Inside Measurements by Overlapping Tapes
Adding two tape readings that meet at a round number to read a wall-to-wall span exactly.
Find the Center of an Odd-Width Board by Angling the Tape
Technique: Centerlines From an Angled Tape
The Problem
Half of 11-1/2" is easy. Half of 11-7/16" is a mistake waiting to be marked. Centering anything on stock with an awkward width means fraction division at exactly the moment your hands are full.
The Technique
- Hook the tape on one edge of the board.
- Angle the tape across the face — up or down — until the far edge crosses an easily halved number. The demo board is 11-1/2" wide; the tape angles until the far edge reads 12.
- Mark at half that number — 6 — along the tape's angled line.
The mark is the true centerline. The video verifies it: measured straight, the mark sits 5-3/4" from each edge of the 11-1/2" board.
Pro tip: The angle costs nothing
because both halves of the tape tilt equally — any line crossing the
board reads proportionally, so half the angled number is half the true
width. The same move divides a board into thirds or fifths: angle to 15,
mark 5 and 10.
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