

Starrett is a decent brand for tape measures!
I work in a calibration lab and we see a fair amount of tape measures come in. It consists of us using a high accuracy machine to measure the incriments. I have a Harbor Freight tape that is super accurate somehow. Lol.
You can also use a combination of Gage blocks that measure 6" to make sure that when you push/pull the tape, that it measures the same. When you do the pull part, hang it from the blocks. The push parts require something to butt the block and tape end up against to make sure they are square (like another block or something straight).
On a side note, I love your show. I’m a huge fan.