Thread: What is 4 3/8 inch in real measurements?

Originally Posted by DaveVman

I'm sorry if anyone was offended by my whinging. Just my warped sense of humour and a pet peeve of mine. Please don't take it personally, if you do happen like imperial.

I haven't taken your complaint too seriously.

Well, that is apart from my earlier comment that all rules are just marks on a stick with a note of what the marks represent.

In all seriousness, the Cabinet maker's rules that Lee Valley sell are IMO brilliant. Nice big clear widely spaced marks, and most of the time you are making a component to fit something else, so who really cares what the exact measurement is. (it's slightly different for metal machinists, but we're working in wood.)

Originally Posted by John.G

Welll this might be contentious then given the popular sentiment here. I'm equally at home using imperial or metric but for timber work I find imperial more user friendly for width and thickness (but not for length) - the graduations make more sense for the material IMHO.

At one time I was researching Jointer / Thicknesser machines. I was reading the instruction manual on the European site, but in English, for the machine. I don't really remember what the instruction was about but the user was instructed to use a one meter 2x4. . . .

All I could think of was how we Americans have corrupted the metric part of the world. What a disservice to mankind.

Originally Posted by ian

In all seriousness, the Cabinet maker's rules that Lee Valley sell are IMO brilliant. Nice big clear widely spaced marks, and most of the time you are making a component to fit something else, so who really cares what the exact measurement is. (it's slightly different for metal machinists, but we're working in wood.)

I have a vision defect such that when lines are too close together I can't distinguish between them. I'm OK with mm but those parts of rulers with a line every 0.5 mm really confuse me. It means I can't find the line I want. I have glasses for that but taking glasses off and on is a PIA. The half mm marks end at after 100mm so I tend to measure things starting with 100mm as zero. This introduces the risk of a maths error in a lapse of concentration. I'd like a steel ruler with only mm and no 0.5mm marks. There must be plenty of others like me out there.

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Originally Posted by rrich

At one time I was researching Jointer / Thicknesser machines. I was reading the instruction manual on the European site, but in English, for the machine. I don't really remember what the instruction was about but the user was instructed to use a one meter 2x4. . . .

All I could think of was how we Americans have corrupted the metric part of the world. What a disservice to mankind.

Actually that particular example is not a big deal because a 2x4 is not 2 inches x 4 inches anyway. It's more of an expression in that context. The actual diamensions could vary considerably.

It would be like me talking about my 1x2 meter table. Which just means the big one.

When it's an actual measurement is when I don't want to know about the old system.


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The yanks have a strange habit of measuring in 1/4s, they say things like 10/4s. I worked with a dutch chippy who would measure thing with both imperial and metric. He had a tape that had different measures on each side, he would say that's 5mtr, turn the tape over and say 4 and 1/2 inches. You can get used to anything.

don't be gross

Out of context now, it was supposed to be read in association with Lyle's comment (page 1) re a Bakers Dozen.
PS For those born after the last ice age a gross is 12 dozen

Originally Posted by DaveVman

I'd like a steel ruler with only mm and no 0.5mm marks.
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It's not exactly what you want but the Lufkin rulers carried by Bunnings have one edge that has only 1mm marks, one edge for 0.5mm marks and the other side has imperial in 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, and 1/64.

And they're cheap enough to get 3 of. One to keep with a book, one to keep at the bench, and one to lose somewhere and randomly find when you're looking for that no2 robertson drive bit.

Originally Posted by DaveVman

I have a vision defect such that when lines are too close together I can't distinguish between them. I'm OK with mm but those parts of rulers with a line every 0.5 mm really confuse me. It means I can't find the line I want. I have glasses for that but taking glasses off and on is a PIA. The half mm marks end at after 100mm so I tend to measure things starting with 100mm as zero. This introduces the risk of a maths error in a lapse of concentration. I'd like a steel ruler with only mm and no 0.5mm marks. There must be plenty of others like me out there.

Starrett does metric rules with mm on one edge and 1/2 mm on the other. But being Starrett the rules are a bit pricey.

I have a 300mm Japanese made rule (Shinwa I think) that is marked in mm on one edge and 1/2 mm on the other. (The back has a list of conversion tables for the "archaeology challenged"

Something like this has to be available in Australia

Originally Posted by Alkahestic

And they're cheap enough to get 3 of. One to keep with a book, one to keep at the bench, and one to lose somewhere and randomly find when you're looking for that no2 robertson drive bit.

LOL on that one.

I was always looking for a number 2 Robertson drive. One day at Lowes (A blue Bunnings) there was a package of 50 number 2 Hex drive Robertson bits. IIRC the cost was $10. It seems that after removing a fresh bit, I find the one I was looking for.

And just to keep you hungry for more. There is a certain food chain, run by Doctor's Associates, Inc. (that are not medical doctors) which sell food as either 6 inches or a foot. I am sure that if you were to actually measure the 6 inches or foot it would be not that exact lenght, and yet here in metric Australia it is still 6 inches or a foot rather than 150mm or 300mm.

Originally Posted by ian

Starrett does metric rules with mm on one edge and 1/2 mm on the other. But being Starrett the rules are a bit pricey.

I have a 300mm Japanese made rule (Shinwa I think) that is marked in mm on one edge and 1/2 mm on the other. (The back has a list of conversion tables for the "archaeology challenged"

Something like this has to be available in Australia

The Starretts are about $40-50 for a 150mm ruler. They're nice, but not $40-nice

The Shinwa rulers are probably my favorite and are readily available on the net from local sellers. One of the few 1/2mm rulers that are legible and I find the conversion tables on the back super handy for digging through a box of imperial drill bits when you need something between metric sizes

Originally Posted by Handyjack

And just to keep you hungry for more. There is a certain food chain, run by Doctor's Associates, Inc. (that are not medical doctors) which sell food as either 6 inches or a foot. I am sure that if you were to actually measure the 6 inches or foot it would be not that exact lenght, and yet here in metric Australia it is still 6 inches or a foot rather than 150mm or 300mm.

Actually it wasn't a foot and they got sued and had to pay compensation. They now have to actually use a measuring method.

"Subway nevertheless agreed as part of the settlement to take steps to ensure its bread is at least 12 inches long, including requiring franchisees to “use a tool for measuring bread.”"

Full story Subway Footlong: Sandwich chain settles class action suit over length

250px-English_length_units_graph.png
This makes it very simple!

What a colossal waste of half a million dollars.
That was the cost of not calling their sizes "large" and "small".

However it does irk me slightly that retailers can advertise something in imperial in Australia. Technically they have to sell quantities of things in metric but no doubt they can title the item anything they want. For example a "55 inch TV". (Actual measurement will be in metric on the box and it will have been made in metric - in case you were wondering, so no you can't sue them.)
I'm anti nanny state laws so it's not like I'm that fussed about it. I just find it irksome. Why not tell us what it really is, in a measurement most people actually comprehend these days?