What did you do Today 2018

You've got me thinking there Roy, I can still remember being taught about rods, poles and perches at school along with the furlongs and acres and I remember that an inch is 3 barleycorns long etc. (can't remember much else though!)

Brian

Would that be an iPhone, iPad, or Macbook, Michael?

Reminds me of a conference in Cambridge where a presented was setting up his Macbook on the lectern, and it slide off on to the floor with a dreadful clunk. Stunned and horrified silence, then the session chair stepped forward and said "this is Cambridge, Newton's University - Apples always fall to the ground." Laughter and applause while presenter picked up his fortunately undamaged laptop and got it going...

I thank MichealG, Mark and Richard for their replies, but it all rather proves my point really. I'll stick to working in units that I can understand and visualise rather than abstract approximations.

Chris

I am retiring end of March after 52 years of tool making including my apprenticeship of 5 years working first in inches until around 1980 then it was metric which was a massive change, but a change for the good as far as I could see, once you get into the swing of it is quite easy to use. I still find letter or number drills scattered around in my tool boxes, and can still remember tapping drill sizes for various Whitworth threads

Being employed by a worldwide company I had drawings in metric from Europe and Asia and sometimes drawing in inches from America, I can work in both because I have to.

As an aside Newtons are used to measure the force required to move the gear shift lever in your car if you have cable change, different car makers have different limits, 1 to 4, 4 to 6 or 6 to 8 Newtons , it use to be ounces but that was long time ago.

Colin ................wondering if retirement will suit me

Mitre Bond

Neil

I remember that, when the publishing industry moved from imperial to metric measurements, my employer gave me a tiny little ruler about 250mm long. It wasn't much use, in that my main duty at the time was designing tabloid newspaper two-page spreads. Instead of picking an argument with the powers that be, I went to the nearest office supplier and asked for a long metric ruler. "How long?", I was asked. "Oh, about two foot six", I replied.... And, although I worked with metric measurements for many years after that, I still visual lengths in yards, feet and inches.

They're ALL abstract approximations! It's just you've trained your brain to visualise imperial units.

I think imperial i see imperial i was taught imperial and no mater what i do I cant get new fangled metric system but everything seems to be metricnorm

I have no great problem with most systems, but I do think the differing systems is one reason for some of the big mistakes that are sometimes made by politicians and managers. Note I did not include engineers.

I been to ELLENROAD STEAM MUSEUM to day whit a couple off friends good out norm

There was a lot of whinging when the diary industry went over to imperial units. not least about the "difficulty" in changing from the established conversion factors for weight of milk to volume. What used to be tons to pints (1792) or gallons (224) became tonnes to litres. In reality, as far as they were concerned, one tonne is 1000 litres given that the density of milk and water are almost the same and we are talking about putting the stuff into lorries and bottles.

Interesting conversion site here. Seems to cover almost any unit ever invented! Thank god for metric....

Murray

I've bitten the bullet. It's more convenient to use millimetres start to finish when 3D printing and now I've got a fully metric lathe, I've started using it in millimetres. It does take some getting used to, especially when working out diameter cuts with 0.02mm divisions = 0.04mm off the diameter.

Neil

Plus every time there been conversion it has cost us dearly the first time 240D pennies in a pound and now there only 100 pence now .plus 6 pennies hot cross bun now cost about 17 pence and even losing letter in our words see wee are losing out norm

But those letters were artificially added by people who thought that English grammar should match Latin.

Discussion of the change from imperial to the metric system always reminds me of my father in law- a mason and builder in the north east of Scotland. When his familiar 3 foot folding rule finally broke, he had to buy a new one and only metric folding rules were available -hence the "Nicolson" system was developed. Measure the wall or foundations in number of full rule lengths, add on anything extra in feet and inches and the rest as fractions of an inch I.e. 4 metres, 2 foot 6 and a 1/4 inches plus (for anything left over and extreme accuracy, a"thoughtie" which the Scottish readers will understand.

I had my own problems with the "new" system when ordering ready mix for the kitchen extension. All carefully worked out in feet and converted to cubic metres rapidly when the company insisted that it had to be metric. The Lorry started to discharge it onto the front drive for barrowing and it was only when it reached the hedge on one side and the flower bed on the other that the penny dropped - to convert cubic feet to cubic yards (or metres) you divide by 27, not the 9 I had used. Father in law wasn't phased - "Bung it in the hole- it will save on blocks". We could have put a tower block on those foundations!

Sandy

Posted by norman royds 2 on 04/02/2018 16:16:58:

One a penny two a penny

This is not decimalisation, this is BOGOF

I use a metric system. everything is ten time more or ten times less, not like the alternative with no relation to preceding or post measurement.

So when I was planning to make some solid Oak furniture for our home and was looking for a timber merchant, I was so pleased to find one here in Wales that quoted by the cubic meter.

Edited By Conroy Stark on 04/02/2018 18:46:27

Perhaps only to be used on higher orders of the clergy.

However on another topic, I completed the machining of a Arrow Fletching Jig for a friend today.

Machined some slots and holes in 1100 grade Aluminium (friend supplied) rubbish stuff to machine it does not clear as well as 6061, then fitted a M4 helicoil to give longer screw thread life.

Then turned some parts in 6010 and Delrin.

Job done.

Edited By Conroy Stark on 04/02/2018 19:04:09