Those who do know shit about tools

[Captain Ketamine]

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I have two calipers. One - Mitutoyo - I’ve had forever, is imperial and very accurate….near as I can tell. Recently bought a digital Neiko that can switch back and forth between imperial and metric. Have not used it much but it seems as accurate….for my needs woodworking/handyman anyway.

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I was brought up on imperial when young have a workshop full of mixed systems. Though I come from a scientific background and was introduced to the SI system at school. One of the issues with Australia converting to the metric system was an apparent assumption that the average person was too stupid or more likely to stuff up decimal points so they build and quote everything in millimeters. A house dimensions are quoted in mm, a rough hole in the ground becomes 300 mm, not roughly a foot Or 3 decimetres or a third of a metre roughly. When they do give deference to fractional measure, The education system also seemed to move away from the notion of fractions per se . So in Europe I will buy a 1/4 of a kilo of something, here it’s 250 gms. This unfortunately leads people to a false assumption of accuracy for jobs at hand.
Although the metric system is great for rapid calculation it’s not a measuring system based on human scale. The imperial does allow you to use small numbers to mathematically describe the world in that human context.

 

[167149]

It's weird. My work requires me to have a full set of both metric & imperial tools. That's a lot of money.

(I also keep a full kit of Metrinch on the boat that's very handy)

know where you're coming from there, I'm still dealing with BSW and BSF at times......... fucking gardeners

 

[Bugsy]

I just returned from a work assignment to the US.

I was working with a piece of machinery that required a measurement to the nearest 1/8", with the values input to a computer program in feet and decimal inches. I was handed a tape measure in decimal feet to confirm the measurement. The output of the computer program was in metric.

I have made a recommendation that standard units be adopted and measuring tools not using those units be removed.

 

[justsomeguy!]

I have made a recommendation that standard units be adopted and measuring tools not using those units be removed.

Good thinking. We've crashed enough millions of $ into other things as it is.

 

[SloopJonB]

My play requires me to have a full set of both metric & imperial tools. That's a lot of money.

 

[Mrleft8]

To swap out the battery on my 2007 Chevy P/U I need both metric, and SAE wrenches. (I also have to disassemble a quarter of the engine compartment/headlight assembly/grill.)

 

[Ed Lada]

Ahh, the never ending metric-imperial discussion.

And know you know the rest of the story.

 

[chester]

Ahh, the never ending metric-imperial discussion.

View attachment 541071

And know you know the rest of the story.

groaaaaannn!

 

[Fah Kiew Tu]

Although the metric system is great for rapid calculation it’s not a measuring system based on human scale. The imperial does allow you to use small numbers to mathematically describe the world in that human context.

In your opinion. It's just a measuring system, nothing more. SI is a better and more consistent system than the inch system IMO, nothing more. And let's not get into fractions at all, please.

I can & do work in both systems and have a shit-ton of metrology gear in both including a full set of micrometers up to 12". I fucking HATE converting between the 2 systems in my head, it's over-full with useless data already. And I don't like having to use a calculator just to convert numbers I SHOULD be able to do in my head either.

Just moved my Kearns OA horizontal boring mill (3.7 tonnes) and my metal planer (2.3 tonnes) in the last couple days using machinery skates and a crowbar. Still got the Dean Smith & Grace lathe (2.2 tonnes) and the Monarch CY lathe (2.6 tonnes) to go. The machine shop reorganisation is WELL overdue.

And the older machines are getting digital readouts fitted at last so I can switch from metric to inch if I really have to, instead of inch to metric ALL THE TIME like it is currently.

FKT

 

[Raz'r]

In your opinion. It's just a measuring system, nothing more. SI is a better and more consistent system than the inch system IMO, nothing more. And let's not get into fractions at all, please.

I can & do work in both systems and have a shit-ton of metrology gear in both including a full set of micrometers up to 12". I fucking HATE converting between the 2 systems in my head, it's over-full with useless data already. And I don't like having to use a calculator just to convert numbers I SHOULD be able to do in my head either.

Just moved my Kearns OA horizontal boring mill (3.7 tonnes) and my metal planer (2.3 tonnes) in the last couple days using machinery skates and a crowbar. Still got the Dean Smith & Grace lathe (2.2 tonnes) and the Monarch CY lathe (2.6 tonnes) to go. The machine shop reorganisation is WELL overdue.

And the older machines are getting digital readouts fitted at last so I can switch from metric to inch if I really have to, instead of inch to metric ALL THE TIME like it is currently.

FKT

I had no idea what a metal planer is or does. Very cool...

 

[Fah Kiew Tu]

I had no idea what a metal planer is or does. Very cool...

Yeah I use it to machine straight edge castings and the like, or rough down hot rolled steel to close to final dimensions. They are thoroughly obsolete and slow, but really useful for certain jobs if you've the floor space.

I had 2 of them and traded the other one to a friend who delivered my 'new' DS&G lathe for me. I didn't need 2, just rescued the 2nd one so it wouldn't get scrapped and wanted it to go to a good home.

FKT

 

[Mike in Seattle]

" back in the day", I (wire EDM) cut a lot of form tools for the planer guys.

, those machine gradualy dissapeared.

 

[BayRacer]

We have 2 of these for machining structural beams. One 34 feet and one 25 feet. They are ~70 years old and built better than anything in the last 25 years.

 

[Rasputin22]

I saw a photo online of a doormat just outside a Snap-On tool truck that said, "Snap-On tools are a gateway drug!"

 

[IStream]

We have 2 of these for machining structural beams. One 34 feet and one 25 feet. They are ~70 years old and built better than anything in the last 25 years. View attachment 541279

Skookum as frig!

 

[ExOmo]

I just returned from a work assignment to the US.

I was working with a piece of machinery that required a measurement to the nearest 1/8", with the values input to a computer program in feet and decimal inches. I was handed a tape measure in decimal feet to confirm the measurement. The output of the computer program was in metric.

I have made a recommendation that standard units be adopted and measuring tools not using those units be removed.

Well an ounce of prevention is worth a kilogram of cure.

 

[Captain Ketamine]

In your opinion. It's just a measuring system, nothing more. SI is a better and more consistent system than the inch system IMO, nothing more. And let's not get into fractions at all, please.

I can & do work in both systems and have a shit-ton of metrology gear in both including a full set of micrometers up to 12". I fucking HATE converting between the 2 systems in my head, it's over-full with useless data already. And I don't like having to use a calculator just to convert numbers I SHOULD be able to do in my head either.

Just moved my Kearns OA horizontal boring mill (3.7 tonnes) and my metal planer (2.3 tonnes) in the last couple days using machinery skates and a crowbar. Still got the Dean Smith & Grace lathe (2.2 tonnes) and the Monarch CY lathe (2.6 tonnes) to go. The machine shop reorganisation is WELL overdue.

And the older machines are getting digital readouts fitted at last so I can switch from metric to inch if I really have to, instead of inch to metric ALL THE TIME like it is currently.

FKT

I fully appreciate your gripe with mixed systems. As a professional, time is money so these of calculation SI is the obvious choice For you and I have great respect for the skills of machinists, fitters and turners. The cost of replacing machinery for small to medium business has always been a confounder. But the imperial system wasn’t originally designed for the extreme it was taken to. It was designed for the everyday human experience. Not machining to several thou. It’s just the way it developed. We obviously must give deference to those Victorian engineers and there construction using Imperial. But not lose sight of the use of imperial for the everyday.
In my field I’m running infusions of anaesthetic drugs in ng/kg/min. It’s much easier than using grains, drachms or scruples. I expect my juniors to have a knowledge of the rough doses required, but am happy for them to confirm using their fingers, a slide rule, log tables or a calculator simple or graphic. It makes embarrassing discussion with the coroner less frequent.

My gripe, is not with you, my gripe is with the Australian government for a ham fisted approach to introducing a logical measuring system, for there assumption that the average Australian is a fuckwit and can’t use decimal places and the failure of the education system to be able to engage pupils into becoming mathematically literate. (Like using fractions ).

 

[Captain Ketamine]

Sorry fucking AI spelling

 

[justsomeguy!]

Sorry fucking AI spelling

I thought, except for one word, all you needed was a touch of paragraphs. Oh, and a period.

 

[Captain Ketamine]

I’ve been having hot flushes so no period, (or even a full stop, which is the expression we use here).