Metric? Is it the way to go?

[barnowl]

In attending Allen Kensley's Festool Road Show, Allen was doing a frame and panel door.

He was using all metric measurements, showing how very easy it was adding and subtracting mm measurements rather than inch and partial inch measurements.

It looked so easy in fact, I'm going to blend metric in with my age old way.

For the larger dimensions, say outside of cabinet dimensions that has to fit into a space, I'll use Standard.

But for all the detail work, like frame and panel components, I think metric might be the way to go.

Allen made it look so easy.

 

[Sparktrician]

Just don't mix and match on the same project.  It will really give your think-pot a blow-out.  I've converted to metric for all new projects, but revert to Imperial when matching existing projects that were made using Imperial.  Metric is so much easier to deal with. 

 

[ShawnRussell]

I spent a week doing nothing but all metric. My big box tape measures are sitting idle after I ordered a metric fold out ruler and a True32 tape measure.

Hi, I am Shawn and I have been metric for 2 weeks. 

 

[upscale]

It looked so easy in fact, I'm going to blend metric in with my age old way. For the larger dimensions, say outside of cabinet dimensions that has to fit into a space, I'll use Standard. But for all the detail work, like frame and panel components, I think metric might be the way to go.

It sounds like you haven't been using metric at all to date, but now see that it might be useful in certain areas. If that's the way that you feel, then I concur. I'm almost 60 years old, so I grew up with imperial measurements. Most if not all measurements in Canada are now metric, but I use imperial if it's at all convenient.

Even when I see measurements such as metric temperatures, I convert them in my head to fahrenheit. I only measure in metric when it can immediately be accessed ~ such as the one metric/imperial tape measure I have and *only* if that tape measure is handy. Knowing how 25mm is so close to 1", I usually convert everything in my mind to inches.

As an example, I'm currently building a water cooled computer system. The reservoir I'm adding to it is listed as 250mm, even on the US website I ordered it from. That 250mm automatically gets converted to 10" in my mind.

My imperial mindset does run into a few roadblocks though. I was at a friend's barbeque a few weekends back talking about something I was building and describing it in inches. My friend's teenaged children complained about my use of inches since metric is what they've learned in school. Guess people like me will become an anachronism in the not too distant future if not already.
[scared]  [scared]  [scared]

 

[leakyroof]

It IS easier, but here we are with Imperial Measurements still to this day. I work with Metric all day long since I'm in the car business and have only worked on European vehicles from pretty much when I started out. So you would think I'd adopt it for woodworking and carpentry.
But, I build and measure with Imperial, guess this old dog will keep his old tricks.. [wink]

 

[rmwarren]

After making a conscientious effort I now work in metric but still think in imperial...

I basically look at something and think "that's about 4 inches" and then reach for my metric tape and lay it out as 100mm. As Sparky said, it works fine on new projects, but when working with existing conditions I am often forced to revert to imperial.

To complicate this, when working on my little gadgets with tolerances in 1,000's/inch, it becomes "lemme see, so 0.005" is, uhmmmmmnnn... 0.127mm....". Makes my head ache sometimes, but in a weird way it is easier for me to grasp an 1/8th of a mm as opposed to 5/1,000's of an inch.

RMW

 

[barnowl]

It looked so easy in fact, I'm going to blend metric in with my age old way. For the larger dimensions, say outside of cabinet dimensions that has to fit into a space, I'll use Standard. But for all the detail work, like frame and panel components, I think metric might be the way to go.

It sounds like you haven't been using metric at all to date, but now see that it might be useful in certain areas. If that's the way that you feel, then I concur. ...

Pretty much sums it up.

My only experience with Metrics is the set that I added to my mechanical tools to work on autos.

12 mm and 10 mm bolts and nuts are so very common.

And simple.

 

[RONWEN]

The metric system is far and away the simpler & easier to use measurement system.  The complication comes with mixing the two systems, if one can get past "how small/big would this be in imperial?" life gets easy.

 

[SittingElf]

It is very unfortunate that our government entities have consistently buckled to the whims of the obstinate who refuse to join the rest of the world and go totally metric. [huh]

Some will remember that we in the U.S. have set three different dates (All long past that began in the 80's) that were supposed to be the final deadlines for total conversion to the metric system, both in schools, and in general use.  As a result of the unwillingness to learn a new system, we are still stuck in the dark ages with measurements that are based on the size of a King's finger, joint, and feet! [mad]

Someday.....  maybe someday.... (but I'll probably be dead or have dementia by then) [crying]

 

[mike68au]

One thing i have adopted in the last few years with my work is to avoid cm's  
I primarily measure everything in mm's and or Meters

eg: 123.5cm is much easier to remember as 1235mm

I still remember the year i was in the US helping my brother in his construction company, using Imperial was a complete and utter ......!

 

[upscale]

Some will remember that we in the U.S. have set three different dates (All long past that began in the 80's) that were supposed to be the final deadlines for total conversion to the metric system, both in schools...

And, what's happened with the schools? Did some refuse to convert? You'd have thought that if there was going to be an education conversion, that it would've been a mandatory change. At least, that's the easiest way I'd have done it ~ a whole new generation schooled in metrics. I guess though a new generation would also need industry to convert too so they would be employable when they graduated.

 

[Paul G]

The metric system is far and away the simpler & easier to use measurement system.  The complication comes with mixing the two systems, if one can get past "how small/big would this be in imperial?" life gets easy.

It might be easier until you go to lowes or HD asking for something in metric and you get that deer in headlights stare back at ya.

 

[leakyroof]

The metric system is far and away the simpler & easier to use measurement system.  The complication comes with mixing the two systems, if one can get past "how small/big would this be in imperial?" life gets easy.

It might be easier until you go to lowes or HD asking for something in metric and you get that deer in headlights stare back at ya.

. On the floor with that.... So true
You want a WHATTTTTT?

 

[GPowers]

I was buying a 4 foot piece of rebar. The cashier brought up a screen and said she could not find the 4' rebar on the screen and asked if I knew which one I has.  The screen listed:
10 feet
  8 feet
48 inches
24 Inches

And she could not equate that 48 inches was the same as 4 feet. and yes I got deer in headlights stare when i pointed to 48 INCHES
 

 

[Rick Christopherson]

It isn't so much that the imperial system is bad, but it is how we choose to use it. Mixing units and using fractional measurements is a choice the person makes. It is not a requirement of the system. It could be done with either system, but no one would dream of doing it with metric.

You would never think of saying something is 1m, 2dm, 3cm, 6mm long, would you? No. It would be 1236mm. We think nothing of saying something is 5ft 4-1/4 in long.

We choose to mix units, and it is not a good practice. But it is nevertheless, a choice the individual makes.

Even the use of fractions is a choice. We choose to use tape measures that are divided in fractional inches, but they are also available in decimal inches too.

With the work that I do, I constantly have to switch back and forth for the incoming information, but the outgoing information is always with a single system and a single unit. Where necessary, the secondary measurement will be added in parenthesis for convenience.

 

[Paul G]

I was buying a 4 foot piece of rebar. The cashier brought up a screen and said she could not find the 4' rebar on the screen and asked if I knew which one I has.  The screen listed:
10 feet
   8 feet
48 inches
24 Inches

And she could not equate that 48 inches was the same as 4 feet. and yes I got deer in headlights stare when i pointed to 48 INCHES
   

That's one I haven't hit yet at the checkout, hopefully you got correct change. I was fighting the feet vs inches thing on google just yesterday, I was hunting around for a 3'x5' whiteboard and missed out on options until I included searches for 36" x 60" as well.

 

[Paul G]

It isn't so much that the imperial system is bad, but it is how we choose to use it. Mixing units and using fractional measurements is a choice the person makes. It is not a requirement of the system. It could be done with either system, but no one would dream of doing it with metric.

You would never think of saying something is 1m, 2dm, 3cm, 6mm long, would you? No. It would be 1236mm. We think nothing of saying something is 5ft 4-1/4 in long.

We choose to mix units, and it is not a good practice. But it is nevertheless, a choice the individual makes.

I had to just now calculate that I'm 74" instead of 6'2". If someone told me they were 76" tall I'd have to convert to feet and inches to actually visualize.

 

[John H]

It's a mindset

A lot of us 'old dogs' are not going to change to metric - especially when all their tooling, tape measures, etc are in Imperial.  But you can change the way you think when you read a measurement to make life a little easier

Don't use fractions - use the decimal equivalent:

1/2" = .5
3/4" = .75

etc etc

 

[SittingElf]

It's a mindset

A lot of us 'old dogs' are not going to change to metric - especially when all their tooling, tape measures, etc are in Imperial.  But you can change the way you think when you read a measurement to make life a little easier

Don't use fractions - use the decimal equivalent:

1/2" = .5
3/4" = .75

etc etc

And so ...

7/64" = ummm...what? [crying]

 

[upscale]

Don't use fractions - use the decimal equivalent:

1/2" = .5
3/4" = .75
etc etc

7/64" = ummm...what? [crying]

That's an easy one! .125" minus a smidge.