Tape Measure?

[GPowers]

I use the FastCap ProCarpenter Standard/Metric Tape Measure. Got it form the local Rockler. I saw it on the counter when I was picking up my 3000mm guide rail.

Sure would like to see the USA go Metric. They have been talking about it for years. Remember when Detroit started doing metric dashboard  back in the 70's.

 

[Rhett]

ACE Hardware 16' tape measure. It has the finest lines and is quite accurate. All the Stanley tapes have big fat marks on them which makes it quite difficult to get a very good reading and if I need longer than 16' I don't need that kind of precision so I just use the standard 25' Stanley.

I have been looking for a good Metric tape but no success as of yet.

 

[RONWEN]

I use the FastCap ProCarpenter Standard/Metric Tape Measure. Got it form the local Rockler. I saw it on the counter when I was picking up my 3000mm guide rail.
Sure would like to see the USA go Metric. They have been talking about i
t for years. Remember when Detroit started doing metric dashboard  back in the 70's.

It's the only way to fly.  [smile]  Only a few small countries, including some Caribbean nations heavily influenced by the U.S., have not formally adopted the use of SI. Among countries not claiming to be metric, the U.S. is the only significant holdout.

 

[harry_]

metrication would not be that hard to do really,.... expensive, but not hard. Seems to me that many/most Americans have a good general idea of the metric system. Mostly from osmosis. We generally don't give it a thought, because there is no incentive to care.

Most of the products we buy are labelled in both...... remove the imperial and it is done. Highway signage would be expensive, but since this country is looking for job programs, there you go. I am sure there is someone out there that can change mile markers to Km markers. It's not like it need to all get done at once. And when they get up to the North-east corridor they can renumber the exits to something that makes more sense then sequential!

 

[Brice Burrell]

Yeah but if we go Metric how am I going to be able to evenly divide the standard units by 3 or even 4 for that matter. See, the Metric system isn't all it's cracked up to be after all..... [poke] [big grin]

 

[RONWEN]

In manufacturing it's quite difficult to make the change in large companies.  A company that I worked for started to make the switch way back for EC'92.  The engineering department began drafting new products in metric (their products have a  ~20 year life cycle).  I purchased an incredible amount of digital precision measuring tools, metric tooling, digital readouts for machine tools, etc.  Because of the fairly long life cycle of the products, replacement parts for imperial design products also had to be produced.  Even with classes for the machinists and others we would find a fair number of them sitting with metric drawings & calculators converting back to imperial before they would start jobs.  That company still isn't completely changed over yet today.
The metric system is much simpler but it's a very hard sell culture issue -- most people (in the U.S.) since they were very young have learned & thought in imperial measurements and the habit is very hard to change.  Even though I've used the metric system for many years I still don't think metric outside of the shop.

 

[nickao]

Anyone that goes to school especially college or anything in the sciences knows metric, metric is great and I do use it.

BUT as an  American somethings I just want to stay the same and I want our current system to always stay. Forget metric on the construction sites, I never used it and in my shop I 99% of the time use the Imperial system, not metric.

America is not going to change to Metric and I do not want it to.

I noticed that the UK uses pounds and most there want nothing to do with the Euro, I think it is the same train of thought and believe it is more to do that the pound is part of their heritage than any economical reason not to change. The Europeans here can argue that point.

The Imperial system is part of our history and heritage and is easy to use. I don't want to change to metric and I don't want Spanish to be our countries national language either(which actually has almost made it through hidden in a couple different proposed bills!)

The mile is the perfect running distance and really would never want to see a  1.609344 kilometer race either!

Oh and they started much more than 30 years ago, I was learning it at least 40 years ago in grade school.

 

[RONWEN]

Yeah but if we go Metric how am I going to be able to evenly divide the standard units by 3 or even 4 for that matter. See, the Metric system isn't all it's cracked up to be after all..... [poke] [big grin]

Yep, that is an absolutely HUGE problem to which I can see no possible solution...  [big grin]

 

[harry_]

Yeah but if we go Metric how am I going to be able to evenly divide the standard units by 3 or even 4 for that matter. See, the Metric system isn't all it's cracked up to be after all..... [poke] [big grin]

If one can handle 3/16ths why can one not handle 3/10ths? A decimal is still a fraction, it just has a constant denominator!

 

[ajones]

Anyone that goes to school especially college or anything in the sciences knows metric, metric is great and I do use it.

BUT as an  American somethings I just want to stay the same and I want our current system to always stay. Forget metric on the construction sites, I never used it and in my shop I 99% of the time use the Imperial system, not metric.

America is not going to change to Metric and I do not want it to.

I noticed that the UK uses pounds and most there want nothing to do with the Euro, I think it is the same train of thought and believe it is more to do that the pound is part of their heritage than any economical reason not to change. The Europeans here can argue that point.

The Imperial system is part of our history and heritage and is easy to use. I don't want to change to metric and I don't want Spanish to be our countries national language either(which actually has almost made it through hidden in a couple different proposed bills!)

The mile is the perfect running distance and really would never want to see a  1.609344 kilometer race either!

Oh and they started much more than 30 years ago, I was learning it at least 40 years ago in grade school.

The UK keeping the ? has more to do with the city of london and the anount of revenue it brings to the country this was pre sub prime

 

[RONWEN]

Anyone that goes to school especially college or anything in the sciences knows metric, metric is great and I do use it.

BUT as an  American somethings I just want to stay the same and I want our current system to always stay. Forget metric on the construction sites, I never used it and in my shop I 99% of the time use the Imperial system, not metric.

America is not going to change to Metric and I do not want it to.

I noticed that the UK uses pounds and most there want nothing to do with the Euro, I think it is the same train of thought and believe it is more to do that the pound is part of their heritage than any economical reason not to change. The Europeans here can argue that point.

The Imperial system is part of our history and heritage and is easy to use. I don't want to change to metric and I don't want Spanish to be our countries national language either(which actually has almost made it through hidden in a couple different proposed bills!)

The mile is the perfect running distance and really would never want to see a  1.609344 kilometer race either!

Oh and they started much more than 30 years ago, I was learning it at least 40 years ago in grade school.

The UK keeping the ? has more to do with the city of london and the anount of revenue it brings to the country this was pre sub prime

On my first trip to London I thought that I'd try be real "hometown" -- I asked the taxi driver how many kilometers it is to someplace (I can't remember where), he responded "I wouldn't have any idea in kilometers but it's about 4-1/2 miles...  [big grin]

 

[GPowers]

The medical profession converted to metric system years ago.  They have been using cubic centimeter, milliliter and liter for ever.

So it can be done.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Another good thing about metric, speaking of tape measures, is that the 1 mm increment is maintained the full length. Imperial tapes usually drop the 1/32" increments after the first foot.

I find it easier to eyeball a fat (or thin) half mm than to read 1/64ths even when available. When working with 64ths I always have to look on a 1/32 scale to figure out roughly where some odd number of 64ths is and then go back and count.