Is a cinder block actually 8 by 8 by 16 inches?

Masonry
Accuracy

A standard CMU is nominally 8 by 8 by 16 and actually 7 5/8 by 7 5/8 by 15 5/8, because the missing 3/8 is the mortar joint. Coursing only works if that assumption holds for the pallet in front of you. The T1M Utility reads the unit and the joint with a green line on the face, so a course-height check takes seconds and the number goes into a list rather than into your head. Ten courses of a wrong assumption is three inches of elevation.

How the block measures up

Nominal 16 inches is really 15 5/8
The missing 3/8 is the mortar joint
T1M reads the face with a laser line
Coursing depends on the assumption
T1M puts the check into a list

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The video is a quick verification on a pair of blocks on a bench: the tape reads across the face of one unit with the green laser line on it, then across the gap between two set side by side. Short and unglamorous, and exactly the check that keeps a wall on its coursing.