The reason we drive on the left is we 'mericans can't drag race and shift an ol' Muncie 4-speed left handed...
Contributor
The reason we drive on the left is we 'mericans can't drag race and shift an ol' Muncie 4-speed left handed...
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ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
FOUR - CO2 lasers
THREE- make that FOUR now- fiber lasers
ONE - vinyl cutter
CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle
Member
the holdouts are mostly commonwealth nations and former colonies..Canada excluded. When the neighbor to the south drives on the right then Canadians drive on the right. I get the feeling the British pretty much do what they want. Including body weight measure in stones...that one is odd.Originally Posted by Kev Williams
The reason we drive on the left is we 'mericans can't drag race and shift an ol' Muncie 4-speed left handed...
[OP]
Contributor
I pretty much use 13mm and 1/2" interchangeable but cannot remember which one is slightly larger.
Member
Irony-
1. Top Gear, (BBC program on the telly) in that British bastion of metric supremacy, recites super car stats including: 1/4 mile time, time to 100 Miles/hr, and top speed in Miles/hr.
2. Somehow the entire world seems to manage to measure in a base 10-ish, 24-ish, 60-ish system, known commonly as a clock. And let's not forget that base 7-ish, 28-ish, leap-ish, 30-ish, 31-ish, 365-1/4-ish (almost-ish) system known commonly as a calendar.
For the metric proponents - If you want it in metric, buy it that way.
For the imperial proponents - If you want it in imperial, buy it that way.
(Law of Supply and Demand is not called a 'suggestion'. The marketplace will decide the winner.)
Or, the various sides could go to war. I propose we call it "Inch War I" - it just has a better ring than "Millimeter War I"!
Just think of the stories!! "There I was, flat on my back, out of ammo and not sure if 5.56mm NATO would fit my .223" M4, locked in mortal combat against a 12mm socket! Thankfully, I managed to get to my trusty 3/8" sash chisel!! WhoooHooo! you should of seen me then....."
Last edited by Malcolm McLeod; 07-01-2016 at 10:05 AM.
Member
Yeah, it would be really nice if where possible, people would standardize on the sizes which are common.
There are a couple of charts which show how close some sizes are --- I really would like to see one which was nicely laid out and graphical and really communicated the nearest equivalencies nicely.
Contributor
The 1/2" wrench is a bit tight on a 13mm hex head. 1/2" is equal to 12.7mm.
A 1/4" wrench may be a tight fit on a 6.5mm hex head.
An 11/32" wrench may be a tight fit on a 9mm hex head.
An 11mm wrench may be a tight fit on a 7/16" hex head.
A 14mm wrench may be a tight fit on a 9/16" hex head.
A 22mm wrench may be a tight fit on a 7/8" hex head.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
Let's see if the formatting will hold:
Metric to SAE wrench sizes. 6.5mm is common in many wrench sets. A 'T' next to the wrench size indicates this wrench will be tight on its equivilent size nut, i.e. a 14mm wrench is snug on a 9/16 nut.
Millimeters Inches 6 -- 6.5 1/4 T 7 -- 8 5/16 9 11/32 T 10 -- 11 T 7/16 12 -- 13 1/2 T 14 T 9/16 15 19/32* 16 5/8 17 -- 18 -- 19 3/4** 20 -- 21 -- 22 T 7/8 32 1-1/4***
*not common
**This is such a perfect match, it is used internationally for automobile wheel nuts (19 mm = 0.748" & 3/4" = 19.05 mm)
***If memory serves me well, this is the size of the hub nut on the rear axle of Volkswagons before '68 or so.
That has 7 metric sizes throughout the range not covered by an SAE wrench set.
3/16 would be tight on a 5mm, neither size is in most sets.
Three common SAE sizes, 3/8, 11/16 and 15/16 are not covered by the metric sizes.
Here is a screen shot:
Screen Shot 2016-07-01 at 8.28.49 AM.png
I have a printed chart on the wall in my shop with fractions from 1/64 - 1" converted to decimal and millimeters. Mostly it is used for finding numbered drill sizes.
jtk
Last edited by Chris Padilla; 07-01-2016 at 11:59 AM.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Administrator
Wrenches and socket sets are cheap, the problem is thread sizes and measuring equipment which start to cost money to convert a shop or more importantly a business. I probably have more invested in the fasteners in my shop than any of the individual machines so I will keep my fractions until I close the doors.
Mixing standards of measurement and machines in a commercial shop is not the best practice IMO. Ask NASA about a very costly mistake they made once upon a time
Moderator
I'm on board to push the metric system through. My wife is from Europe so I've already gotten a feel for temperature in Celsius as I've changed all such device to C when possible.
And when I'm communicating dimensions to my wife, I force myself to use the metric system so I have a better feel for the lengths.
Weights in grams or kg and volumes in liters are still a bit tougher for my head but I'm forging ahead.
The metric system IS slowly creeping into our society so one day, we'll all feel more comfortable with it...one day....
Contributor
Ask Capt. Robert Pearson of Air Canada. (Pilot of The Gimli Glider, I think the situation was called.). . .
Mixing standards of measurement and machines in a commercial shop is not the best practice IMO. Ask NASA about a very costly mistake they made once upon a time
Moderator
I'm setup that I can work in metric in my shop and am working toward picking "the project" where I'll stick to it as a first step. I can only cite habit for still using Imperial in that context. My kids learned metric in school and appropriate measurements that Professor Dr. SWMBO might use in her work are expressed in metric.
There are a lot of things like measuring systems and other things we "still use" in the good old USA that I believe are mostly out of habit, rather than good sense. Metric makes sense, but making sense isn't embraced as a good reason sometimes. Go figure. LOL
--
The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
Ah yes, one of the first big boo boos when planes were switching their systems to metric. It didn't help that the onboard electronics were having a bit of trouble as well.Ask Capt. Robert Pearson of Air Canada. (Pilot of The Gimli Glider, I think the situation was called.)
Just a wee miscalculation and a few names live in history.
It is worth a trip with Dr. Google to read all about it.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Member
Yes I remember the Gimli Glider quite well. It did not help that the refuelers were somewhat stupid and should have realized they under-fueled the plane? Its what they do for a living but knowing a bit about Air Canada's unions there are many dummies who can only see their watch and the pension.
Contributor
A few years ago the wife gave me a Crescent socket set for xmas, similar to this one--
The sockets fit the points on nuts & bolts rather than the flats, so each socket will fit an SAE and a metric size.
The sockets and the ratchet are hollow, so until you need an extension you don't need deepwell sockets. Works great.
It's come in very handy several times...
And to beat this horse just a little more--- Until the "Metric Society" comes up with a catchy, usable, one-word synonym for "10", then I'll be more than happy buying a dozen eggs and a dozen donuts, a dozen months equaling a year, and a dozen inches equaling a foot.
Not everything has to be in 10's
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ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
FOUR - CO2 lasers
THREE- make that FOUR now
ONE - vinyl cutter
CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle
Contributor
If they do come up with a word to replace a dozen that is only ten then I bet ten donuts will cost that same as a dozen and ten eggs will cost the same as a dozen too.
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