i'm giving up metric

[tombo]

Prompted by a comment from senior that as its the 21st century and i should use mm got me thinking. I am ambidextrous when it comes to measurement switching between inches and mm as the situation suits.

But in furniture making i have now decided it is much easier to give in and and use inches, The usa dominates so much that you cant get away from it.

• Router cutters are 1/4 and 1/2 inch shank hardly any interesting cutters in 8mm.
  My table saw takes a 10 inch blade on a 5/8 arbour the mitre slots are 3/8 by 3/4.
  For right handed peeps like me my tape measure has inches at the bottom by far the easier side to use.
  My steel rule is the same and guess what its exactly 1 inch wide.
  Ball bearing drawer slides need 12.7mm clearance...

I could go on..

unless i make kitchens my tools prefer inches and i am not gonna fight any more :?

Tom

 

[Paul Chapman]

I was brought up with imperial measures and find it very hard to think in metric. Even when I try to work in metric I find myself automatically thinking in imperial. I've concluded that it doesn't matter much which system you use. What's more important is to use what you are comfortable with.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[milkman]

I was brought in metric and deciaml currency and not suprisingly am almost innumerate.

I have absolutley no evidence for this but I always get the feeling that inches reflect a more human scaled view of the world.

 

[houtslager]

Being a child of the sixties :lol: I was educated first in Imperial and I mean Imperial including Land measurements, fluid measurements
Then half way through my Senior school, it was changed :shock: :? so I then learned the "new" metric system.
Throughout my working life I have used both, depending on the employer, but in general measuring I refer to the imperial system as IT IS BASED on HUMAN body sizes if you doubt me look at one's thumbs width ,hand lenght and span of ones open arms = 1 Fathom

But here in Europe its mixed still, though for timber I can order in Imprial or the German version 1 SOLL etc......

laughing on my way out

hs

 

[Shultzy]

Like houtslager I was a child of the 60's. I went to a technical school and we had to learn the metric system. They were called SI (System Internationale) units and measurements were in mm. Because of this I have the added disadvantage of having to "convert" cms to mm and then to ft/ins. I suppose that with 8x4' sheets and timber in 4x2" format it will take a long time to change, if ever.

 

[Shivers]

Being a child of the sixties :lol: I was educated first in Imperial and I mean Imperial including Land measurements, fluid measurements
Then half way through my Senior school, it was changed :shock: :? so I then learned the "new" metric system.
Throughout my working life I have used both, depending on the employer, but in general measuring I refer to the imperial system as IT IS BASED on HUMAN body sizes if you doubt me look at one's thumbs width ,hand lenght and span of ones open arms = 1 Fathom

But here in Europe its mixed still, though for timber I can order in Imprial or the German version 1 SOLL etc......

laughing on my way out

hs

i was brought up on imperial,then metric was introduced at age 10 yrs,

first woodworking job imperial.
next woodworking job metric --& so on.
then i worked in the states for several yrs & come to the conclusion that imperial is far easier to use.
It's easier to visualize 6ft rather than 1.83 meter, even in finish carpentry.

another thing i learned from the states was to drop feet & inches, it's far faster to work in pure inches(for example rather than say 8'4" --call it 100" instead),this enables speedy calculations.although you might visualize in feet---the conversion to pure inches should be automatic after several years experience.



regards

shivers.

 

[Jake]

Metric foremost, for distances under a mile. Can do inches and feet for rough guesses. I can't visualise anything imperial smaller than 1/8" - 32nds 64ths are gibberish, never mind 'thou', and fractions are so vulgar. And make maths much slower than sensible decimals.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Just a quick anecdote. At about the time the Government introduced metric measurements, my Mother-in-Law asked me to build some built-in wardrobes. I calculated all the measurements in imperial and went to the woodyard. The bloke there said "Sorry mate, only sell it in metric". So I went back and re-calculated everything in metric. Returned to the woodyard and asked for the wood in metric. "OK mate, how many feet's that?" was his reply :shock: :shock: Is it me :? :?

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Evergreen]

Tombo

I had the imperial system hammered into me at school in the 1950s but, strangely, I prefer to use metric measurements for woodwork up to 1 metre. For anything longer than 1 metre, my old brain trips out and defaults to the imperial system. And I mean inches, not feet. So, for example, I end up thinking of a piece of wood as being 25mm x 50mm but 30 inches long!

And yet when I'm driving, I find myself thinking "Another 200 metres and I've got to turn left....."

Regards.

 

[Shivers]

back in the 80's i used to work in home depot part time whilst at college,i worked on the panel saw,---people would come up with sizes,--oh yeah i'd like it cut 433mm x 22 1/4 inches.

 

[wrightclan]

... fractions are so vulgar. And make maths much slower than sensible decimals.

Perhaps slightly slower for addition and subtraction; but just as quick and sometimes more useful for division and multiplication.

I can use both and was educated to use both. (Contrary to the belief that backward Yanks only know Imperial). As I've said before in a similar thread, I primarily use Imperial, because the measurements mean something to me. If you quote a metric figure to me, it'll take me a few seconds to visualise what you're talking about. If you quote me an Imperial measurement, I can immediately visualise it. In practical terms, this means if I try to work in metric, I may not 'catch' a discrepancy in my figures until at the assembly stage. Whereas if I work in Imperial, I'm much more likely to catch it at the planning stage.

Work with whatever system you're most comfortable. Don't let comments about the 21st century, etc. keep you from using whatever works. Accuracy has to do with repeatability and reliable measuring tools (and using the same tool throughout the job.) The reliable tool can be metric, imperial, or cubits for all I care. Or you can use a rod or 'story stick.' You can even come up with your own system of measurement as long as the units are always repeatable.

Brad

 

[CHJ]

Having started with and having gone through my engineering exams in Imperial, then enforced change to MKS followed by a conversion to SI (for and during national certificate exams) I find myself using whichever sticks in the mind when transferring dimensions, sadly sometimes a mixture of both on any given piece.

The most errors I have ever encountered in misread drawings etc. has been with metric, where because of the differing conventions between long standing european MKS users who did not appreciate the differing definitions of SI, cms often got confused with mm and parts made an order of magnitude bigger or smaller.
Feet and Inches are a little more obvious in this respect.
The 'Golden Rule' I suppose is to work in the lowest denomination in whatever the system.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Because I think in miles rather than kilometres, when I drive in other European countries, where road distances are marked in kilometres, I seem to get everywhere much quicker \/

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Paul Chapman]

Yanks only know Imperial

Purely as a matter of interest, Brad, have you any idea why some of the American imperial measurements are slightly different from the UK imperial measurements? For example, a UK quart is 40 UK fluid ounces, whereas an American quart is 32 UK fluid ounces :? :? I used to use some American photographic developers and always had to be careful not to over-dilute them when the instructions said "add water to make up to one quart".

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Shivers]

with metric i've found most mistakes made amongst a group of workers lay in the 1000,1001,1010,1011,1100,1101,1110,1111mm area, this is a very bad area when checking panels sizes,to many similar sizes grouped together.

 

[Anonymous]

But here in Europe its mixed still, though for timber I can order in Imprial or the German version 1 SOLL etc......

In my opinion metricalisation has been collectively enforced to facilitate easier operation of a single currency/trading market etc.

Like Shivers and houtlager, I too am a child of the 60s, a strange time to be a kid when all the decimal EU continental conformity was being conned onto us in the UK roll: I had the confusion of starting in inche's and ending in minimeters as far as measuring goes. My Grandmother, god rest her soul, had a shop at that time and the weights and measures police jumped her because she initially refused to work in "pounds and new pee" as it was then termed (she couldnt get to grips with it). I still prefer good old organic ounce/uncial/inch romano-British INCHES if I have to get a measurement for a joist length or something; but I usually transfer sizes with a pair of sticks or dividers etc, and use rod's and sometimes never need to know a component's actual length at all. The only exception was for working out roofing calculation's mini meters I find easier for that. I cannot multiply fractions, result of math's lessons turning their attention to metric C1969/70?? Can anyone sudgest a source to learn how to multiply fraction's please? I'd like to learn that.

JUST as a matter of interest Houtslager, what is the state of play in germany etc with attitudes to metric? Until you mentioned I had no idea there was a different unit "solls" in Germany I thought theyd have outlawed any such thing!?? In France they have "pouces" (thumbs) and they vary depending on which region your in :roll: :lol: :lol: . I never knew about this until very recently. To hear the EU supporters talk, its only the dumb old UK that still lags behind being reluctant to fully embrace greater harmonisation blah blah blah. Is there folk in Germany who like the fruit man from Sunderland, dare to defy the weights and measures police mein gott :shock:
Oh and Brad dont take on board all that oh so fashionable (but ignorant and racist) "dumb yank" rubbish. I have been to America, and have been struck by the wit, inventive "can do" attitude and sheer professionalism of very many of your fellow countrymen. I find it extremely inspiring that whatever an American does, they aim to do it to the max and be GOOD at it 8) (wether a legal or illegal activity :wink: )

Cheers Jonathan

 

[CYC]

It seems from reading everyone's post that's the preference is actually the first scale you were brought up with. I have not heard anyone brought up with metrics say they prefer using imperial. I can't think it possible personaly.

I was brought up in metrics and cannot understand how can anyone find body parts an easier and more reliable way to measure. It's certainly not LOGICAL as imperial uses fractions which means calculations are far more difficult as Jake said.
I can understand you prefer using what you are confortable with which is nearly always what you learned as a little man/woman. Also there is the fact that in the UK (and ireland) a lot of the tools are designed with imperial in mind, like the example of the steel ruler from tombo. If you are logical you will use Metrics.

Metrics rules (get it?! Okay I'll get my coat...)

 

[Colin C]

CYC

I am one of them people that was brought up with metrics say they prefer using imperial but I do use metric more now.

I have been a furniture restorer for :shock: ( 23 years, had to add a years as I am a year older now :roll: ) and for most of that I have used imperial, so I guess it is what you are used too .

 

[wrightclan]

Yanks only know Imperial

Purely as a matter of interest, Brad, have you any idea why some of the American imperial measurements are slightly different from the UK imperial measurements? For example, a UK quart is 40 UK fluid ounces, whereas an American quart is 32 UK fluid ounces :? :? I used to use some American photographic developers and always had to be careful not to over-dilute them when the instructions said "add water to make up to one quart".

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Well there's the simple answer, and the not so simple answer. The simple answer is that the American pint is based on the pound (weight). 16 fl.oz (water)= 16 oz. dry weight. Of course it's not that simple as weights of fluids are different at different temperatures... Additionally, I recently discovered that in different industries within America, the pint can be slightly different. But basically for consumers a pint is 16 fl. oz., a quart is 32 fl.oz., and a U.S. gallon is 128 fl. oz.

Actually, I guess I'm trilingual as systems of measurements go. :wink: I'm conversant in Imperial, metric, and the American version of Imperial. (There's a few other differences.)

Brad

 

[CYC]

Mr Spanton, France does only use miLLimeters (metrics).
If you heard "pouces", it's only the translation for inches.

Colin, now I can say I heard someone raised with metrics say they prefer imperial. I don't get though 8-[