A Quick Lesson in Measurements — by Guest Dad John Spencer

As an apprentice on the job, one of the first things you learn is how to read a tape measure. For me, it was a bit easier to make a song out of it. I still remember the musical cadence I put with the fractions while singing it out loud over and over. And believe me, you are fortunate not to hear my pitch. The lyrics go like this,

One sixteenth, one eighth, three sixteenths, one quarter,

Five sixteenths, three eighths, seven sixteenths, one half.

Nine sixteenths, five eighths, eleven sixteenths, three quarters,

Thirteen sixteenths, Seven eighths, fifteen sixteenths, ONE!

For basic carpentry, we typically measure and cut everything in increments of a sixteenth inch. When cutting sheetrock or drywall, eighth of an inch increments are just fine.