Metric Vs Imperial

[TommySaw]

I've watched some programs on the early days of electricity and the war between Westinghouse and Edison re voltage, and AC vs DC was dirty and fierce.

Re our rail gauges http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_gauge_in_Australia

dirty, Edison had a guy electricuted with a/c to prove to people it was too dangerous. They did it right here in NY btw

 

[TommySaw]

Re our rail gauges http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_gauge_in_Australia

Reminds me of the Germans during WWII one of the only things slowing them down while invading Russia was the tracks, so maybe it's not all bad

 

[MCW]

Now that's almost a step too far

Imagine the crap we've had to put up with here over the years.
Thanks to being so closely aligned with Britain till the fifties, all our fasteners were Whitworth, which uses a great (radiused) thread form, but stupid, stupid, stupid head sizes.

Then most fasteners went towards NC and UNF, so mostly the bolt threads were compatible, although Whitworth heads carried over far too long....
There are still a lot of Whitworth bolts and nuts around, so we have to have AF, Metric and occasionally Whit sockets, ring spanners, etc.
I've become lazy and generally jam a metric socket onto a Whitworth head to get it undone, then throw the bugger away when working on stuff.

I won't even touch on the really old stuff that crops up from time to time like BA, BSF, etc

It's certainly confusing mate. After owning and working on old Mini Coopers, old Holdens, then newer Nissan Skylines I think I have every bloody spanner and socket size up to about 50mm. Cost a fortune.
I have a good understanding of both imperial and metric but metric is just so much easier to understand if you are starting from scratchm
My old man still can't understand metric despite Australia running metric from 1966 or something like that

 

[cal27tag]

concorde

one of the greatest airplanes ever built.

back end built in england in imperial

front end built in france in metric

no problems there..... simple

 

[Teddy.Scout]

I just had a thought.

Because you guys LOVE oil mix threads I have the following suggestion for those people who are totally confused (who wouldn't be) with fluid ounces, gallons etc.

1.Fly out to Australia.
2.Rent a car & drive on the L/H side of the road
3.Buy a 20 litre gas can. (petrol over here)
4.Fill the gas can using a METRIC gas pump
5.Buy a 1 litre bottle of Stihl 2 stroke oil.
6.Mix the 2 stroke oil using the METRIC measure on the side of the bottle.
7.Spend the night in a motel & blow up your appliances on our 240 volt supply.
9.Note the direction water rotates in the motel bathroom.
8.Drive back to the airport on the L/H side of the road
9.Try to get back on the aircraft with a can of premixed 2 stroke fuel.

So who is up for this.

Now that's GOOD!
I will try it and let you know how it works out after a 5-10 stunt in the pen!
Or get lucky on a first offense and get off with a $10,000 fine!

 

[scotclayshooter]

I had to hunt for a socket set that was metric only as i cant remember the last time i have ever had to use an AF spanner.
Is saying that i do own a half inch spanner as its 12.7mm and fits a little better on some 13mm bolts.

I have a Jewell trigger on my Remington rifle try finding a 0.050" allen key! Ended up grinding a metric one down to fit GRR.

When doing rough measuring its feet and inches but when doing anything accurate its MM.

Some here still use chains as measurment for ditch clearing and fencing.
A chain is 22 yards and a link is 7.92 inches try working that crap out!

 

[dancan]

Although, this is how the Canuck's measure their booze. I kinda like them for that, amonst other things.

Yes , we still use the Imperial system up here where and when it is required .
Here is a great example .

Revolution (RIS)
This beer was born for greatness. Sent by English brewers via the Baltic Sea to the court of the Czars, Russian Imperial Stout was brewed to very high gravities and allowed to ferment on the long voyage. The result? A dark, strong and bracing brew.
Propeller's version weighs in at a whopping eight percent alcohol content, with a deep, rich, black colour. The taste of alcohol is well masked by the intense hop bitterness, extreme roasted malt and dark fruit notes .