Metric to american

Just think, before the internet and Google it would have been the subject of an all night discussion in an Irish pub. That is, after all, how the "Guinness Book of World Records" got started.
 
If you can tell time with a clock that isn't metric, what's the problem with measurements that aren't metric? You metric guys are just lazy, that's all there is to it. ;)

Tom
 
We have a saying "the pint's a pound the world around" which is true for the American pint which contains 16 fluid ounces and weighs close to 16 ounces which is a pound.

I went to school in the UK, our saying was "A pint of pure water weighs a pound and a quarter, a gallon of water weighs ten pounds"

I did like Savarins link about how the US and UK fluid ounce changed.

It is interesting that the UK has generally gone metric, except for beer still being sold in pints and speed in mile/hr.
 
If you can tell time with a clock that isn't metric, what's the problem with measurements that aren't metric? You metric guys are just lazy, that's all there is to it. ;)
We also measure angles in degrees, minutes, and seconds. This apparently goes back to antiquity, predating the ability to divide time into minutes and seconds by more than a thousand years.
Tom
I went to school in the UK, our saying was "A pint of pure water weighs a pound and a quarter, a gallon of water weighs ten pounds"

I did like Savarins link about how the US and UK fluid ounce changed.

It is interesting that the UK has generally gone metric, except for beer still being sold in pints and speed in mile/hr.
Also milk although on recent trips I seem to recall the canned beer and milk are now dispensed in ml. They probably won't be successful in changing a pub pint though as changing the size to 500 ml would serve 68 ml less beer.
 
One of the complications (difficulties?) I've frequently read about is the need to replace fasteners with the nearest equivalent size in "the other" system. Bill Hudson just posted a very nice screw size chart, showing Imperial (number) and metric fastener sizes, all sorted by major diameter.
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/machine-screws-inc-archaic-sizes.71735/
Download the PDF. It should be pretty helpful when converting.
 
If I may: The chart referred to was for my own purposes, my own uses. There are a number of holes where metric and imperial thread "pitch" and TPI are not listed. The conversions there are for younger eyes than mine. Feel free to fill it in, long as you post the updated version!

I also would like you to take note of the many archaic imperial sizes that have not been used for many years Nr 14 VS 1/4-20 for example. We have stabilized(?) the industry to the point that many of those sizes are now obsolete. From 5/0-160 to 6-32 are still fairly common, especially in "optical" sizes or applications. Those larger are today figured by even numbers such as 6,8,10, &12. Anything larger is figured in fractions. While my tap sets have Nr 12, I haven't seen them recently. My interest in the odd sizes is pure purely academic. So far... ... But, I do like old machinery.

One other point I'd like to bring to your attention: Rounding... As stated above, by several folks, rounding is fine in some applications. And doesn't matter in others. Many of the conversions done with that chart came out to 7 or 8 places. At the 4th place, if it was 50 or less, it was rounded down. 51 was rounded up. Most measuring instruments stop at 3 places. Rarely at 4. That's my reference point. Your's may be tighter. Any metric conversion is liable.

Bill Hudson​
 
Thanks for clarifying, Bill. I was assuming that, by giving the link to your post instead of reproducing the chart, people would read what you said and use the information with due care. But we all know what value to give "assumptions."

Nevertheless, you've provided some useful information.
 
Being an Aussie I mostly work in metric but I have a couple of imperial mics incase I need to work in imperial, so I don't have to keep converting. I was almost in high school when Australia converted from imperial to metric so use both.
 
As another aussie I was in high school when we officially went metric. That was 1972. What is interesting is that 15 years ago TV's were sold by metric screen sizes ie 106cm, these days we have gone back to TVs in inch sizes. More than likely that is because most tvs come from China and the USA is China's biggest market. What is even more interesting is the kids here who will talk in feet and inches, even though they have never been taught that in school. If you ask them to show you approx how long an inch or a foot is, most of them haven't got a clue. Why is that? Well I reckon its because most the TV shows and movies they have been brought up on are of USA origin.
Then you have the weight of newborn babies, for some weird reason grannies can't understand the weight of a baby in grams. No it has to be in lbs and ounces. Yet they have no problem buying a couple of Kg's of meat at the butcher or 500 grams of butter. The funniest thing of all with this is most of these grannies these days were still in school when the country went metric. Go figure.
Now, when you go to buy self drilling screws at our big hardware store the size is mm for length and gauge for dia. huh?? Gauge hasnt been used here for 40 + years. I dont get why they just cant give the dia in mm as well. Talk about confusing. It just goes on and on.
Peter
 
Quote 'Talk about confusing'. Well yes it is and it would be a lot better to stick with inches and ounces.
I started work at a company making Imperial sized engines but then they got a license to make a French engine (stolen from the Germans) that was all metric.
The company set up a department to make these engines and equiped it with metric tools and drawings.
Much later, Ted Heath (Prime Minister) announced that England WOULD go metric, to which I and many others took exception. I always ask for Imperial measurements when buying loose goods but I know what the meric equivalent is and it's surprising (perhaps not) how many time a rip off is attempted.
Brian
 
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