in 1970 (when the US was supposed to change) if you asked me about the metric system, I would have told you the rest of the world should change to our system. Why not, I already know it.
Fast forward to 1990. I go to work for a company that has machines and tools made in Austria. Gauges read in bars, not pounds. All hardware is in MM.
Now, ask me the same question. Yes, we should change today. Metric, like our money system, is just plain easier, can be more accurate and faster to work with.
"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in news:YZTNg.1126$SQ1.201@trndny09:
*snip*
My big request is simply to measure things in American or Metric, and stick with one system. Don't make me waste time with stupid unit conversions because you were too lazy to measure from the same side of the ruler.
Puckdropper
Over half of our machine tools (at my place of work) are Japanese. All our machines are graduated in imperial measure. The only advantage (besides being like everyone else) of the metric system is that it is easier to learn. I don't know what you are trying to say with the money reference.
Some call this a problem, I call it Natural Selection. Only the smartest and fittest survive to perpetuate beautiful wood reproductions. And that's a good thing.
:-)
Mark
Lot easier to learn but, other than that, just different.
CM, MM, Meter. Penny, dime, dollar, ten dollar, hundred . . . . you get the ideal.
Easier to think in multiples of ten than 32nds and 64ths.
Yes, let's fix this weird time thing we use now, too.
60 seconds to a minute, 60 minutes to an hour, then 24 hours to a day that make varied length months. Digitalize time and mess up everyone:-) Joe
The thing about metric(UK has been metric for some years)is you can get ripped of at the lumber yard when buying wood,for instance... If you wanted to buy a 4' lenght of any particular wood you have to buy
2metres to get that 4' lenght resulting in whats left as waste.
I converted all my tools to British Standard Whitworth...
-jtpr
IBM did that years ago It was 00.0 to 23.9 No minutes, just tenths of an hour. I suppose someone might have taken that to hundtedths of an hour but 6 minutes was close enough for me.
Close but I want everything based on 10. Or we could shift to octal as it's close to 10 and easier to use on computers. Joe
Mark & Juanita :
My trailer has a slot cut into one side. It most certainly did not happen when I was using it as a "workbench" for cutting up some plywood. BTW, did you know that the stock blade on a DeWalt circle saw can cut galvanized steel with hardly any trouble? At least mine can...
/Par
It does a great job cutting through its own power cord, too. DAMHIKT.
The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote: snip
Australia has had the metric system for quite awhile mow. Money changed from Pounds and Pence to Dollars and Cents in 1966. I still remember all the adults complaining and winging about getting ripped of and Mum converting everything back to Pounds to see what the REAL price was. I was only a young bloke and was more interested in the fancy notes and coins ;). After a few years complaints died away. We changed to metric measurements about 34 years ago. I was doing my apprenticeship at the time and Trade Calc suddenly became a lot easier. Timber is sold in lengths of 1.2 = 4' 2.4 = 8' 3.00 = 10' 3.6 = 12' etc. or near enough. These sizes have now become standards and present no problems. regards John
I use imperial measurements all day every day. Not a 16th of 64th among them. Might see a .0625 or a .03125. Most of the engineering professions quit using common fractions many years ago in favor of decimal fractions. Far more precise and much easier to work with. The only advantage the metric system has over this is that the base units are easier to learn. For those of us that have already learned it, there is no advantage.
Getting the time of day in 3 columns on a card is pretty efficient.
:-) Makita... 8" or whatever the next size up from 7 1/4" is. Brand new....... first cut..... 14" power cord just that quick. LOL
: The thing about metric(UK has been metric for some years)is you can get : ripped of at the lumber yard when buying wood,for instance... : If you wanted to buy a 4' lenght of any particular wood you have to buy : 2metres to get that 4' lenght resulting in whats left as waste.
: -- : Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite
IIRC, plywood in Europe comes in sheets of 122 x 244 centimeters. Nice round numbers, those (very close to four by eight feet).
The units in Imperial are more ergonomic than those in metric.
-- Andy Barss
Andrew Barss wrote in news:eei606$c8u$1 @onion.ccit.arizona.edu:
That's one of the problems with metric. There's no analogue to the foot. I look around me, and I see all kinds of things that are a just a few inches shorter or longer than a foot.
If they had made the centimeter twice as long, then a dekameter (10 cm) would mean something. Now it's one of those unneeded units that no one uses.
Puckdropper
I don't think you're looking very carefully. In less than a minute, I'm able to find 3 common items that are within 1 or 2 cm of a dekameter: coffee mugs, CD's, business cards.
However, whenever I hear about the "convenience" of a base-10 system, I'm reminded of the time my mother went to a fabric store in Denmark (we're American), and asked for 1.5 meters of fabric. The clerk asked her how much that is in centimeters, because her tape measure was in cm and she didn't know how to convert!
Mark
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