Gauge to inches; Which is right??

[beppington]

So ... If you had ordered the same thing I did from metalsdepot.com (stock # T111214 "1-1/2 X 1-1/2 X 14 GA (.083 wall)" from this page of theirs), would you be disappointed or not when it showed up closer to (or right at) 0.069" thick? (I don't have a super accurate way to measure it handy).

(Fortunately in this case .069" thick metal instead of .083" will still work for me, since it's not structurally critical)

 

[SandburRanch]

So ... If you had ordered the same thing I did from metalsdepot.com (stock # T111214 "1-1/2 X 1-1/2 X 14 GA (.083 wall)" from this page of theirs), would you be disappointed or not when it showed up closer to (or right at) 0.069" thick? (I don't have a super accurate way to measure it handy).

(Fortunately in this case .069" thick metal instead of .083" will still work for me, since it's not structurally critical)

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Maybe not super accurate but you can get PDC (pretty dam close) with a relatively flat surface, a set of feeler gauges and a straight edge.

 

[beppington]

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Maybe not super accurate but you can get PDC (pretty dam close) with a relatively flat surface, a set of feeler gauges and a straight edge.

I have very good eyesight & an engineer's scale, & I measure it to be about .072" thick. This stated .083" metal is definitely not even .08" thick, & is much closer to .07" thick.

I'm gonna see if I can get ahold of a caliper or micrometer.

 

[SPYDERLK]

So ... If you had ordered the same thing I did from metalsdepot.com (stock # T111214 "1-1/2 X 1-1/2 X 14 GA (.083 wall)" from this page of theirs), would you be disappointed or not when it showed up closer to (or right at) 0.069" thick? (I don't have a super accurate way to measure it handy).

(Fortunately in this case .069" thick metal instead of .083" will still work for me, since it's not structurally critical)

I would insist that they send me the 14GA. According to their chart they sent you the 16Ga.:thumbdown:
larry

 

[rjmack]

Quote:
Originally Posted by beppington View Post
So ... If you had ordered the same thing I did from metalsdepot.com (stock # T111214 "1-1/2 X 1-1/2 X 14 GA (.083 wall)" from this page of theirs), would you be disappointed or not when it showed up closer to (or right at) 0.069" thick? (I don't have a super accurate way to measure it handy).

(Fortunately in this case .069" thick metal instead of .083" will still work for me, since it's not structurally critical)
I would insist that they send me the 14GA. According to their chart they sent you the 16Ga.
larry

that's why you order it by decimal wall thickness.:confused2:

 

[mjncad]

All good points Gary, that's why I wish America would have adopted the metric system long before our industries were saddled with the crap system we use to this day. At least the auto industry retooled on their own; though I have no idea how long it took for the changeover to occur.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I had a 83 Olds Toronado that I had to change the waterpump on. Every bolt holding that thing on was a different length and half of them were metric and half were SAE. That was true of everything on that car. Darndest thing I have every seen. OF COURSE I didnt mark where they came out of as I was removing them and took me all day to get the new one back on what with constantly having to change sockets from SAE to Metric and screw every one in at least twice in some really tight places. Wish I had had my air rachet back then.

Now in addition to my LS, I also have a Graymarket Yanmar with FEL and all the hoses are USA type fittings but all the bolts holding it on are metric

 

[mjncad]

That Toronado sounds like an old Rambler where they did the same thing with SAE fasteners. It was like they designed the car around how many boxes of this, that, and the other thing they had lying around.

 

[brandoro]

How I wish America would have went metric when the rest of the industrialized world did.

I hate our system of measurement.

I'm with you on that. Canada has been "going metric" nearly as long as I can remember, a few decades now but, we won't really be metric until the US of A goes metric. So much stuff on vehicles is mixed that I'm never really sure if I should grab the metric wrenches or the inch ones. One thing I have discovered is that on fasteners in good condition I can use the metric wrenches and have a pretty good fit in most cases. Another thing I have found is that on a lot of "metric" blueprints the measurements work out exactly to inch dimensions. So the drawing was created in inch then metrified to satisfy the terms of the contract. All of my tape measures have inch on one edge and metric on the other. I call them 'bilingual' tape measures. I can work with both but find metric far easier to calculate.

 

[rjmack]

All of my tape measures have inch on one edge and metric on the other. I call them 'bilingual' tape measures. I can work with both but find metric far easier to calculate.

they aren't all like that... in particular, the ones at my place.:laughing:

you can still get tapes that have consistent measures on both sides, metric or standard.

structural steel still sold in imperial far as i know.

one thing i noticed from free trade, instead of imperial gallon of paint, we now get u.s. gallons 4/5... same price or higher. same thing in quart size, went to liter, then to u.s. quart. quantity goes down, price goes up. we were assured this wouldn't happen... people who made the promises long gone, took the guarrantee with them.