Hi to all woodworking friends, I am doing a little bit of furniture design. I would like to know if metric measurments would be acceptable for the US woodworker? You may request a sample drawing from me. Keep on your good work. Best wishes from Sweden and Klas
I can only answer for myself... Metric is fine!
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Think that would depend on what/who you're after -- for the casual/hobby/weekender, I'd think "not so much". Most folks w/o technical training in the US just aren't familiar enough w/ metric to be comfortable thinking in those units (and even I, though a NucE for 30+ yrs w/ still think natively in English outside the specialized environment).
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If you want to appeal to more than a few people, No!
"Leon" wrote in news:byRwk.412$Z64.123 @flpi143.ffdc.sbc.com:
@k30g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
Many would (or rather should) be comfortable but are not, in part because a simple divide by 2.5 doesn't work exactly. Mostly the problem is visualizing the distances/measurements. Having grown up long ago in metric, I still find the intricacies of US measurements confounding, but on the other hand, more easy to draw in my mind.
I wouldn't mind seeing metric drawings ... And I am sure there are some here who can easily transpose them into US measurements, although for precise drawings, they may need to be redone. Morris Dovey, any comments?
I'd very much prefer inch measurements, but if the plan was for something that I found especially beautiful/exciting, I'd probably shrug and take the time to convert the measurements.
If the plan requires metric hardware, then it might be important to make that absolutely clear - and a list of sources would bring you much good karma.
I'm not sure I'm the right guy to ask since I don't build much furniture and almost nothing that I do build is likely to be thought beautiful by any normal person... :-)
Even if 2.5 did divide exactly, there is bound to be a miscalculation at least one time when manually converting a metric drawing into US measurements.
Mostly the problem is
I think I could go with a metric drawing If all my equipment had metric measurements.
"Leon" wrote in news:VMVwk.22351$ snipped-for-privacy@flpi144.ffdc.sbc.com:
I really like metric. Dividing or multiplying by 10 is so much easier than 2. However, I like my son-in-law's T-shirt that says: There are only 10 kinds of people: Those who understand binary and those who don't.
I live in Canada, ostensibly a metric country. Despite that, and because of our proximity to the US, most of our lumber at the yard is sized in the old imperial way.
I drive in kilometers per hour, read celcius temps, and buy sliced meat by the gram. I'm used to it.
But reading metric plans and using inch-based lumber would be very difficult. It would add to my errors, and I don't need any help in that department. Converting isn't a difficult process for me, but I think I'd avoid it because I'd end up with a measurement like 3.6984".
My $0.02000000000000
But surely your Lumber sizes are only nominal anyway? When you want a specific size you plane it yourself to exact size. Like in the UK, if you bought "2x2" planed you got something around 1.3/4"x1.3/4" plus and minus about 1/16". These days its 44mmx44mm and that's the finished size you buy.
Speaking personally, at age 61, I've only just started using metric units for measuring timber as I always used to like imperial measure. However, trying to work out the centre of a piece of timber that is 1.13/16" thick requires more brain exercise, tiresome for my old brain, than halving 50mm.
Why convert - just get a metric rule :-)
Think currency, you guys should be used to working in 10s, here in the UK we used to have to put up with 12 pennies to the shilling and twenty shillings to the pound.
Tanus wrote in news:ga1d04$e67$ snipped-for-privacy@aioe.org:
To add to that confusion, lumber I saw in Holland was sold in metric measurements, but acursory examination clearly showed that the plywood panels etc were 4x8 feet ... Still they measure everything in m and cm.
My ?0,02 .
Yup, same here in the UK
Does ANYONE not own _a_ ruler and tape that doesn't have metric markings?
Anyone who has NOTHING with metric units, speak up!
** Posted from
To which I always ask, what is half of 1 mm?
Actually in the US, you can commonly buy rough cut, S2S, and S2S1E/S3S. Surfaced 2 sides and Surfaced 2 sides 1 edge ripped straight. All are commonly nominal and are intended to be resurfaced/planed to the desired normal thickness.
There is also a very common S4S designation for lumber and this lumber is uniform in width and thickness and not normally intended to be resurfaced to aquire the common thickness of 3/4" from 4/4 stock.
Half of 1-13/16" Convert all to the lowest common deniminator, add, then double the common deniminatior. 1" = 16/16" + 13/16" = 29/16". Half of that is 29/32". But I hear you, several years of the old fashoned way of creating mechanical drawings mades one quick with fractions. ;~)
Answer: RCH
I have several with out the two markings. Oddly they are kinda hard to find. IIRC FastCap makes a couple now. Working with a Festool Domino which is only metric is a bit tough at times when wanting to cut a mortise in the exact middle of a 3/4" thick piece of wood. Sooo I have been looking tape measures with the dual markings.
My Rules have standard on one side and metric on the other. :~(
500 microns or 5,000,000 angstroms.
"Leon" wrote in news:dVZwk.25149$N87.16381 @nlpi068.nbdc.sbc.com:
I was out to dinner, sorry for the late reply. My answer is 0.5 mm (here in the US; in Holland it woud be 0,5 mm).
Why measure?
Divide, and units become irrelevant.
A combo square used similar to a depth gauge makes a great divider. I do this with my mortiser. Set the square to protrude ~ 1/2 the board thickness. Scribe a line, flip the square to the other side, scribe again. Exactly between those two lines is the center. Use the board to set the tool.
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