Metric System vs. Standard Unit...

[Dan R Porter]

Ok I am sure I am starting a battle, but the USA is that only country not converting to Metric. Why are we still using roman bull#%@$ like feet, miles, inches, etc.? Metric is much easier converted between measurments, such as a c.c. to a m.L.? And climbing ropes should, in my opinion, NEVER be described the diameter in inches, this is ludacris! Anyone with me on this? Lets start converting so we can move into the next century, and move into a easier measurment system, the metric system:deadhorse: !

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Been discussed recently.

 

[clearance]

[QUOTE a easier measurment system, the mestric system ![/QUOTE]
Dan, I was 10 years old, learning the old system in grade four, we had nice wood rulers, in inches, 1/16,1/8,1/4 etc., with a metal strip. Then one day our teacher took all of our rulers away and gave us some lame plastic rulers with centimeters on them. When I started in construction at 17, everything was standard, when I went to work in the bush, it was all metres. Went back to construction, all actual work is feet and inches, but the concrete and rebar comes in metres (20mm rebar, in 30foot lengths!!). The roads are in kms, most people over 35 talk in miles or feet, just maddening. 1/2 line would be 13mm, I like the old method, I agree the new way is easier, but both is the worst. "give em an inch, they take a mile", "the whole nine yards", "missed that car by an inch" Don't sound the same in metric now does it? The US will not convert, are you kidding, metric? I can hear it now, "what the hell are those commie, faggoty Frenchmen trying to pull?"

 

[cord arrow]

Ahhhhhh, now here's a guy that, due to necessity, understands what i was saying in the "recently" thread.
clearance is smarter than the average bear...............

 

[maxburton]

The cost to the US economy of retooling every factory and product to metric would be too great to bear, or so the voters believe. It could certainly but a dent in the GDP.

 

[okietreedude1]

Heck guys,

The freaking US govt wont make ENGLISH the official language....you think they are going to switch the measurement system?

Standard all the way!

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Anything that would be lost in this big retooling would be gained by people overseas in modern countries being more inclined to buy the products your nation makes. Not only that but alot of lives and infinite expense would be saved every year with mistakes from the refueling of commercial aircraft to the planning of space missions (which space mission was a write off because there was a mix up between imperial and metric measurements?)
The US military doesnt find teaching its personnel the metric system to taxing, and they use it because it works best.
The fact that US manufacturing is dying while it still clings to a system that the rest of the world has left far behind, its not the cause of its demise but it certainly isnt helping anyone.

 

[Ekka]

The cost to the US economy of retooling every factory and product to metric would be too great to bear, or so the voters believe. It could certainly but a dent in the GDP.

I bet the cost would be a lot less than the money squandered on the military.

 

[Chris11]

Would be better if the US stick to that weired Standard system. That way you can at least drive to the next left over Harley dealer and buy a 1/4 UNC screw to fiddle around with that oddball tread on the bottom side of you camera.

Regards
Christian

 

[Ekka]

I have found from personal experience that tapered metric threads screwing onto tapered imperial threads such as BSP with your plumbing ... do leak! Regardless of how much thread tape you use.

So we cant even buy the old plumbing threads anymore so I had to get a plumber in, knock the wall out a bit so he could rebraze a metric fitting to the copper pipe ... what a PITA. For another tap I scavenged an old thread from a house demolition.

We cant even change our kitchen taps over now without doing the same under the sink. The house is pre-metric built and 30 years later you get this.

 

[Chucky]

Ok I am sure I am starting a battle, but the USA is that only country not converting to Metric. Why are we still using roman bull#%@$ like feet, miles, inches, etc.? Metric is much easier converted between measurments, such as a c.c. to a m.L.? And climbing ropes should, in my opinion, NEVER be described the diameter in inches, this is ludacris! Anyone with me on this? Lets start converting so we can move into the next century, and move into a easier measurment system, the metric system:deadhorse: !

Well, probably the main reason Americans haven't yet converted is because they're just too stubborn and ornery to convert. But there are other reasons, not the least of which is the fact that in many ways the conventional system is superior to the metric system.

Check out this excellent article by Brian Toss:

http://www.briontoss.com/education/archive/miscjuly00.htm

 

[abbeystump]

Feet and Inches

I have only known the metric system.Wouldnt useing feet for measurement depend on how big your feet are??:jester:

 

[pbtree]

I have only known the metric system.Wouldnt useing feet for measurement depend on how big your feet are??:jester:

Only down under...

 

[pbtree]

any ways the conventional system is superior to the metric system.

Check out this excellent article by Brian Toss:

http://www.briontoss.com/education/archive/miscjuly00.htm

Excellent! Thanks for sharing...

 

[Ekka]

It's the thread part that'll stuff you up.

UNC, UNF, BSP, BSPT etc ....

.... but I suppose we cant do to measurements what Bill Gates did to computers.

 

[Jumper]

The cost to the US economy of retooling every factory and product to metric would be too great to bear, or so the voters believe. It could certainly but a dent in the GDP.

I think you will find most industry in the USA is already metric the cost of being the stand alone imperial system country in the world would be a huge obstacle in foreign trade.

 

[046]

nice article by brian toss!

if you've ever done much machining, measuring in thousand of in VS .1 or .01 mm, you realize in a hurry metric is much corser and inferior to SAE.

the same for threads, metric VS SAE threads. much corser for metric.

one of my most useful tools is a mitutoyo digital calipers. it will convert .001 in to .01 mm scales. that's the tool that taught me how to think in metric.

 

[upandcommer]

actually the USA has officially been on the metric system since 1970 something this was discussed in my college level non-euclidian calculus class at length the government has just been lax in enforcement of the system on the populous masses.

 

[NOMOREGEARS]

Metric and going back to US Customary

I work with the construction industry in NYS. WE WILL in the near future be going back to US Customary. WE WERE using (SI) units since 1992. I found that no one really ever converted, they just converted to SI for the end result.
Hard conversion vs Soft conversion occupied many debates. Most ASTM specs are in SI and US...
Split a board in half thats 280 mm long easy. But split a board in half that's 19 5/8 " and you'll see a paper and pencil come out better than half the time.
Try converting PSI to MPa or Kilonewtons to pounds.. Drive ya feckin batty.
How fast were you going? 80 KPH?????
Some people love it, some people hate it!.

 

[Dietley]

if you've ever done much machining, measuring in thousand of in VS .1 or .01 mm, you realize in a hurry metric is much corser and inferior to SAE.

I'm not sure I agree with you here, 0.01 mm is a smaller increment than 0.001 inch (less than half, in fact). Since something that is machined to within 0.01 mm of design size is within 0.00039 inch, in what way is metric coarser and inferior?

As for threads, you have to be more specific: the usual metric thread pitches are coarser than UNF, but finer than UNC!

I would NEVER question your knowledge about tree work, but this subject is something I do know about!