Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Hand Tools). This thread is read-only.
The new Fatmax has a couple of cool features. In the other thread about tape measures (I think it was originally about the Milwaukee), one of my complaints about the DeWalt was that the blade tip was so wide, it was useless in windy conditions, especially if measuring vertically. The tip acts like a sail.
The new Fatmax has a huge tip, but it’s removable. It stores on the case so it’s right there if you want it but out of the way if you don’t. I guess you can add a magnetic tip too. Not sure if that’s included…?
It also has a feature similar to the Komelon, where the blade will stay extended in one mode until you depress the lock button. In the other mode, it operates as a normal tape.
I messed with it in Home Depot and the only reason I didn’t get it was I already have too many tapes. It’ll likely be the next one I buy then.
I wonder if they’d take the DeWalt back……………….
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Thanks for the heads up DamnYankee. I just did a Reno in my living room and I have a fat ax tape. It was and as of this time, the most lost item I have. I swear the thing has some freakin’ legs on it or my house is infested with Gremlins. So now thanks to you and your video off to HD after work to get this one. I have the last version of this tape but this one seems quite a bit nicer and still USA made.
Nice looking tape. I bought a slew of Kobalt tapes several years ago. They’ve held pretty good and I still have 2 25 footers I’ve managed not to loose.
I had a Kobalt 25 foot tape but for the life of me I cannot find it. I’m normally not this bad about misplacing things but these are my most frequently lost items in order,
1- Leatherman
2- Pencil
3- Straight Knife
4- Tape Measure
5- My Temper (which generally adds to lost items)
When I’m doing a project I leave a tape and a pencil at both the saw and the assembly point. I somehow still manage to not be able to find it.
Yeah I figure grab the above mentioned items for EACH side. Can’t go wrong then!
I have proven that theory wrong many times.
Conductor562 wrote:
When I’m doing a project I leave a tape and a pencil at both the saw and the assembly point. I somehow still manage to not be able to find it.
I do the same thing and still can’t find what i did with the tape or pencil. Best of all I end up taking my tape from one place to the other, not thinking. Now I have to at the saw, but looking all around that the assembly point. I need to invest in those gloves we had as a kid where they were attached to my sleeve and i couldn’t loose them. On one sleeve I can have my tape, the other I can have my pencil. Then on one leg I can have my square and the other my level. Then I can get one of those beer hats for my coffee. I would love to show up to a customers house dressed like this and tell them I am ready to work.
Eric J wrote:
I do the same thing and still can’t find what i did with the tape or pencil. Best of all I end up taking my tape from one place to the other, not thinking. Now I have to at the saw, but looking all around that the assembly point. I need to invest in those gloves we had as a kid where they were attached to my sleeve and i couldn’t loose them. On one sleeve I can have my tape, the other I can have my pencil. Then on one leg I can have my square and the other my level. Then I can get one of those beer hats for my coffee. I would love to show up to a customers house dressed like this and tell them I am ready to work.
Welcome to what I look like every day at my day job Eric! Hahahahaha
Eric J wrote:
I do the same thing and still can’t find what i did with the tape or pencil. Best of all I end up taking my tape from one place to the other, not thinking. Now I have to at the saw, but looking all around that the assembly point. I need to invest in those gloves we had as a kid where they were attached to my sleeve and i couldn’t loose them. On one sleeve I can have my tape, the other I can have my pencil. Then on one leg I can have my square and the other my level. Then I can get one of those beer hats for my coffee. I would love to show up to a customers house dressed like this and tell them I am ready to work.
You know we are now going to have to have Dan shoot a video of you dressed like that now. The mental visual was funny as hell. Too funny to pass up. I sweat they must put tiny worm holes in each Tape measure too keep us buying more of them. You would think with how many tape measures get lost all the time they would have taken over the world by now.
buying one
Eric J wrote:
I do the same thing and still can’t find what i did with the tape or pencil. Best of all I end up taking my tape from one place to the other, not thinking. Now I have to at the saw, but looking all around that the assembly point. I need to invest in those gloves we had as a kid where they were attached to my sleeve and i couldn’t loose them. On one sleeve I can have my tape, the other I can have my pencil. Then on one leg I can have my square and the other my level. Then I can get one of those beer hats for my coffee. I would love to show up to a customers house dressed like this and tell them I am ready to work.
I have two tapes and a pile of pencils in my tool belt a tape at the saw and by the end of the day I’m looking for my tape and pencil.
There has to be a better way. I think it’s a conspiracy. I think the tape measure people get together with the pencil people and send people to steal their tools back. That way they stay in business because we are always buying them.
That’s funny about those pencils. Always lose mine. One day I figured it might be cause they were round and rolled easily. Especially if laid beside my miter saw or anything else that vibrated. Bought a box of flat carpenter pencils, and it did help, some. The last one Iost, I looked forever to find it, and I did. Behind my ear.
Thanks for the post/pic on the tape measure. It looks like agood one.
I like it, I got to try it the other day I was at hd. If it was magnetic it would be my next tape.
So I bought the Milwaukee 25′ from CPO. It came with the new driver too for $24.99. Then I bought Milwaukee’s fast knife on eBay for $13 with shipping included! Much to my dismay with the tape measure, it’s made in China!!!! WTH?!?!?!?! Certainly a high quality tool but just to be fair I am buying this one (Fatmax) as it’s made in USA. I’ll keep one in my work car for measuring crashes and use the other in my workshop and on my belt. I’ll review the Milwaukee soon once I mess around with it,
Almost all Milwaukee tools are made in China. The hand tools have a lifetime guarantee honored at home depot. Also my local hd claims they will replace faulty Milwaukee batteries which I will believe it when I see it. With those kind of perks and high quality on top, it really doesn’t matter to me where it’s made. Honestly the only thing that would make me upset is if the quality went south.
I forgot to ask, how is that ecx 10 in 1 driver? I was going to get the tape measure and multi driver deal but would prefer the same deal but instead the ratcheting screwdriver. I’ll take my chances and waitChrisK wrote:
So I bought the Milwaukee 25′ from CPO. It came with the new driver too for $24.99. Then I bought Milwaukee’s fast knife on eBay for $13 with shipping included! Much to my dismay with the tape measure, it’s made in China!!!! WTH?!?!?!?! Certainly a high quality tool but just to be fair I am buying this one (Fatmax) as it’s made in USA. I’ll keep one in my work car for measuring crashes and use the other in my workshop and on my belt. I’ll review the Milwaukee soon once I mess around with it,
Javier wrote:
I forgot to ask, how is that ecx 10 in 1 driver? I was going to get the tape measure and multi driver deal but would prefer the same deal but instead the ratcheting screwdriver. I’ll take my chances and wait
Is the ecx the ratcheting one? If it is it’s been my go to screwdriver for anything I do around the house lately. I like how everything stores nice on the tool. It’s sucks they are made in China but the quality is really nice there are some design faults on the wire strippers the closer is plastic which sucks would rather have metal, but that’s a design issue not an issue with assembly I think we well see Milwaukee move some production here too on tools that are assembled with mostly automation. It’s nice to see the jobs come back here but they are doing it because of the high automation possible today in assembly work they are doing they only hire people to do jobs that robots can’t do yet. The jobs now are designing and maintaining the robots.
The ecx 10 in 1 screwdriver doesn’t ratchet. That was a sweet deal they had at cpo though.
Lol I think in the future the debate about coo will be which country has better robots.
Does any one watch those “how it’s made” shows? You would be surprised how much work if not all robots do
So DR99 and Javier (and anybody else who may care!), in a nutshell here is the lowdown on the driver. Firstly and unfortunately it doesn’t ratchet. The part number is 48-22-2101. The driver is solidly built but unfortunately is made in China and NOT here! I will say this is, as is my new tape measure, professionally made. The driver has a wire stripper in the grip and a loop maker in the drive shaft. The drive shaft has a solid and strong magnet which holds the 3-1/2″ long 1/4″ drive bits in place. There are seven drive bits including two ecx bits as well as a #2 square driver and 4 standard bits. Of course the drive shaft has the 1/4″ nut driver. My only gripe (other than Non USA made) is the fact that there are seven drivers and only six, through type, bit holders on the tool. No you obviously put the seventh one in the drive shaft but as you know, you pocket the tool you end up getting stabbed in the arse when you sit down on it. The bits are pretty solid but I’m not so sure id use them on an impact driver. All in all this was a great purchase from CPO and it was delivered within three days of purchase!
I am in love with the milwaukee tape. It has quit a few awesome features!
I would loose my head if it wasn’t attached!
I spent an hour looking for a tape measure, that was in my bag. And 2 days looking for a battery that was in a tool the whole time. Never going to get that back.sob
On side not I have 6 tape measures, never can have enough.
Heck, I have six spare pocket tapes (two 12′ and four 25′) tapes in my work duffle bag! LOL
My needs for a pocket tape are a little different… I need one that’s marked with an engineers scale (ie feet/tenths/hundredths) rather than fractions. A little harder to find outside of survey supply stores. HD used to carry my favorite (senior moment, I can’t remember the brand) but dropped it a couple of years ago.
I usually only have 2 of which 1 is a spare in case the first is busted.
Been very happy with using the 8m Fatmax Xtreme. The only problem I have with tape measures is working in wet conditions. The retracting mechanism seems to fail everytime the tape gets too wet. Letting it dry helps a few times but eventually you have to shove the tape back in and it won’t retract fully. At this point I throw them away.
They really should make a tape measure that solves this problem. A bit of rain doesn’t hold me back from work, but the tools…
I nthink I have about 5or5 also I have like 2 in the house from harbor freight :/ and one husky and the rest Milwaukee cus I love those tape measures
BK13 wrote:
Heck, I have six spare pocket tapes (two 12′ and four 25′) tapes in my work duffle bag! LOL
My needs for a pocket tape are a little different… I need one that’s marked with an engineers scale (ie feet/tenths/hundredths) rather than fractions. A little harder to find outside of survey supply stores. HD used to carry my favorite (senior moment, I can’t remember the brand) but dropped it a couple of years ago.
It’s Lufkin. And they do stand up to a little rain.
I have a dewalt, which is my favorite, a fatmax and couple of no name
I love tape measurers hahaha, and have a bunch of them, fat max is my favorite though.
got to say out of all the tapes I’ve had Milwaukee takes the cake…..
If you guys havent already, check out fastcaps tape measures. I got myself one and my dad one and they are very cool and add a lot of feature and are cheaper than most that have been listed here. Ill always have fast caps no matter what. Theres so many options that you can have, you can order everything you wold need in a tape. Granted they are geared towards woodworking but i use mine for everything. Ill probably pick up a few more just for the options. Menards has them in stock too if you have one of those near you
fastcap.com
They do make some unique tapes and at good prices.. I have a few, a metric/imperial combo, their 16’flatback and standard 25′
I’ve got two fastcaps, one imperial and one flat metric that does a great job at layout. I really like my Milwaukee but despise the fact that it was made in China. I also have my American made fat Max that I absolutely love. Wish it had a magnet like my Milwaukee.
I haven’t seen these I gotta checkem out I curently use milwaukee and fatmax and really like them both.
Fastcaps are really small and have a pretty cool belt clip feature. Not much for standout. Really nice tapes for fine work though. Also have a pencil sharpener built in and a erase able surface for jotting down measurements too