How Would You Survive Without Your Pipe Diameter Tape Measure?

A New Use for a Pipe Diameter Tape Measure
A New Use for a Pipe Diameter Tape Measure

Your pipe diameter tape measure is probably the most valuable and simplest tool in your toolbox. It will tell you the outside diameter of a pipeline (or your arm) when you wrap it around the circumference. What if you lost your pipe tape? How would you measure the diameter of a pipe or any round object?

  • Use a regular tape measure, if it is flexible enough to wrap around the pipe. A carpenter’s tape is made to stay stiff, so it won’t work in this case. Since the end hook won’t let you lay the zero mark against the pipe, you would have to start at the 1 or 2 inch mark. Read the circumference and divide by 3.14159. That’s a lot of trouble.
  • Use an expensive caliper, transfer the reading to a measuring tape, perhaps, then divide by pi. That’s a clumsy way of doing it.
  • Get a real expensive micrometer. Since they have a narrow range of measuring (1 inch), it would have to be a certain size to begin with. Then measure the diameter directly. Reading the markings on a micrometer is not the easiest thing to do. You have to read the shaft measurement, then add the tumbler measurement to it.

So, hang on to your pipe diameter tape measure and it will save you a lot of trouble.

3 Mysteries of the Diameter Tape Measure

Mysteries of the Diameter Tape Measure
Mysteries of the Diameter Tape Measure

The diameter tape measure easily figures the diameter of a pipe or pipeline. All you have to do is wrap it around the pipe, and read off the diameter. Here are its mysteries..

    1. Why is the “zero” mark not at the beginning of the tape? It is a couple inches away from the beginning of the tape.
    2. Why does the end of the tape have a “loop” instead of a “hook”?
    3. Why are some calibrated in 100ths of an inch, and some in 64ths of an inch, and some in millimeters?

     

ANSWERS:

  1. By having the zero mark away from the beginning of the tape, you can easily line up the other part of the tape to the zero mark.
  2. Since zero is not at the end of the tape, there is no need to have a hook there. What is helpful, is to have a metal loop to hold onto, when wrapping the tape around the pipe.
  3. Different strokes for different folks. Automotive repair people prefer the 64ths of an inch calibration. Oilfield people prefer the 100ths of an inch version. And of course, some people use the metric system of measurement.

 

5 Misunderstood Facts About Tally Books

Pipe Tally Books are normally used by workers in oilfields. They keep track of the

Tally Books in the Field
Using Tally Books in the Field

exact time that a section of pipe is attached to the drilling rig. Also they record the length and diameter of the pipe. These drilling workers need a heavy duty book that can easily fit into their pocket. That’s a short history of tally books. But here are some things you might not have known about these special books:

  1. Anyone who works outdoors and needs to keep records, can use a tally book. Other users are foresters, wind energy inspectors, handymen, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and waterworks people.
  2. The pages are sewn in, for durability. A little ring binder wouldn’t be as durable.
  3. A new option for the pages is the sewn water-resistant Stone Pad. If you try to tear a sheet, it just stretches a little. You can’t tear it.
  4. The cover is made of high grade vinyl, which comes in colors to coordinate with your company logo. This gives the book a high resistance to rain and abrasion.
  5. Got a favorite pen or pencil? Since these books are custom made, they can have a pen loop built into them.

The Pick-Me-Up You Need for Your Company

Coffee GIF by 100% Soft - Find & Share on GIPHY

 

On Sunday September 29 you will wake up thinking it is just an ordinary day. But, in fact, it is not. It is the one day a year where coffee-lovers nationwide get to raise their travel tumblers in celebration of National Coffee Day.
Whether you like it iced, skim, half-caff, or just black, the one thing we can all agree on is that you need a proper insulated beverage bottle in which to drink your favorite coffee.
What better way to reward your employees than with any of these laser-engraved travel tumblers. It could be just the pick-me-up they need to get through the day.

Thermos Stainless King Travel Tumbler
Kona Vacuum Tumbler
Thermos 40oz Vacuum Insulated Beverage Bottle
Thermos Direct Drink Tumbler

The Next Big Announcement From Maglite Flashlights

Anthony Maglica
Anthony Maglica

Anthony Maglica is the genius businessman and inventor of Maglite Flashlights. He has taken Maglite® from its beginnings in 1979 to a major USA-made manufacturer of superior torches. From the first D-cell flashlight, he developed the AA Mini Maglite®, then the AAA Mini Maglite® in 1987. What is his next big announcement?

  1. He is coming out with a rechargeable one that will take an 80% charge in only 1/2 hour.
  2. Also Anthony is releasing a new 4D cell flashlight that can last as long as 18 days, without turning it off.

Watch for these two new Maglite Flashlights in the coming weeks, maybe in time for Christmas.