Measuring Diagonals, Again

I talked about how to do this before, but this tip is even easier than the last one.

The last step to assembling a case is to make sure it's square. And the quickest way to do this is to measure diagonally from corner to corner. (If it's square these measurements will be the same. If not, you'll need to make some adjustments.) Using a tape measure is an easy way to check for square. The problem is that keeping the end of the tape on the corners can be difficult. But, as Woodsmith's Ted Raife shows us, a quick modification to the hook of the tape solves this problem.
To do this, simply cut a small slot on the hook with a rotary tool (or hack saw), see the drawing above right.
The slot slips over the point of the corner of the case, see the drawing and detail at right. The slot holds the tape in place for those large projects where an extra set of hands would be a big help. And it doesn't effect the tape measure's accuracy when I use it for other projects.

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