Imperial units

[wandererfan]

I am a woodworking hobbyist in the USA, and unfortunately, all my tools are in imperial units. ...
One is that it is highly unlikely that I could, or would ever need, to cut to a precision of even one sixty fourth of an inch. ...
So, I will be doing my drawings, such that one millimeter is one sixty fourth of an inch, and thus one inch is 64 millimeters.

1/64" = 0.016". Using FC units as decimal inches (x.xx") gives better precision with less mental gymnastics.

You'll have to do metric/imperial conversions anyway since sheet goods don't seem to be available in actual imperial thickness (1/2" stock is 12mm, 3/4" is 18mm, etc), at least around here.

wf

[AvidHunter]

When I began my freshman year (1975) engineering studies at the state university the professor stood in front of the class and told us that since the USA had OFFICIALLY converted to the metric system in 1959 our studies would all be in the metric system. All text books were in metric, all assignments were in metric, all lectures were in metric. I do not recall any class that was not in metric. I liked the metric system. When I graduated with my BS degree in Mechanical engineering and started my first job at the free worlds largest airplane manufacturer my first supervisor gave a little speech. In it he pointed out that this is a capitalistic society with the worlds largest manufacturing infrastructure, bar none, and all of it is built on the imperial system. It is so engrained that any foreign subcontractor wishing to do work for us must do it in the imperial system. Since similar contract rules applied for most industries the usage tentacles of the imperial system of units reached throughout the world. With such a massive infrastructure based on the imperial system it would simply not be cost effective to change it all. Now with that said put away that metric non-sense and get to work with real units. From that point on the metric system virtually ceased to exist in my world.

In hind-sight the automobile industry was a notable exception back then as it is now and there have been a few minor inroads taking place here and there. But for the most part nothing has really changed...it's all about the money.

[bejant]

When I began my freshman year (1975) engineering studies at the state university the professor stood in front of the class and told us that since the USA had OFFICIALLY converted to the metric system in 1959

I heard a similar speech from one of my teachers around that time too. Now 40 years later it seems about the only thing we buy in metric units is soda pop. Try to buy threaded metric fasteners at a big box home improvement store and you'll pay twice as much.

[shoogen]

Where i grew up. Only people owning a Harley Davidson Motorcycle needed to imperial tools.

[Bill Daniels]

Here in America we believe in capitalism and standards kill innovation. We like to have competing measuring units and let the free market decide.

It's a world market if you haven't noticed. That market HAS decided the issue - metric. Only a few non-competitive industries in the US cling to imperial units.

It's ho-hum issue - units is units. I use both.

US citizen.

[NormandC]

Bill, I took tanderson69's comment as sarcasm.