Retractable steel measuring tape
Cinta métrica de acero enrollable
- Date
- 1829-1868 · confidence low
- Place
- Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- James Chesterman; Alvin J. Fellows
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A flexible graduated steel tape that coils inside a case. Chesterman patented the coiled steel tape in Sheffield in 1829, and Alvin Fellows (New Haven) added the spring return in 1868, producing the modern tape measure.
There are two milestones: the coiled steel tape (Chesterman, 1829) and the spring return (Fellows, 1868); they are presented together here. Measured cloth tapes existed earlier.
What it led to
- quick, single-person long measurements on site
- the pocket tape of masons and carpenters
- a construction standard until laser measures