| General > General Technical Chat |
| why is the US not Metric |
| << < (59/291) > >> |
| rstofer:
--- Quote from: Monkeh on November 03, 2019, 01:19:49 am --- --- Quote from: rstofer on November 03, 2019, 01:07:53 am ---I'm not sure what a metric lag screw would look like. Do they really think the homeowner wants to buy a 14mm wrench just to tighten a lag screw? --- End quote --- Just... like... an imperial.. one.. And no, they don't - 13mm is the usual standard. --- End quote --- Yes. people need 10, 12, 13 and 14 as a minimum set. 8 comes in handy from time to time but I don't often use the larger sizes. |
| vk6zgo:
--- Quote from: rstofer on November 03, 2019, 01:21:23 am --- --- Quote from: Monkeh on November 03, 2019, 01:19:49 am --- --- Quote from: rstofer on November 03, 2019, 01:07:53 am ---I'm not sure what a metric lag screw would look like. Do they really think the homeowner wants to buy a 14mm wrench just to tighten a lag screw? --- End quote --- Just... like... an imperial.. one.. And no, they don't - 13mm is the usual standard. --- End quote --- Yes. people need 10, 12, 13 and 14 as a minimum set. 8 comes in handy from time to time but I don't often use the larger sizes. --- End quote --- You can almost always get away with a 1/2" for 13mm & vice versa, as you can with 9/16" & 14mm. A couple of the big sizes are close, too, but the small sizes don't translate well. In Oz, in the past, Whitworth threaded bolts were widely used. (still a lot around). The threads are mostly the same as UNC, but the spanners (wrenches) are sized in (nominal) thread diameter, rather than "across the flats" as UNF are (at least in Oz, & I think the UK). They also go "a bit funny" in the smaller sizes, & don't seem consistent. Interestingly, we used 1/8" Whitworth for most Electronics stuff, whereas the UK used a mixture of Whitworth & BA. There doesn't seem to be any equivalent of the "customary" US screw sizes used so widely in Electronics from North America, so we hoarded any spare ones we found, like a miser! The (mostly) 3mm Metric screws in older German equipment used fine threads, older Japanese stuff used coarse Metric. The ones you buy over the counter these days seem finer than the older Japanese ones, but coarser than the old German ones. |
| bsfeechannel:
--- Quote from: rstofer on November 03, 2019, 12:03:47 am ---Second, despite our backward system, we have walked on the Moon and nobody else has and we did it 50 years ago. Some of the work was calc'd in metric, most of it was built in customary units. --- End quote --- And the next time, it will be fully in metric. I'm pretty sure. Can't wait. :popcorn: |
| vk6zgo:
--- Quote from: rstofer on November 03, 2019, 12:58:20 am --- --- Quote from: Monkeh on November 03, 2019, 12:37:39 am --- --- Quote from: rstofer on November 03, 2019, 12:03:47 am ---Been to the Moon, largest economy in the world, Imperial units... See a pattern here? --- End quote --- Your delusional ego, yes. The units you use have nothing to do with the resources you have the luck to have as a country. --- End quote --- The only important resources are people and capitalism. We can buy everything else. A relatively business-friendly government helps. --- End quote --- The private sector didn't take you to the Moon--- the taxpayers paid for that. Maybe next time, Elon will change that! ;D |
| Altair8800:
Shhhhh... Do not let the Americans know that all the units they use in Electricity/Electronics are ALL IN METRIC (Watts, Joules, Volts, Amperes, etc.). They might freak out... ;D Actually when I studied engineering I used to immediately convert all US Customary/Imperial units to MKS Metric units. Once you did that you no longer had to worry about converting units anymore (Because if you have all your units initially in MKS you are guaranteed to have a MKS result). So if you have all your units start in MKS (Metre, Kilogram, Second and also Ampere, Kelvin, Mole, Candela) you know your end units will also be standard MKS type units (like Joule, Watt, Pascal (pressure), Newton(force), etc., etc.). Then after I did my calculations in Metric I would then convert the final result to US Customary/Imperial units. It was actually easier and quicker and less chance for error for me to do it this way. I actually find the Metric system 10x easier (pun intended). ;) |
| Navigation |
| Message Index |
| Next page |
| Previous page |