The holiday issue

[Dragon]

I grew up in imperial and they changed the system when I was quite mature. So I do not work in metric. I do not want to work in metric. I am very happy to buy things from the States such as proportional wheel and magazines because they have inches. My recipes are all in cups and tablespoons and will remain like that until I die. I have never converted nor will I ever.

I know I am ranting but when I go to the butcher and ask him for 1 pound of meat and the smart ass young one replies: we do not sell in pounds. The line behind me laughed when I told him: I only buy in pounds and I'm the one paying for it so you better give me what I want before I turn into a witch.

My tools are imperial and I will not buy new ones to accomodate the neighbour.
Diane

[JohnB]

Kev, Here's a starter mate.
It's what I can remember and still use.
Things are a little harder between countries though because, you have some standard sizes that we never did (1/8" ply never existed or was very rare we used 3/16")
3/16" = 3mm
1/4" = 6mm
3/8" = 10mm
1/2" = 12mm
3/4" = 19mm
1 1/4" = 35mm

Lengths are are a little more tricky. When buying timber these are the conversions.

2' =600mm
3' = 900mm
4' = 1200mm
6' = 1800mm
8' = 2400mm

We have dropped all the standard sheet sizes and now only produce one 8' x 4' this is actually 2440mm x 1220mm it is referred to as an 8 x 4 or 2400 x 1200 or 2.4 x 1.2 the 40mm and 20mm is discarded as this is considered waste eg for saw cuts etc.

Another thing The BIG NUMBERS COME FIRST. lol

And one other thing, The only people I know that use Centimetres are School Teaches and Dressmakers, so no wood working measurements in Centimetres, because you'll confuse everyone. LOL except for a School Teacher or a Dressmaker

[Gill]

Originally Posted by Dragon

...you better give me what I want before I turn into a witch...

Poor lad. Sometimes our fastest speed is just too slow. Still, looking on the bright side... it'll soon be Halloween .




Don't hit me, don't curse me... I'm joking .

[gschmitz]

Sorry, friends, it was not my intention to start a big discussion here about inches and millimeters. I have a small conversion table with the most used mesures, so I know that 1/8" means 3 mm (3.175) If I buy a sheet of plywood it is 252 x 125 cm.
My problem is, when I see the material list which says : you need 1/8"x 2 3/4" x 2 7/8", now I know the witdth (3mm) but what are the other ones and I start calculating.
If it shows 5 5/16" (135mm) I have an idea what my piece will look like. That is what I'm looking for.
Anyway, thanks for all comments
Georges

[Forester21]

Originally Posted by JohnB

Kev, Here's a starter mate.
It's what I can remember and still use.
Things are a little harder between countries though because, you have some standard sizes that we never did (1/8" ply never existed or was very rare we used 3/16")
3/16" = 3mm
1/4" = 6mm
3/8" = 10mm
1/2" = 12mm
3/4" = 19mm
1 1/4" = 35mm

I am pretty good at regular math (I thought), but this doesn't make sense.
If 1/4" = 6 mm then
3/8" should = 9 mm and
3/4" should = 18 mm and
1 1/4" should = 30 mm

I know 1 mm is very small, but it all adds up especially as you get to the thicker wood.

As for your subs - $5 Footlong makes a catchy little tune. Try singing 3 and a third pound 30.48 cm....

T

[BobD]

Unfortunately, the only metric to imperial that is exact is 5/16" =8mm. You can substitute a 5/16" wrench for an 8mm wrench and it will fit perfectly.

The others are approximate, but very close because 1mm is very close to 1/32 (but not exact).

So as the slight errors add up, the math for these conversions isn't always exact.

Bob

[Shannon]

"I only buy in pounds and I'm the one paying for it so you better give me what I want before I turn into a witch."

Priceless!

[Jim McDonald]

Originally Posted by Rolf

Actually it would be better if we went metric here in the US.

I knew there was reason other than your fantastic scrolling and helpful tips that I immediately respected you.

As I said in another post, it's all just markings on a stick. Be consistent and call it anything you like, but measuring is transfering marks from one place to another.