your first baby step on your woodworking journey. The good news is: it's really not all that hard to grasp!!

Measurements on a tape will be written in the Imperial System with fractions of 1/16 inch, 1/8 inch, 1/4 inch, etc. or in the Metric System of 1 millimeter, 1 centimeter, 1 meter, etc. However, some measuring tapes have both systems written on them. We'll start with the Imperial System first.

On your tape measure you'll see numbers 1 to 12. Those numbers represent inches. Every 12 numbers equal a "Foot" (written in red as 1F, 2F, etc., on the tape). If you counted each mark within each inch, there will be 16 total. These are called "Sixteenths". So one sixteenth, two sixteenth, and so on up to sixteen sixteenths. So an example of a measurement of 1 foot, 2 inches and 8 sixteenths on the measuring tape can be easily pinpointed by looking at 12 inches (1F), adding 2 inches then adding 8 sixteenths of another inch. So your total length is 14 and 8 sixteenth inches or 1 foot 2 and 8 sixteenths of an inch.

However, the inch is further divided up into other fractions as well. Every two marks are called "Eighths". Those marks are just a bit longer than the sixteenth and there are 8 of them. So again taking our previous example of 1 foot, 2 inches and 8 sixteenths, you would count 12 inches (iF), 2 inches and 4 eighths of another inch. You can see you've ended up at the same place on the measuring tape but used a different fraction.

By now you're probably seeing a pattern here. As you can see there's still another mark that is yet just a tab bit longer than the eighth mark. This one is called a "Quarter" and there are 4 of them. Using our example above you should now know that your answer is 1 foot, 2 inches and 2 quarters of an inch. And your length on the measuring tape is still the same as the two previous measurements.

We're not finished yet. There's still one more mark and you'll notice that it splits the inch in half. You guessed it... this is called an "Half" inch. And so your final answer to our example is 14 and 1/2 inches which is 1 foot, 2 and a half inches.

Now you should have an idea of how to read a tape. Try to find the location on the measuring tape to those examples: 10 and 3/4 inches 33 and 7/8 inches 1 foot 7 and 5/16 inches

There is one other measurement that we hadn't mentioned until now. It's called a "Yard". a Yard is 36 inches or 3 feet. However, in woodworking it's seldom used as most woodworkers would say for example: 3 feet, 5 and 1/2 inches, rather than 1 yard, 5 and a 1/2 inches.

Reading a Tape in Metric.

It's easier to read a measuring tape in Metric and it's actually more percise than the Imperial System. It's also easier to read once you've learn not to compare one system to the other.So here we go!!
The smallest mark is caled a milli-meter. There are 10 of those and they make up 1 centi-meter. There are 10 centimeters and they make up 1 Decimeter (numbers written in red on most tapes). 10 Decimeters make up 1 Meter. Notice everything is in a multiple of 10's.

So let's reverse it: 1 meter equals 10 decimeters OR 100 centimeters OR 1000 millimeters 1 Decimeter equals 10 centimeters OR 100 Millimeters 1 Centimeter = 10 millimeters

In woodworking, you don't really have to worry too much about Decimeters or Meters. When your measurment calls for 107.7 centimeters that's all you really need to know. To refer to it as 1 meter and 7.7 centimeters is the correct response but 107.7 centimeters is easier to write (written as 107.7cm) and remember.

As stated, measuring in Metric is much more simplified and percised. Whichever method you choose to learn remember the first rule of cutting: Measure twice - Cut Once. Also another tip to Newcomers is to write your measurements down on a writing pad (pocket size). Using your memory to recall measurements will eventually take you to the "oops!! did I cut that too short" mistake of so many.

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