Tape Measure: I Don't Know How to Use It

darkzero

darkzero

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So today I found this brand new Stanley Fatmax tape measure in my tool box. I thought, oh nice, wonder why I never use this one....

Now I remember. A buddy of mine in Europe that I used to mod flashlights for sent it to me upon my request. You won't see them like this in your local hardware store here in the States.

The damn thing has these funny numbers on it. That's why I never used it, I don't know how! What the heck was I thinking when I asked my buddy to specifically send me one like this!

Just a joke fellas, no offense to the metric guys. And NO, we will never convert over! :p

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I bought one of those to make antennas since a lot of the programs use metric dimensions.
Wish we would convert so we could get rid of all those silly fractions. You can't imagine how much time I spend teaching students to read a ruler, not to mention adding measurements. Lots of them also can't even tell time on an analog clock.
 
I accidently bought a Starrett tape measure that I thought was one the had both metric and inches on it. Nope! it only reads in mm's and is 5 meter long tape. Still setting on the book shelf collecting dust. Matter of fact, I was looking for something the other night and ran across it. Wiped the dust off of it and put it back on the shelf. Let my kids worry about it after I'm gone!
 
When I was in grade school they said we'd convert to metric. All they did was convert to both. Now it takes twice as many rulers and wrenches and spare nuts and bolts to make or repair anything.

I have a question for our metric pals. Do you ever get so your able to recognize what size a bolt or nut is?
 
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Don't feel bad I still can't read a yard stick, micrometers I can
 
Franko said:
When I was in grade school they said we'd convert to metric. All the did was convert to both. Now it takes twice as many rulers and wrenches and spare nuts and bolts to make or repair anything.

I have a question for our metric pals. Do you ever get so your able to recognize what size a bolt or nut is?
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That is our situation here in Canada. With time we accumulate the extra set of tools and get used to the reaching for the right size wrench MOST of the time. What's more, here in Quebec the French language is prevalent so we also need two vocabularies as well. Makes life interesting but when you grow up in it there is no problem. Many of us are conversant in both languages and measurement systems.

Interesting anecdote, last month I went to the machinery supply store for some 6mm x .9 screws. The clerk measured my sample said that they didn't have that size and didn't know where I could get some. So I went back home to consider my options and decided to rethread the hole to the next largest size. It turned out that the hole was actually 1/4 x 28tpi. and that I had missed the slight difference between the two threads. I went back to the supplier who had plenty of 1/4x 28 screws and who was surprised that he had miss-measured as well the first time around.
 
Easy to do. M5 x .8mm and 10-32 are even closer; .006" on the diameter and .00025" on the pitch. At least for SHC screws, you can tell the difference by the knurling on the Imperial screws.
 
darkzero said:
No vernier scale but have you ever seen one of these? Haha

Mitutoyo 216-105

For some strange reason I want on but notbfor the prices they have sold on ebay for.
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Dad had one of these he picked up at the local tool company. We laughed about it. Don't even remember what happened to it. Probably one of the grand kids got a hold of it.
And yeah, crazy, the ebay prices people try to get for these today!
 
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