Fastcap Square ‘n’ Tape – Eat Your Heart Out Swiss Army Knife

Often in life it seems that when two items are paired together it just doesn’t seem quite right; like the spork, peanut butter and jelly in the same jar, rabbits and eggs, LiLo and reality, and a measuring tape glued to a small square. Happily I can report that at least the latter works very well! I got the square ‘n’ tape in the mail and my initial thought was wow this thing is really pretty bulky. I was pleasantly surprised to find it actually fit in my tool belt. The next pleasant surprise involved the tape measure itself. The tape has a nice smooth return, clear numbering, and a double locking mechanism which allows you to lock the tape from top or bottom.

However, the square ‘n’ tape  isn’t just another pretty face in the tool world; it has real functionality and use in the world of construction.  For basic layout and marking, the square ‘n’ tape does a great job of replacing your tape and larger speed square. It definitely saves time and cuts down on the number of tools to keep track of. In previous layout events, I’ve been known to place my tape measure in any pocket I can find or somewhere near the sawhorse I’m working from, only to forget where I laid it while I transferred or continued lines.  Having them both in my hand at the same time really sped up the layout of the railing I built in the side pictures. Plus, the square has a notch for you to scribe a line at exactly 1 ½” and 3 ½” which would allow you to cut a 2” x 2” or 2” x 4” out of larger stock. It also has notches to mark 45° and 22.5° which makes it easy to mark miters and octagonal cuts.

The only thing the square ‘n’ tape will not do that a standard speed square will do is rafter layout. It simply is not big enough or notched enough to mark pitch or bird mouth notches. Otherwise, the square ‘n’ tape  is a great replacement for those who do a lot of layouts or a lot of cutting. It gets four big hammers up!

The Fastcap Square N Tape with 25 Ft Tape Measure is available at Amazon for about $14.