The Johnson Levelย 1812-0025ย Stud-Squared is the love-child offspring between a tapeย measure and a square. The general idea is that you can use the tapeย to both measure and mark a straight line on dimensional lumber withย relative ease. No more making your mark and then looking for a squareย or straight edge to complete the perpendicular cutting line. Withoutย even having to extend the marking ruler, you can scribe across aย regular 2ร4 since it shares the same width.
Johnson Level 1812-0025 Stud-Squared Features
The Johnson Level 1812-0025 Stud-Squared arrived in a clear plastic package with a paper insert that visually explains its intended uses. The tape measure caseย is black and made of what appears to be ABS plastic but, in order toย keep its size constrained as designed, it lacks any rubberโย overmold for extra cushion or grip. Case dimensions of this tapeย measure are 1-1/2โณ wide by 3โณ tall and 3-1/2โณย long which are measurements that should sound familiar to anyone whoย has done any framing, since they relate to the size of common framingย materials used to build virtually any structure.
Unlike traditional tape, each corner of this tapeโs case is square, and three different sides of the Stud-Squared have a 1/8โณ lip. When the case is placed with the lip tight to the edge of a board, the edge of the case creates a 90-degree straight edge.
Oneย of the most noticeable things about the Stud-Squared (besides theย unusual squareness of the case) is the two yellow sliding ruleย extensions that make drawing precise layout lines an easy task โ evenย on wider materials. Both of the sliding rule extensions are made ofย ABS plastic and each have 3โณ-longย scales with 1/16โณย graduations marked in black for easy reading. With the sliding rulesย are extended, a straight edge can be drawn on boards up to 12 inchesย wide by doing one half of the board at a time. The sliding rule extensions stay very square to the case thanks to a dovetail guide built into the case and the back of the extensions, which decreases any side-to-side movement.
The blade is 25 feet long by 1 inchย wide and has a durable, corrosion-resistant nylon coating for longย life. Thanks to the extra large numbers, reading the blade should be easy even in dim lighting conditions. Every sixteen inches on the blade is marked in red to make marking stud spacing easy, and there are 1/16-inch graduations along the blade for preciseย measurements. There are also handy centering V-notches on the lip ofย two sides of the case that correspond with single and double framingย members.
The blade lock on the Stud-Squared has small ridges moldedย into it to keep the userโs thumb from slipping. When pushed down, itย snaps into place and holds the blade securely. This tape also has aย nice feature that allows the user to draw an accurate radius byย securing the dumb end of the blade with a small nail through a holeย on the one-inch line on the blade. Then, you can simply extend theย blade to whatever length is needed, lock it, and place the tip of aย pencil in the off-center V-notch on the side of the case.
Johnson Level 1812-0025 Testing and Use
After using the Johnson Level 1812-0025ย Stud-Squared tape for several weeks, we found it works great for doingย small framing projects. When first looking over the Stud-Squared, itย seemed like it would not fit well in my hand or handle well becauseย of its shape, but we were pleasantly surprised. By placing my thumb on the lock, my pinky on the back of the tape, and my three middle fingers on the bottom of the tape, it was actually quite comfortable to use. One thing that was somewhat of a nuisance was that, whenย engaging or disengaging the blade-lock, the sliding rule extension onย the right side of the tapeโs case would extend because the palm of myย hand was resting against it.
The tape sped up the process ofย marking studs when doing projects because we could measure and then use the side of the tapeโs case as our square. Even when measuring lumber alone, it wasnโt too difficult because it has a 7-foot unsupported blade standout, and the end hook catches pretty well to the ends of lumber. We were slightly disappointed thatย there isnโt a clip to allow the tape to be carried without a pouch.ย Also, one thing to be aware of is that since there isnโt any rubberย over-mold on the case, in the event of a drop, there is nothing toย cushion the fall.
The blade retraction works very well even if the bladeย is extended to the full length. When measuring the length of a house, we were slightly surprised when we got to the end of the bladeโs 25ft range and, instead of stopping when we pulled on it lightly, it keptย coming out until about 6 inches of the bladeโs retracting spring wasย showing. Thankfully, the blade went back in fine and still worksย great, but the next time we were more careful on how far we pulled itย out.
Conclusion
Theย Johnson Level 1812-0025 Stud-Squared turned out to be a good tool forย laying out small framing projects in a shorter amount of time thanย just using a standard tape, especially when working with 2x4s. Also,ย it eliminates purchasing and carrying two tools since you get aย square and tape all in one. For someone who is doing a lot of framing or layout work, we think that some of Johnson Levelโs more traditional power tapes might serve you better. For Our Performanceย rating, we gave this tool a 6/10 since it worked great for smallerย projects but lacked the ruggedness for heavy use. For our Value score,ย this tape measure earned an 8/10, as you get a very versatile tool forย a minimal price.
