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  1. #1
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    Jul 2004
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    Default Metric Vs Imperial

    G'day members
    I would be interested in the forums thoughts on the comparison between metric & imperial measurment in woodworking. I have had a few occasions when I have cut stock short due to incorrect measurement with a metric tape: I know the rule measure twice cut once. but at times when your moving along into the job that little tip seems to be forgotten at times:especially you are out in the heat with dust blowing around your work site the concentration slacks off a little and I find I end up using more stock than I should. I have now switched back to imperial and I have alleviated the problem so far. Any other member experienced similar frustrations. Maybe I should slow down and take more care in the measuring department, but I do enjoy using imperial.
    Regards
    Peter G

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  3. #2
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    Jun 2004
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    Why does using imperial reduce the mistakes you make??
    Always look on the bright side...

  4. #3
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    Personaly I'm bimeasuremental, (shut up you bastards) having grown up with Imperial and being forced to change early in the building game. I do prefer metric and always work in milimetres (we were instructed to do this in the builders conversion courses) NOT centimetres. I have found that the people who work in cm make the most mistakes.

  5. #4
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    Drop Bear Capital of Gippsland (Lang Lang) Vic Australia
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    A lot of my tapes, rulers etc are in both.
    Stupidity kills. Absolute stupidity kills absolutely.

  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Iain
    A lot of my tapes, rulers etc are in both.
    There seems to be two methods of marking metric tapes and rules, and if I had one of each in front of us in person you would readily see how confusing one of them is. Its a bit difficult to put it into words.

  7. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Termite
    There seems to be two methods of marking metric tapes and rules, and if I had one of each in front of us in person you would readily see how confusing one of them is. Its a bit difficult to put it into words.
    I agree. My 1m rule is different to my other metric rules, and I always seem to make mistakes around the even 100mm marks - often get 5mm short or long, even though I'm aware of it. Measure twice, go away & have a cuppa, measure again, cut once, then measure again - oops!

    Peter, I've found metric is a dozen times easier
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  8. #7
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    Oct 2003
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    Romsey Victoria
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    Dealing with imperial is much harder.
    2 7/16" minus 1 1/4" is ???
    or
    61mm - 30mm = 31mm

    I find the tape measures with both Imperial and metric are a pain sometimes. Sometimes I want to mark in mm on the side of the tape that has inches.
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  9. #8
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    2 7/16 - 1 1/4 = 2 7/16 - 1 4/16 = 1 3/16

    or

    2 7/16 - 1 1/4 = 39/16 - 20/16 = 19/16 = 1 3/16

    Yes, I see what you mean

    I mostly work with millimetres. I think all of the tapes with inches and millimetres broke and went in the bin a long time ago. Sometimes still have to use imperial and I don't find it particularly difficult but less natural than metric. Metric came in while I was in 4th class at Primary School, so it's pretty much ingrained.

    I have a steel rule with inches on one side and mm on the other and it is a pain like Grunt says.

  10. #9
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    If you glance to the left, just under the illustration of Y. Bear Esq, you will see my age. I point you in this direction in order to explain that I spent a lot of time at school - these many moons ago, Clarissa - learning to calculate in Imperial measure. Then, during my teen years, our educators introduced the Metric system to our tender and impressionable minds.

    Speaking personally, I struggled a bit with the new system at first. Then it fell into place and I realised that it made life easier.

    When I was a little older and beginning to learn how to be an engineer, the Metric system had been adopted fully and everything I learnt, I learnt in Metric.

    Nowadays, I wouldn't - and don't - bother with Imperial measure at all. Like some of the previous posters, I have some rules and tape measures with both Imperial and Metric markings but I always use Metric. I also was taught, and continue, to use millimetres as the basic unit, not centimetres.

    As I get older, those little millimetre markings get harder to see but so what? I can always use a magnifying glass.

    Col
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  11. #10
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    I was used to metric, then had to learn imperial and finally return to metric.

    Having used both I find metric so simple that I never will use imperial again.

    Peter.

  12. #11
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    The only reason I sometimes stick with imperial is due to the fact that so many measurements that are supposed to be metric are really just imperial measurements converted to the nearest metric eqivalent. I know this sounds odd but I'll explain what I mean.

    Wood, tools, drill bits etc often comes in odd metric sizes eg 19mm, 63mm. To me this is not truly metric and it is no co-incidence that 19mm is approx 3/4". If it was "truly" metric then it would be something like 20mm. The problem this causes is that the metric calculations are a bit more complicated than they really need to be (20mm + 20mm is a bit easier than 19mm + 19mm)and you get errors by assuming that something is "exactly" 19mm when it is really "exactly" 3/4" and only approximately 19mm.

    When you look around it is surpising how many "metric" amounts are just imperial quantities converted to metric equivalents. eg beer. Most states have a beer that is 285ml (a pot in Victoria) or 425ml (a schooner in most states) or 1140ml (a jug). Where did the 285ml, 425ml and 1140ml come from? Well, a half-pint is 284ml, 3/4-pint is 426ml and 2 pints is 1136ml. If we really had metric beer then we would use truly metric numbers.

    However, I'm not suggesting we should change because I think keeping tradition is a good thing. I just think that countires that have always been metric probably find it eaier than us because they haven't inherited metric equivalents of old imperial numbers.

    Simon
    They laughed when I said I was going to be a comedian. They're not laughing now.
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  13. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by simon c
    you get errors by assuming that something is "exactly" 19mm when it is really "exactly" 3/4" and only approximately 19mm.
    We're dealing with wood. It would always be a mistake to assume any piece of wood is an exact dimension. If it is nominally 19 mm or 3/4" you would be wise to check the dimension carefully before cutting something to fit. Furthermore, what may be 19 mm today may well be 19 mm plus or minus a midge's tomorrow when the temperature and humidity conditions are likely to be different.

    Simon, you make a good point about the dimensions of some items being merely metric translations of imperial sizes but I'm not sure that I agree with you when you say this makes things more difficult.

    Mind you, even after all these years of thinking, talking and working in metric, if someone asks me what size something small is, I'll tell them in inches before I'll tell them in millimetres. What's interesting is that most people, even most younger people, know and understand what that means.

    Col
    Driver of the Forums
    Lord of the Manor of Upper Legover

  14. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Driver
    Simon, you make a good point about the dimensions of some items being merely metric translations of imperial sizes but I'm not sure that I agree with you when you say this makes things more difficult.
    I agree I'm being a bit pedantic but this is one of my pet hates. I do believe that you are a bit more likely to make an error adding 19mm to 63mm than if you were adding 20mm to 60mm. But is it easier than adding 3/4" to 2 1/2"?
    They laughed when I said I was going to be a comedian. They're not laughing now.
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  15. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by simon c
    I agree I'm being a bit pedantic but this is one of my pet hates. I do believe that you are a bit more likely to make an error adding 19mm to 63mm than if you were adding 20mm to 60mm. But is it easier than adding 3/4" to 2 1/2"?
    I think that's what trial lawyers call "asked and answered", mate
    Driver of the Forums
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  16. #15
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    I like it best when you call out to someone else on the site, its 3 foot and 32 mm.


    Al, the dislexic Brickie :confused:

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