Inch vs metric

JoeR · Apr 13, 2006

"But all in all metric is the simplest and best system, and on that I wont give one inch"

That is funny! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Joe

rox · Apr 15, 2006

Tom,

Other societies have made the transition, look at the responses ehre form England and Norway. I moved to France and I'm catching on. Yeah jsut one generation, that is all it would take.
Look at he Europeans converting their currency to Euros, they changed. I would support going metric in the USA, just bit the bullet and do it. I figure if all these countries can convert theri currency and they didn'g fall down on their knees, the USA can convert to metric.

It is so much easier for me to grab a #4 wrench or a #7 wrench than all the 3/16th" wrenchs in the American toolbox.

I would be willing to make the sacraice so the next generation Americans can have it easier using the metric.

Av8r3400 · Apr 15, 2006

Being an engineer and CNC machine programmer, we run all of our equipment in "inch" mode whch (internally) converts to metric to run the programs.

All of out drawings are in inch and some have the metric in brackets. In manufacturing (other than the auto industry) we are still inch and probably won't change soon.

If we'd switch, I'd adapt, but I am happy not to. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

PitbullMidwest · Apr 17, 2006

( It is so much easier for me to grab a #4 wrench or a #7 wrench than all the 3/16th" wrenchs in the American toolbox )

I must be slow, why is it easier to pick up a metric wrench than a US standard wrench? There is only one 3/16th size wrench just as there is only one #4 size metric wrench.

hwp · Apr 17, 2006

Further to the discussion on metric, or more precisely System International (SI), there are two scales I would like to see changed. The first is time. A day is a natural phenomenon so why don't we use it as the basis of our time standard and have decidays, centidays, millidays, etc.? Similarily a circle has 2 pi radians, another natural phenomenon. So why don't we measure angles in radians, deciradians, centiradians, milliradinas, etc.? It seems to me that these would make life a lot simpler than the current scales. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

flwiii · Apr 17, 2006

I'm sorry, I'll just stick to my cresent wrench. It's infinitely adjustable within its range. No need to think metric, no need to think inch.

Egon · Apr 17, 2006

The crescent works well and you can also use it for a hammer! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Mrwurm · Apr 18, 2006

Bird, I agree that a 2x4 should be measured by its finished dimensions.
Here's another that has drove me crazy. A fish aquarium is sold in various gallon sizes but they don't actually hold that much volume. The industry standard is to calculate the outside volume of the tank. This means that if the tank came in a cardboard box, the box would hold the specified volume. But, after you subract for the frame and thickness of glass, the tank actually holds quite a bit less. A standard 55 gallon tank only holds about 40 gallons of volume and a 90 gallon tank only holds about 63 gallons.
I've checked with various manufacturers and been told that this is an industry standard.

turnkey4099 · Apr 18, 2006

( ( It is so much easier for me to grab a #4 wrench or a #7 wrench than all the 3/16th" wrenchs in the American toolbox )

I must be slow, why is it easier to pick up a metric wrench than a US standard wrench? There is only one 3/16th size wrench just as there is only one #4 size metric wrench. )

Because there are fewer metric wrenches to cover a given size range and the size difference from one to another is larger.

Harry K

Harry K

Cliff_Johns · Apr 18, 2006

( The crescent works well and you can also use it for a hammer! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

Every tool is a hammer. Except a chisel, which is a screwdriver.

Cliff