Festool Tape Measure 495415

[White]

Is the little black plastic Festool tape measure #495415 still being made and sold? 

Every online Festool outlet I've been to now does not carry this item.  The only place that sells it is Amazon for a whopping $49.  Woodcraft online shows it is out of stock and shows no price.  I've heard that there were quality issues with the blade was not retracting all the time, the bottom door for the circle trammel point was dropping open by itself and the clear plastic window to get readings from on top of the tape body would sometimes pop out.

Does anybody know if Festool has discontinued its sale or has removed it from the market until the design issues are addressed?

Thanks.

 

[wpz]

I believe they were made by BMI for festool, so you can find the same one from BMI:
https://www.bmi.de/en/products-pocket-tapes-405-viso.php

different colour, but the same technically and probably a lot cheaper.

Hope this helps,
wpz

 

[mrboult]

Had two of these (only for about £9 mind you) and like them. The only issue mine had that you mentioned is the slow/poor retractability. I've gotten used to that issue and it's doesn't really bother me. There is a youtube video telling you how to remedy this issue but that's how I 'lost' my first one oops.

 

[bkharman]

Is the little black plastic Festool tape measure #495415 still being made and sold? 

Every online Festool outlet I've been to now does not carry this item.  The only place that sells it is Amazon for a whopping $49.  Woodcraft online shows it is out of stock and shows no price.  I've heard that there were quality issues with the blade was not retracting all the time, the bottom door for the circle trammel point was dropping open by itself and the clear plastic window to get readings from on top of the tape body would sometimes pop out.

Does anybody know if Festool has discontinued its sale or has removed it from the market until the design issues are addressed?

Thanks.

I have a barely used one I bought in 2014. Happy to part with it. I prefer my Hultafors Talmeter.

Let me know if you are interested.

Cheers. Bryan.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sancho57]

I have a few of them. Thing is their cheap drop one and wont retract. Did that 2ce. One I had to throw away the other still works but have to hand feed the tape back into its body.

I did notice FT is selling a new one little more beefy looking. We dont have them here yet that I know of

 

[White]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your insightful replies.  I'll be looking into the BMI and the Hultafors

 

[aloysius]

Not sure if you have 'em locally, but I've found those inside/outside measures (that will accurately direct-read internal measurements too like doorway widths without any mental arithmetic) extremely useful.  Mine are Lufkins. Shorter, fatter ones work best for me:  6m x 25mm.

I'm sure you'd have an indigenous equivalent.

 

[FestitaMakool]

I have 4 of the Festool, one isn’t very interested to retract fully. Even after dismantling and later a lot of #§@ before finally coming together in a better state - No! It wouldn’t.. I’ll try light oiling at the edges before it just gonna be the one that won’t..

But yes, BMI is the manufacturer maybe they are better? I’ve noticed that a couple of mine has smudged lettering - Not especially reassuring.
Good thing, they’re smart and very compact and therefore easily lives in a pocket.

I’ve noticed this newcomer which I think is interesting, as it’s light, compact and it concave the “right way” for marking:
I might order a couple to test.
https://www.bmi.de/videos/de/bmimeter.mp4

I also have two very old (25 Yrs) Lufkin tapes. One 2m and one 3m. They still work and look almost as new. They just have that quality feel to them, professional.

 

[bertv]

I’ve noticed this newcomer which I think is interesting, as it’s light, compact and it concave the “right way” for marking:
I might order a couple to test.

https://www.bmi.de/videos/de/bmimeter.mp4

Have one of those — hardly use it. But it DOES impress people when you are on location to measure stuff and you pull it out of your pocket!
The BMI that is identical to the FS is very good. A bit fiddly sometimes. Even though there is some instructional video or document out there about how to do it — do NOT take it apart to 'fix' it. It’s a bitch to put it back together.

 

[wpz]

In Europe tape measures are available in 3 different accuracy classes:

max deviation in mm at full length:

Length class I class II class III

2 meter 0,30         0,70         1,40
3 meter 0,40         0,90         1,80
5 meter 0,60         1,30         2,60
8 meter 0,90         1,90         3,80
10 meter 1,10         2,30         4,60

A common 2m folding ruler like the Festool one pictured below is almost always class III and thus could be off by 1,4mm which is quite a lot if you are making furniture.
View attachment 1

The Festool tape measure 495415 that the OP is asking about is a class II and thus might be off by only 0,7mm at 2m and only 0,9mm at 3m, or twice as accurate as that folding ruler.

I really like my Hultafors tape measure (https://www.hultafors.com/products/tape_measures/H0030-short-tape-steel-pr/80312) which is a class I and thus might be off by 0,3mm at 2m and 0,4mm at 3m or a little more than twice as accurate as class 2.
View attachment 2

Off course as long as you use only one and the same tape measure on one project to do all the measuring and marking, it really does not matter much how accurate it is, because you will always make the same relative mistake. But as soon as you use something else (e.g. scale on your table saw, parallel guides, square, etc...) you might get errors that throw your project out of whack.
Class 2 is probably good enough in most cases, after all wood also moves quite a bit in certain directions (up to 10% I believe) by variations in humidity and temperature.

The price difference between the classes is actually not that big I found, but the choice of different models is not as big in class I tape measures as it is in class II.
I personally own a 3m and 5m Hultafors, a 5m Sola and a 5m from axminster which has metric and inch/foot/donkey tail? (or whatever weirdo fractions you Americans came up with [big grin] ) markings. All are class I

I use the 3m the most.

wpz

 

[jeffinsgf]

.... I prefer my Hultafors Talmeter....

Cheers. Bryan.

I'll second that. I wanted a metric tape with just metric and I ordered one of these from England. Truly stunning tape measure. The only thing that takes a little getting used to is that the lock is engaged until you press the button...backwards from what we're used to.

 

[bertv]

The one thing I dislike about the Talmeter is the prickly end. I have thin skin...

 

[Roseland]

There is a trend for companies that have built a great reputation to rebrand third party products and charge an unjustified premium price.

The Festool BMI tape measure is just such an example, and it is truly dreadful.  I can echo the comments about it not retracting and being a nightmare to reassemble. 

But even less forgivable is that the markings are not evenly spaced.  For instance the distance between 515mm and 516m is twice that of the distance between 516mm and 517mm.  It doesn't claim to be either Class I or II, and I can see why.

I now use a Fisco Class I tape, and I love it.  The only downside to the Fisco rule is that I now have to accept that any inaccuracies in marking are of my making, and I can't blame the tape.

Shame on Festool for putting their name to the BMI rubbish.

Andrew

 

[Df1k1]

I looked at the Festool on Amazon. Wow.
I’ll stick to Fastcap. Makes a metric, imperial and a combination.  Love them. Haven’t had one break yet but if they do cheap enough to throw away

 

[RJNeal]

For a metric only tape , I went with a L S Starrett.
They have light weight one and a heavy duty one. I went with the HD style.
I would buy again.

 

[jcrowe1950]

Is the little black plastic Festool tape measure #495415 still being made and sold? 

Every online Festool outlet I've been to now does not carry this item.  The only place that sells it is Amazon for a whopping $49.  Woodcraft online shows it is out of stock and shows no price.  I've heard that there were quality issues with the blade was not retracting all the time, the bottom door for the circle trammel point was dropping open by itself and the clear plastic window to get readings from on top of the tape body would sometimes pop out.

Does anybody know if Festool has discontinued its sale or has removed it from the market until the design issues are addressed?

Thanks.

  The Festool version has been discontinued, at least in NA. We stocked them for a few months and then after I sold the last one, the next purchase order showed it as discontinued. I really like mine but it was pretty pricy. I have not dropped it but I do like the feature of allowing inside measurements with the window. I have used the tape to measure cabinet sides for the LR 32 system and the results have been accurate enough that the stops on the holy rail were perfectly snug. The arc drawing feature is interesting....not sure how accurate that is.

 

[casper]

Off course as long as you use only one and the same tape measure on one project to do all the measuring and marking, it really does not matter much how accurate it is, because you will always make the same relative mistake. But as soon as you use something else (e.g. scale on your table saw, parallel guides, square, etc...) you might get errors that throw your project out of whack.

A very valid point missed by so many people. I have had made a calibration stick that reads the same as my BMI tape and steel rules and all my fences in the workshop are all set to that to avoid discrepencies between measuring and cutting. This also cuts out a lot of trial cutting as well which is a big time saver.