Do you work in Imperial or Metric?

Jim Dobson

Active User
Registered
Joined
Sep 13, 2013
Messages
276
Do you work in Imperial or Metric?

Being an Aussie and 52 years of age I was mid school when Australia started the change over from Imperial to Metric (something that even to this day 40 years later isn't even completely instituted). Here we were one day at school learning Imperial and the next we were told to scratch that and start learning Metric. Something that even our teaches struggled with. So a lot of us around my age have always been in a bit of a twilight zone when it comes to both systems. Older people can easily work in Imperial and younger people can easily work in metric because its what they were solely taught.

Ok, after saying all the above I do find working in metric a whole lot easier, but I still work a lot in imperial as well.

I still to this day wish that I'd been taught just the one method.

What's your preference and what were you taught?
 
I use both, but being in the US, I am pretty much forced to use Imperial. I wish we would wise up and go all Metric. {But it will never happen 8^( }

Randy
 
I actually still use both too. Some stuff is easier in Imperial and some is easier in metric. So I just switch as needed.

Bob
 
I use mostly USA customary (which is not quite the same as British Imperial) because my tools and machines, being about as old as I am, are all customary. However I am quite comfortable with metric and if I could afford all new stuff might go that way. Metric stuff is not at all hard to come by here, though the selection of metric hardware in the village hardware store is limited.
 
Inch. Even at where I work, we work in inches - because our machines are inches, our tools are in inches. The majority of our work comes in, in metric; but you know how easy it is to convert metric to inch? Divide by 25.4. If our CAD guy hasn't already made a company print changed to inch, it's simple enough to scribble the converted dimensions and tolerances onto the print.

But I suppose, the only reason we can do that is because it is a small company, a little over a dozen shop employees in the machine shop. A big plant could perhaps have problems converting hundreds, or thousands, of prints and dimensions...

On the other hand, other shops in the area have gone metric, particularly because they deal a lot with international business, which is nigh-exclusively metric.

Oh, but as far as a hobbyist view, yes, inch. My 1950s-vintage lathe will not cut a metric dimension, I have to measure it in inches. Otherwise it will not come out right... I couldn't tell it, we are cutting to 12.7 millimeters, it would just shut down on principle... "WHAT IS THIS FOREIGN CRAP" it would exclaim! But if I say, Mr. Lathe, we are turning to 500 thou, it becomes happy and works magic.

Something to keep in mind, a piece has a dimension in either system. If it is a 16mm bushing and you measure it with an inch mic and inch telescoping gauges (facetious indeed), it will press whether the hole is 15.98 mm or .628 thou.
 
Being in the US, I also use US Customary. Although I have a DRO & plenty of digital measuring tools that can switch to metric, I still prefer to work with US Customary. And when I do have to machine to metric specifications, I always convert to inch to do my work. That's how I learned & that's what I'm used to. When someone says a few thou or a couple of hundred thou, I can get a visual of how much that is. But when it comes to metric I'm lost.

When it comes to bolt heads & metric threads, I do have a good idea of what size the bolt head is or the thread diameter. I used to work in automotive repair/performance (mostly on imports) so that's where that came from. However when I machine parts that use fasteners, I always prefer to use metric fasteners.
 
I work in Imperial (US Customary) for machine work because that's what my equipment and measuring tools are calibrated in. If I have metric drawings to work from, I convert to Imperial for measurements. But I do a lot of engineering in Metric because it is easier to do mass and motion calculations SI units.
 
Some of my measuring tools are metric, some are imperial. I just use whatever is at hand. I can easily convert roughly in my head, or switch between the 2 without problems. Use a metric inch conversion chart on the wall for quick referencing.
Im 51 Jim, so in the same schooled era as you.

cheers Phil
 
I use both often in the same project but I prefer to use metric, its easier to me even though I only ever used imperial until middle aged.
 
Back
Top