Why Not Convert to Metric?

[Brent Cutshall]

Before I really stepped into the craft I found that for smaller projects it was easier to use metric than standard but for larger humdingers it's easier to say 4 feet instead of 74 cm. I guess it's all about comfort zones, preferences, and familiarity.

[Wayne Lomman]

Chuck, our government only tells us what to measure with, not how to think. As a result, we officially have 100 x 50, 90 x 45 etc but we older guys ask to pass that piece of 4 x 2 half the time. The young tradesmen have no idea what we mean so the transition has happened, they just haven't killed off the old timers yet.

As far as cars go, Australia's Holden Commodore from 1988 to 2003 used a Buick 3.8 litre V6 engine. I always thought the mix of bolt sizes was due to Australian add on parts. It drove me mad when servicing the car. Loved the motor though. We owned 4 Commodores from this period and each one lasted in excess of 650,000km (400,000 miles) without failure (and yes, we did a LOT of driving having always lived in remote areas) Cheers

[William Adams]

As I noted, just add PostScript points and Picas to get base 12/72 into Imperial.

I’ve always thought it was unfortunate that when the Japanese created the Kyu (Q, 1/4th of a millimeter) they didn’t use one-third.

[Al Launier]

Back in the eighties I recall an effort to convert from imperial to metrics while working in manufacturing. With all the machining equipment made to the imperial measurement system, it was a nightmare trying to convert to metrics. Each metric unit had to be converted based on the 0.03937" relationship to a milimeter. Most of us could quickly translate fractions to an imperial equivalent because we had memorized the equivalency, but determing the decimal equivalence of metric dimens was another story; so inconvenient & time consuming. It was shortly given up. I still can't relate to the metric system. 0.001" means much more to me than 0.025 mm, or 0.0025 cm or 0.00025 dm or 2.5x10^-5 m.

Just consider the billions of dollars and the long term effort to re-educate it would require to convert to metrics.

[Chuck Wintle]

Back in the eighties I recall an effort to convert from imperial to metrics while working in manufacturing. With all the machining equipment made to the imperial measurement system, it was a nightmare trying to convert to metrics. Each metric unit had to be converted based on the 0.03937" relationship to a milimeter. Most of us could quickly translate fractions to an imperial equivalent because we had memorized the equivalency, but determing the decimal equivalence of metric dimens was another story; so inconvenient & time consuming. It was shortly given up. I still can't relate to the metric system. 0.001" means much more to me than 0.025 mm, or 0.0025 cm or 0.00025 dm or 2.5x10^-5 m.

Just consider the billions of dollars and the long term effort to re-educate it would require to convert to metrics.

Yes it is a huge expense to convert to metric units of measure. This is why the united states will continue with Imperial units for a long time.

[Curt Harms]

I think familiarity is 90% of the issue. As far as switching machine scales, I'll bet it's pretty easy to switch an electronic digital readout from imperial to metric. Even older vehicles - early 2000s - seem mostly metric. When the U.S. was 'the workshop to the world' imperial measure was familiar because so many products were sized in imperial. The U.S. is no longer ' the workshop to the world' and the new title holder - China - is officially metric. The only metric measure I have trouble getting my head around is power/torque. Watts & Kilowatts are familiar Newtons are not.

[Ole Anderson]

I agree, metric makes a lot of sense, but familiarity with our current system keeps us stuck in non-metric. I am a civil engineer. Metric does not help us as we deal in decimals of feet. Not 100'-1/8" but 100.01'. And billions of legal records concerning surveying of land divisions are in feet, not meters. The MDOT tried mandating metric on their road and bridge projects about 20 years ago, it was a complete failure, and there was really no upside so it was abandoned.

[Wayne Lomman]

Curt is right - familiarity is the issue. Use a system and you get good at it. No system is inherently perfect, they just exist and we use them or not as circumstances require. A couple of years ago I was working for a company that did building as well as heavy CNC machining (some business model - go figure but it worked). The machinists were all fully conversant with both imperial and metric. Half the work was refurbishment of old equipment and so they had to work with both. It was no big deal to them. They could converse equally well in thou or millimetres. The machines accepted tooling for both systems. Cheers

[Pat Barry]

I have a Hammer slider with a metric system installed on the fence. It's actually a much easier way to cut things and even build. Why haven't we simply adopted the metric system in the USA? It would prove much easier to figure fractions for those folks who are fraction challenged.

LOL. too too funny! Good one Rich

[Wade Lippman]

Because we are America, and the whole world accommodates us! We don't change, they do. It is just a matter of time until everyone comes around.

I remember the time that my boss specified that Chinese wire hooks had to be 0.25" rather than the 6mm everyone else used. Our cost being 3x our competitors ensured we didn't sell any.

[Prashun Patel]

I don't mind 2 systems of linear measurement. All you need's a calculator. in fact, since my Hammer and Domino started me down the metric path, I find I am able to switch between them pretty easily. I like being ambidecimaltrist.

The bigger problem for me is in weight measurements. When you're talking quantity, is it weight, mass, volume? Liters? pounds? kg? ounces (liquid or solid?) That's where the math gets screwy and you need other variables like density to convert and the conversions are less intuitive. And this is coming from a guy who took his fair share of physics courses in college.

[Stew Hagerty]

When I was a teen in the 70's we had to learn all about the Metric system because the US "was in the process of switching everything over". Well that happened. Right?
I still see the occasional old speed limit sign that lists both MPH and KPH, but they have become very few & far between. I think that we have come to understand that our cars and a lot of other equipment use Metric nuts & bolts. And, as someone else mentioned, cars and many other things often, and very frustratingly, use a combination of Imperial & Metric. My Power Wheelchair, for example, uses mostly Allen head screws & adjusters. But they tend to be almost 50/50 when it comes to what size. But for other things, feet, inches, miles, cups, quarts, tablespoons, ounces, are too deeply ingrained for us to switch unless there was a concerted effort and to slowly evolve EVERYTHING (all or none) over the course of an entire generation or two.

[Jim Koepke]

it's easier to say 4 feet instead of 74 cm.

Besides you will have something that is about 18" longer.

One question once asked of me was what is the standard spacing of studs in a metric framed structure?

If an actual advantage can not be demonstrated to each person individually, then the change will likely be slow. As it is going now automobiles are somewhat blended. At one time this was a big influence on what the home mechanic had in his tool box. Now cars are not as simple to maintain for the shade tree mechanic.

I have worked with both systems. Maintaining bicycles and automobiles. It doesn't matter so much if it is inch or metric, it is still mostly lefty loosey righty tighty.

Since all but a few of my wood working tools are sized in inches I still work with inches. Often I do not use a ruler or tape measure. A story stick removes the errors of measurement that often happen due to my mild dyslexia. I am not sure switching to metric would eliminate such errors.

It may just be the hard headedness of many people. This makes me think back to when I was working in public transit. I had misplaced a socket and asked a couple of co-workers if they might have seen my 19mm socket. One responded by asking why on earth would someone have a metric socket in their tool kit. I explained that 19mm and 3/4" were equivalent sizes. He then asked why I didn't just ask if they might have seen my 3/4" socket. I tried explaining that it was labeled 19mm. Then he again asked why on earth would I have a metric socket in a shop that was all SAE.

That is why we will likely not change for a long time. Some folks are just too ignorant to 'get it.'

A mechanic friend once told me when he was setting up his shop, it was less expensive to set up with metric tools and purchase the SAE tools to fill the gaps than it was to purchase SAE sets and fill in the metric gaps.

jtk

[Rod Sheridan]

Rich, the brain trust here solves all your problems. But we are not gonna go foreign with measurin' stuff.

LOL..................That's why you have a British measuring system

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Prashun, we don't use weight in the metric system at the level of the average person, we use mass, (Kg).

I buy 1 Kilogram of meat, not 9.8 Newtons of meat.

It has been so long since I used the imperial system I can't remember the unit of mass in it.

Liquids of course are litre, or milliliter depending upon the quantity.

As you're probably aware I went metric with furniture design and find it much easier than Imperial, the trick is not to convert.

I now make "standard" stuff 20mm thick instead of 3/4", 2" table legs have become 50mm etc. It takes some getting used to, however if you give me a container of water I don't know whether it's a litre, a US quart or an Imperial quart because we aren't able as humans to measure things accurately........Rod.