My Shop Assistant (who now merits a Proper Name) returned a fairly new measuring tape to the Basement Laboratory, reporting that the retracting crank handle fell off in “normal use”.
Admittedly, this was a surplus find, but you’d think the build quality would be a bit higher. I’m sure I paid a minute fraction of list price: you could have bought it for much more in a reputable store.
Maybe this is why the whole lot got scrapped out:
I applied a bit of JB Industro Weld to the plastic (?) threads on the spool, twisted the handle in place, squared it up, then eased more epoxy around the top of the threads and let it cure flat on the bench.
I’d say the original design wasn’t particularly good and the implementation left a lot to be desired. If the interior fittings have similar flaws, I’ll eventually regret applying JB Weld in such a cavalier manner…
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 