Metric or Imperial - what camp are you in?

[Morrisman]

I recently stripped down a motorised recliner sofa, to rescue the materials. It was assembled using both 6mm and 1/4” unc fasteners. In the same brackets, tapped holes etc, not like separate components.

The useful parts, metal brackets, bolts, actuators etc, are all the shed now, where they will probably remain untouched until the end of time….

 

[Stueeee]

we could start using poles, chains, furlongs and perch again if were not careful

Yes, don't forget the Cubit and the Ell as measurements of length. And what's wrong with the Oxgang as a measurement of area

Actually, I'm from the changeover generation, and whatever 'O' level syllabus my school had for applied maths, physics, TD etc. used imperial units. Then I turned up at college on day release from my apprenticeship, and everything was in SI units.

 

[Bornfree]

I use both, i'll measure a piece of wood 27" x 140mm because it's nearest on the tape measure, can't remember the last time i used 1/8ths or 1/16ths

I do this, and I sometimes work with a mate who is roughly my age who does the same so you can regularly hear. " I need a piece of 6mm plate 42 and 3/4" by 455mm. It drives the youngsters mad.

 

[Dozzer]

I know what a furlong times a chain is and have a calculator.

4 poles/perch to a chain. 10 chains to a furlong, 8 furlongs to a mile.
and i still have a set of chain's, they are a complete bugger to use and tangle them selves up sometimes.

 

[frank horton]

no probs for me either way.....as mostly work on pre 1940's stuff but have come across hand made threaded nuts n bolts......
all good fun.......

 

[rcx132]

The last "8x4" I bought arrived as true metric, 2.5x1.25m. Looks like manufacturing is finally switching.

As for the US, the longer they leave the switch the more difficult it will be.

And before anyone tries the old "but NASA uses imperial" argument .. they don't. Check their drawings, it's all metric.

 

[bricol]

1" as we call mechanic inches is 25.4mm
1" pipe is 32mm
1" tubing is if memory serves well 25.4mm inner diameter or it was 32mm inner diameter

Yes, nominal bore of 1" schedule 40 pipe is 1".
Then outer diameter stays the same and different schedules use different wall thickness, so changing the bore.

I was amused the first time I worked in Germany to discover DIN pipe was just BSP rounded to a metric number

 

[finyuk2005]

I do this, and I sometimes work with a mate who is roughly my age who does the same so you can regularly hear. " I need a piece of 6mm plate 42 and 3/4" by 455mm. It drives the youngsters mad.

I used to drive the storeman at the shipyard i worked at mad by writing stuff like that down
whatever is nearest on the tape is what im using!

 

[Islander71]

The problem with metric is it is based on 10, which can only be equally divided by 2 and 5. The metric system should logically have been based on 12 - ie 10 would actually mean 12, you would need two more integers for 10 and 11. It was only based on 10 as people were counting on their hands. The ancient Sumerians used 12 and 60 as bases. You can divide 12 by 2,3,4 and 6, much more sensible.
Working mainly with wood, inches and feet are much handier. If I need to work in millimetres, I need to find my reading glasses....

 

[Jan-DIY]

Because I am german most metric.
Except of hydraulic threading.
Some clever engineers invented M16x1.5mm very near to 3/8“.
You can get it together in some ways.
(I scrapped all the metric fittings in my work). But hose side threading is metric anyway .

I tend to measure in bananas as CCE did .

 

[Memmeddu]

Because I am german most metric.
Except of hydraulic threading.
Some clever engineers invented M16x1.5mm very near to 3/8“.
You can get it together in some ways.
(I scrapped all the metric fittings in my work). But hose side threading is metric anyway .

I tend to measure in bananas as CCE did .

Hydraulic hoses another entire world.
There are not only different types and sizes of hoses ...
There are not only different shapes of fitting...
They can also be imperial, metric, there are jolly which is a particular thread pitch shape
It's a nightmare every single time I have to make a new hose at work

 

[caprinut]

Unified threads are even worse, an attempt to unify both concepts, metric thread form with imperial sizes.

Bert

 

[Jan-DIY]

We have to go on with something like that…..

 

[RWD3M]

I know what a furlong times a chain is and have a calculator.

Yep, an acre!

 

[Seadog]

Because I am german most metric.
Except of hydraulic threading.
Some clever engineers invented M16x1.5mm very near to 3/8“.
You can get it together in some ways.
(I scrapped all the metric fittings in my work). But hose side threading is metric anyway .

I tend to measure in bananas as CCE did .

Aren't the DIN standard pipe threads actually BSP?

 

[Jan-DIY]

Aren't the DIN standard pipe threads actually BSP?

I don’t think so.
Any system is absolutely different.
We got metric and bsp on mating side.
Hose side are mad. EU, French, GB, JP, US…
In hydraulic systems there is also a difference between light and heavy.

They will never ever be standardized.

 

[Erie Fred]

Last week I had to calculate dry ballast and cement volumes required to make up a volume of wet cement.

Did all that in metric!

3-2-1...simple, works with any volumetric system.

 

[E T]

I'm Dutch, so raised on metric and that is what I use most.
But after getting addicted to series LandRovers I quickly learned about imperial fasteners. It took me over twenty years and a lot of money to cure that addiction.
Converting inches to mm and vice versa is no problem. Thou, tens, feet. All clear as day. Even de fractions.
But don't come talking about chains, furlongs, grains, stone, cwt. I haven't got a clue.

 

[Seadog]

I don’t think so.
Any system is absolutely different.
We got metric and bsp on mating side.
Hose side are mad. EU, French, GB, JP, US…
In hydraulic systems there is also a difference between light and heavy.

They will never ever be standardized.

From the web:

"However, there are two anomalies.

Germans didn’t like the idea of recognising the English BSP so they called their system DIN.

It is in fact exactly the same thread-form as Whitworth so to identify the correct thread size under the DIN Standard, you have DIN 15 equalling BSP half inch. DIN 20 equalling BSP three quarter inch and DIN 25 equalling BSP one inch."

 

[keithski122]

Both.What ever is more convenient, if I measure a square seat panel up it may be 10inches in one direction and 45 cm in the other. Sometimes it might be 10inches plus 10mm on each edge.