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My grandfather’s workbench had an adhesive rule stuck to its front edge, which was extremely useful when woodworking. You could check part dimensions without pulling out a tape measure or steel rule.
The only problem was that it was fixed to that one spot.
Now a Georgia entrepreneur has made a cool product that allows you to put a rule almost anywhere, then remove it without hurting the surface below. Called “Red Tape,” it is exactly as its name implies. It’s a 55′-long roll of clear adhesive tape with a continuous ruler printed on it in red.
The tape can be stuck to your workbench then removed if you please. You can stick it to the curved arm bow of a Windsor chair and use it to lay out the spacing of the spindles. Or you can even stick it to your computer monitor to pull dimensions from a photo or use it to size object in CAD or a photo-editing program.
Shown below is how I used Red Tape on my monitor to pull dimensions off a photograph of a Shaker hanging cupboard. It was very handy and easier than holding a ruler up to the screen or even working from a print-out.
The tape is marked in 1/16ths, repeats every 12″ and does not stretch, as far as we could tell. The printing job was quite accurate.
– Christopher Schwarz
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Ordered two rolls on Thursday the 16th of July and received on Monday July 20. Fast shipping from Georgia to central Illinois.
Looking forward to using it.
When I need a similar thing (when I really need a similar thing?) I use IKEA paper Measuring strips and spray glue, but I am sure that your red tape is much more precise.
Who haven’t an Ikea store at his fingertips, can download some printable paper rulers here:
http://www.vendian.org/mncharity/dir3/paper_rulers/
Unfortunately there isn’t a metric version, otherwise I would have ordered a couple of dozen me too.
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Thank you Chris, it’s a no-brainer,,,,, just ordered 2 rolls.
First thing it’s going on is my Jointmaker Pro. tables.
cheers,
roger
Thank you Chris, it’s a no-brainer,,,,, just ordered 2 rolls.
First thing it’s going on are my Jointmaker Pro tables.
cheers,
roger
ps. misprint in above post.
The red pencil costs extra. 😉
This is very interesting and usefull.
I ordered 48 rolls this afternoon.
Hey JC
I heard the manufacturer already has plans to lower his costs because of comments like yours.
The tape will now come in kit form, with, you guessed it, a roll of scotch tape and a pencil.
I’m ordering a couple of rolls, too. A good gift idea, also.
Come on JC, lighten up….
RIDICULOUS! I could make my own with a roll of scotch tape and a pencil for 1/2 that price. We aren’t all made of money Mr Schwarz. All my savings for the next 2 months are already set aside for a box of altoids.
It’s like painter’s tape. The adhesive releases cleanly for a long time (not sure how long). I pulled it off the LCD monitor after a couple hours with no adverse effects.
I left the strip on my bench and I’ll report back in a couple weeks.
Chris
Now that is clever.
How cleanly does the adhesive remove from the surface you’ve used it on should you need to remove the tape? I’m assuming you don’t leave that ruler on the bottom of your monitor’s screen all the time.
This makes so much sense, I’m sure that there will be so many uses for this tape that can’t be foreseen at this time.
I ordered a couple rolls this morning myself.
Ace
This is why I subscribe to your blogs. I get to learn about new things that I otherwise wouldn’t know about.
Ordered 2 rolls. This will come in very handy.
Thanks for all you do.
Toby
Great find! Ordered one roll for myslef and one for my woodworking son. Looks like I’ll find many uses for the 55 feet I’ll get.
Chris,
This looks very neat and useful. I just ordered a couple of rolls. Thanks for the pointer.
Steve