MS Excel and Fractional Calculations

[rmhinden]

I had to cut some long shims for drawer slides in a cabinet I build a while ago where the center partition wasn't centered correctly.  Don't ask....

I measured the width of the cabinet at the front and back, subtracted 1" for the slides, and subtracted the width of the drawer, and then added in the width of the saw blade I was to using to cut the shim.  Doing fractional calculations by hand is a pain and error prone.

I discovered that it's very easy to do this in MS Excel.  Basically just enter the numbers and fractions (e.g., 16 15/16) and do normal calculations.    Here is an example:

[attachimg=1]

I had no idea this was possible, so it was helpful to me.  Hope someone else finds this useful

Bob

p.s. Probably easier if I had done it in metric in the first place

 

[usernumber1]

imperial blessings to you as well

if you dont have excel or are on mobile, usehttps://www.wolframalpha.com/

 

[flair woodworks]

Cool! That’s one of the things I love about Rhinoceros 3D - I can type in fractions, decimal inches or millimeters.

 

[Sparktrician]

LibreOffice Calc, an open-source equivalent to Excel does the same thing, but as an example, if you put in 14 5/8, it becomes 14 20/32 or whichever fractional base is selected when one formats the cells.  It does not reduce the fractions the way Excel does. 

 

[wwb119]

[member=66813]rmhinden[/member]  - thanks very much, I didn't know that was in Excel, so I tried it & sure enough!  On the Home tab ribbon, there is a [Fraction] number format which I never noticed.  Old dog learns new trick, thx again...

 

[Bugsysiegals]

+1 for Metric. 

 

[rst]

I've been using Calculated Industries devices for 20+ years I have two desktop and a toolbelt version.  I will convert fractions, imperial decimals and metric back and forth seamlessly.  I still have one of their original models that works but my older eyes much prefer the newer larger formats.  The toolbelt stays in my van, a desktop in my house office and another in my shop.  I consider them priceless.

 

[Sparktrician]

I've been using Calculated Industries devices for 20+ years I have two desktop and a toolbelt version.  I will convert fractions, imperial decimals and metric back and forth seamlessly.  I still have one of their original models that works but my older eyes much prefer the newer larger formats.  The toolbelt stays in my van, a desktop in my house office and another in my shop.  I consider them priceless.

I use BuildCalc on my phone and tablet.  It's a software clone of the Calculated Industries Construction Master calculators, and is excellent.  [smile]

 

[Cheese]

God bless you. I moved last week and this was the most useful thing in the world.

Here we go… [popcorn] [popcorn] [popcorn]

 

[Kevison]

My dad's a carpenter and he's been using the classic tape measures and rulers his entire life. Showed him this excel calculation and he's been using it ever since. Tried getting him into SketchUp or Rhino 3D, but he said they're not comfortable to work with on site.

 

[Mini Me]

I bless the day Australia converted to metric and those who made the decision should be made saints. I grew up learning in imperial at school and shudder at the memories of wrestling with fractions.

 

[twistsol1]

Back in the dark ages when I made the choice to switch to Metric, I put together the worksheet shown below to help me visualize what the MM measurements actually were.

After more than a decade using metric, I now shudder looking at the fractional columns

[attachimg=1]

 

[Michael Kellough]

[quote author=Kevison link=topic=62393.msg722392#msg722392 date=1728584933]
My dad's a carpenter and he's been using the classic tape measures and rulers his entire life. Showed him this and he's been using it ever since. Tried getting him into SketchUp or Rhino 3D, but he said they're not comfortable to work with on site.
[/quote]

[member=82366]Kevison[/member]  which “this” is he using?

 

[squall_line]

[quote author=Kevison link=topic=62393.msg722392#msg722392 date=1728584933]
My dad's a carpenter and he's been using the classic tape measures and rulers his entire life. Showed him this and he's been using it ever since. Tried getting him into SketchUp or Rhino 3D, but he said they're not comfortable to work with on site.

  which “this” is he using?
[/quote]

Just wait until the spam link gets edited into the word "this" in a few days...