What to dowith a buggered tape

Mary is very good at destroying tapes, she catches them on and in things, how about this for an old tape?

I'll cop for this one, I left it out in the rain! Now the spring doesn't work.

The rest of the tape is going on the other side of the old ping pong table, this room used to be very dark, a combination of trees and a small window, the new window has transformed it.

When I saw the header, I thought audio or VCR?
In the UK, we can buy replacement springs - AND replacement measures, so the old bodyshell can become a grandpa's broom!
Alternately, use your engineering skills, and make a hand-powered reel for the tape!
Obviously I don't know about South Africa, but wouldn't have thought an outright replacement wouldn't cost THAT much!

It's a throw away society here, normally someone decides they have more right to it that you do and carries it away. When it's buggered they throw it away because it cost them nothing!

To my way of working a tape/ruler can only be considered scrap when you can't read the numbers.

It doesn't retract properly and is at least 20 years old but still plenty of life in it!

Lucky that you can still get them with inches on, it's been illegal to sell them here for at least 40years (it's how the Apartheid regime did things!)

Klippy put - someone decides they have more right to it that you do
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Then the solution is obvious - go and 'borrow' one from someone else who doesn't need it as much! [badass]

Better still, change the door for an actual ships hatch. That may deter anyone breaking in to 'borrow' your tape measure & solve the shrinkage problem, killing two birds with one stone.

It might be a bit heavy for Tony's mud and straw hut, though! [badass]

We're talking about me here, I come from a country that's naturally law abiding, it's the way my Mother put my hat on, in Africa that's not the case. When a person is employed, they consider that part of their remuneration is what they can walk out the door with! When caught there's no shame, just a shy smile. Someone once said to me, when you find out what your workers are stealing, say nothing, because if you do, then you don't know what they're stealing!

Eric said "wouldn't have thought an outright replacement wouldn't cost THAT much! " A Stanley about 15quid, Chinese less than a fiver! Translated R285 or R100