When I inherited my grandfather’s workbench, it had a metal stick-on ruler applied to its front edge, much like you would find on a tailor’s bench.
I didn’t think much of it, though I used it all the time. Let’s mark this cut at 2", roughly. Let’s see how much space there is between these two battens. Stuff like that.
When I built my own workbench in 1999 (I still own it), I didn’t even consider adding an adhesive ruler to its front edge. Other woodworking benches didn’t have it. Why should mine?
Recently I decided to rectify that situation and added rulers to the two benches I use every day: my bench from “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” (a free pdf download) and the Nicholson bench from my first book on workbenches.
I immediately felt at home afterward. It’s incredibly convenient to have a tape right in front of you at all times. No need to grab a yardstick or pull out your tape measure. And it’s a quick, inexpensive upgrade. Here are some details.
There are lots of these stick-on tapes out there. I decided to use two that I had prior experience with when building jigs and fixtures. The Kreg KMS7724 12' Self-Adhesive Measuring Tape. And the Starrett Tape Measure Stix, 6' with metric and English markings.
Both are metal (steel), have sharp markings and are backed with a heavy-duty adhesive.
I installed each of them in a shallow rabbet that I cut with a rabbet plane on the front edge of the bench. The rabbet is just a hair deeper than the thickness of the tape. The rabbet protects the tape from getting pried up by objects on the bench. My grandfather didn’t install his tape in a rabbet like I did. And it still was going strong 20 years after his death. So I’m probably overdoing it here.
Both tapes are great. The differences between them are functional.
The Kreg is a narrow tape (1/2" wide) with sharp markings. Like a tape measure, the first 12" are marked down to 32nds. The rest is marked in 16ths. The height of the graduations is perfect, like you would want on a tape measure. The nice feature about the Kreg is that it is marked in consecutive inches (1" to 144") and also in feet-inches (2' 7"). The second scale is in red. You can ignore it or use it. The Kreg is 12' long and costs about $12 retail.
The Starrett is wider (3/4") and also has sharp markings with good graduations. The first 12" are marked down to 32nds, like the Kreg. The difference with the Starrett is that it also has a metric scale in millimeters below the inches. This is convenient if you have metric and American Standard Units coming through your shop. This tape acts like a translator between metric and ’Murican. The Starrett is 6' long and costs about $15 retail.
Both are great, and I think you’ll find that adding one is a useful improvement.
Great idea! I just realized that when I work at the Makerspace here, I use the measuring tape on the front of the SawStop tablesaw all the time. And recessing the tape in the edge of the bench makes lots of sense, too.
Chris, just wanted to say that I’m thoroughly enjoying these Never Sponsored posts. (Although my wallet seems to get a bit thinner almost every time I finish reading one!) So thank you for the excellent advice and for the par excellence writing!