BillFitzmaurice.info

Hey Bill and all others, i wonder if there are plans for us Europeans with metric measurements? If not, maybe it would be a good idea?

While it would be good if they were available, it's not a big deal. You have to realize that while the measurements in inches are fairly simple because that's how they were conceived, the metric conversion will be messy.

Get yourself a few steel rulers with metric scales on one side and imperial on the other. That's what I did after doing the conversion dance with the Omni 12.

osse wrote:Hey Bill and all others, i wonder if there are plans for us Europeans with metric measurements? If not, maybe it would be a good idea?

I work with equal ease in both having double graduated steel rules and both a metric and imperial tape.

It's great actually because imperial is handy for some measurements and metric's great for others.

When it comes to halving distances like 5-3/16", I simply use the metric tape and divide by two ( 132/2 = 66 )

It's just the same as being fluent in two languages.

Harley wrote:

osse wrote:Hey Bill and all others, i wonder if there are plans for us Europeans with metric measurements? If not, maybe it would be a good idea?

I work with equal ease in both having double graduated steel rules and both a metric and imperial tape.

It's great actually because imperial is handy for some measurements and metric's great for others.

It's just the same as being fluent in two languages.

+1

Horses for courses.

Thnx guys

It takes a while to get used to inches if you grew up in the metric world. Measurements in inches were meaningless for me, whereas 50cm gives me a clue as to what approximate size it is. Even more so when looking for a smaller piece of a particular size in the "Harley scrap trailer". I cannot tell if a scrap piece would be a good candidate for a brace that requires an 8" x 3", just did not have a feeling for those measurements. So far I have "translated" my plans to metric. A next build I may do in inches, but that took a long time.

AntonZ wrote:It takes a while to get used to inches if you grew up in the metric world.

Canada was supposed to convert to metric back in the 70's but never really gained any traction. I'm comfortable with either, but prefer imperial since I hardly ever encounter metric in my trade.

I can understand not wanting to use imperial if you grew up with metric though.

AntonZ wrote:It takes a while to get used to inches if you grew up in the metric world..... I cannot tell if a scrap piece would be a good candidate for a brace that requires an 8" x 3", just did not have a feeling for those measurements.....

But it's like speaking two languages fluently - one will be slightly better than the other, but both are familiar. You speak English real well, so I bet if you get a double graduated rule, you'll get the hang of imperial in no time.

The language analogy works.

Unlike languages, you don't need to learn much. An inch (1") plus 1/8" 1/4" 1/2" and 3/4". Get them in your head and points between will be easy. 7/16" looks like a nightmare but it's simply "a bit under half an inch". 1/16" under to be precise. That's half of an eighth of an inch.

12" or a foot (1') is roughly 30cms so a metre is just over 3 foot.

Remember the sizings on the plans are rough anyway. Again where imperial is good. Sometimes the precision of mm is too much. Sometimes though it is perfect for really tiny or accurate measurements like Xmax where imperial would be a bit silly.

Harley is right, get a double rule and you'll start thinking in both in no time.

WB wrote: Canada was supposed to convert to metric back in the 70's but never really gained any traction.

At school, everything was metric. Then later, in the real world, I discovered that the weather temperature is in Celsius, but the water temperature in the pool in Fahrenheit, everything in the construction/woodworking is in imperial, you buy paint in gallons, you weight yourself in pounds, you order your sliced ham in pounds, etc.

When you enter the scientific field, then everything is back in metric again, just like it was in school.

The analogy about a second language is goo, but I'd say that it's far more easier for me to convert imperial to metric than it is to translate from English to French.

I couldn't resist....

Frederic Gelinas wrote:The analogy about a second language is goo,

This is a good example of how accidentally dropping one letter changes the meaning by 180 degrees. The "analogy" goes from a good thing to a messy thing.

Gotta' love the English language.

Bet you're glad you read this....I mean, red this. What I mean to say is that as you read this....I mean, reed this - oh never mind.

Bruce Weldy wrote:I couldn't resist....

Frederic Gelinas wrote:The analogy about a second language is goo,

This is a good example of how accidentally dropping one letter changes the meaning by 180 degrees.

I probably played too much of "World of Goo" on the Wii last night!

Frederic Gelinas wrote:

WB wrote: Canada was supposed to convert to metric back in the 70's but never really gained any traction.

The analogy about a second language is goo, but I'd say that it's far more easier for me to convert imperial to metric than it is to translate from English to French.

French was compulsory in middle school. Ou A la poulet is all I remember from 2 years of French class.

I am very grateful for currency being decimal in UK from 1971. We grew up with that and metric alongside the imperial thinking of parents and grandparents.

My father, rather confusingly, well into the 21st century, continued to talk about "LSD values" by which he meant 'pounds', 'shillings', and 'pence', the imperial units of currency.

UROK wrote:......continued to talk about "LSD values" by which he meant 'pounds', 'shillings', and 'pence', .....

AAaahhhh....pounds, shillings and pence...those were the days. I remember being in the Scouts and we'd go around fund-raising doing "A bob a job"

*for you heathens* One Bob = I shilling and there were 20 shillings in a Pound...or 16 ounzes in a pound if you were weighing...