ToolGuyd: The QuickDraw is a 25′ tape measure with self-marking feature for quick and easy layout work. It uses a steel roller wheel to transfer graphite pencil marks to your workpiece.
Each graphite cartridge can be used to make up to 1000 pencil marks, and refills are available. The cartridges look to be 0.9mm pencil lead refills, and so you might be able to buy them separately. The company says they’re “4D” graphite refills, but you can probably get away with HB refills or whatever you can find for cheap.
4 comments:
This is so cool and innovative! I’m not sure If i would ever want to spend $20 on a tape measure, but I can give some pretty good reasons why I would buy this one.
1) No need to carry a pencil or sharpie or worry about someone taking yours, because your marking tool and your measuring tool are all in one
2) It’s super easy to refill, and leads are cheaper than pencils
3) It’s really, really cool
However, I do have some worries and concerns about it. Much like where exactly does it draw the line in relation to where the number lands in relation to the head of the tape measure? What if in the process of rolling the line, you slip and don’t notice and are now of by an 1/8 of an inch? Also, in theory, you are drawing a small arc and not a straight line when using this tape measure, so how do you determine where to cut on a curved line? This tape measure is super awesome, but I am worried about the many faults the article does not cover.
This tape measure is a great idea and I am surprised that no one came up with this before. It is always a problem when you need to mark a length with a tape measure. First there is the struggle to find a pencil in the shop, which there never is. It is also difficult to get an accurate line while holding the tape measure with one hand and keeping it in place and drawing a line in the exact spot to get an accurate measurement. If you need to hold the tape measure in the air, it is even more difficult to mark a line with your other hand because you need two hands to hold up the tape measure. Having the pencil built in makes measuring so much easier. It takes away one extra hand needed to do the marking. When building something alone, this will be a very useful tool.
I’m always hesitant to talk about new tools that come out but this one seems really innovative and useful. The idea of being able to use a tape measure with one hand is a great one that I’m surprised wasn’t integrated before this. After taking the carpentry stagecraft with DR, I’ve gotten used to the idea of the tape measure being a truly useful tool that is a lot more versatile than you might think, but this innovation is by far one of the best. By putting the marking tool directly on the tape measure you can ensure the perfect measurement because you don’t have to move your hands and risk messing up the measurement on long runs. Despite this I’m still a little concerned about the accuracy of the mark since you have to move the tape measure back and forth to make a mark. This really marks in a small arc, which could through off the measurement if you cut at the wrong point along the arc. And then there’s also the price point; is it worth $20 to be able to mark distances slightly faster? Maybe it is for a TD who will get a ton of use out of the thing but not necessarily for everyone.
I’m always hesitant to talk about new tools that come out but this one seems really innovative and useful. The idea of being able to use a tape measure with one hand is a great one that I’m surprised wasn’t integrated before this. After taking the carpentry stagecraft with DR, I’ve gotten used to the idea of the tape measure being a truly useful tool that is a lot more versatile than you might think, but this innovation is by far one of the best. By putting the marking tool directly on the tape measure you can ensure the perfect measurement because you don’t have to move your hands and risk messing up the measurement on long runs. Despite this I’m still a little concerned about the accuracy of the mark since you have to move the tape measure back and forth to make a mark. This really marks in a small arc, which could through off the measurement if you cut at the wrong point along the arc. And then there’s also the price point; is it worth $20 to be able to mark distances slightly faster? Maybe it is for a TD who will get a ton of use out of the thing but not necessarily for everyone.
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