who has gone metric?

M

MCRIPPPer

Active User
Registered
Joined
Jan 7, 2013
Messages
113
just want to see how many guys in the U.S. work in metric. i am committed to metric. i only own metric taps and dies, only have metric screws, only use metric tools, all the machines like mill, lathe, car, motorcycle are naturally metric (although my mill has imperial lead screws.) unfortunately i have to buy end mills and drills in fractional because it is rare to find metric versions in the u.s.

material is still fractional as well but it gets machined down anyway.



so shout out if you are metric and shame on you if your not! :nono: :lmao:
 
MCRIPPPer said:
just want to see how many guys in the U.S. work in metric. i am committed to metric. i only own metric taps and dies, only have metric screws, only use metric tools, all the machines like mill, lathe, car, motorcycle are naturally metric (although my mill has imperial lead screws.) unfortunately i have to buy end mills and drills in fractional because it is rare to find metric versions in the u.s.

material is still fractional as well but it gets machined down anyway.



so shout out if you are metric and shame on you if your not! :nono: :lmao:
Click to expand...

I'm comfortable with both systems and I'd go metric if I could but 99% of my tools (mostly old junk) are customary. If I was to win the lottery (not likely as I don't play it) perhaps I'd buy all new metric stuff.
 
MCRIPPPer said:
just want to see how many guys in the U.S. work in metric. i am committed to metric. i only own metric taps and dies, only have metric screws, only use metric tools, all the machines like mill, lathe, car, motorcycle are naturally metric (although my mill has imperial lead screws.) unfortunately i have to buy end mills and drills in fractional because it is rare to find metric versions in the u.s.

material is still fractional as well but it gets machined down anyway.



so shout out if you are metric and shame on you if your not! :nono: :lmao:
Click to expand...

Well,...Most of my iron is old and Imperial including all of the meterology stuff ('cept for the occasional digital stuff) so I guess @ age 73 I'm not hell-bent to metrify. Most of our rough carpenters still use Imperial.
 
I think I'm becoming bilingual enough that if I needed to make a metric part to fit something, I could. The iGaging DROs are switchable and the Swedish lathe has metric carriage dials. My vehicles are split between miles and kilometers, so I'm always thinking both ways anyway.

For projects, though, I'll stick to SAE.

And shame on you for trying to force your choice on me. :lmao: Seriously, though, it is a choice, at least at the hobby level.

At work, the code book has metric tables, but you can't buy metric conduit here, so you have to translate.

Having said all that, metric math is a lot easier.
 
uncle harry said:
Well,...Most of my iron is old and Imperial including all of the meterology stuff ('cept for the occasional digital stuff) so I guess @ age 73 I'm not hell-bent to metrify. Most of our rough carpenters still use Imperial.
Click to expand...

I think you mean US Customary, not Imperial. The latter is what used to be used in the UK and is slightly different from the former, which is what is most commonly used here in Wisconsin.
 
president Nixon had the right idea here in the US years ago but It never fully came about, instead we have to learn both systems, have both sets of tools and waste more time converting. Nasa crashes orbitors into mars because one company writes software in metric and the other in imperial.
metric is so easy compared to imperial all on a base of ten, not the length of some guys foot divided into 12 parts then divided by 16,32,64,1000,10,000 parts
I wish it would have all converted but I still use the inch system most of the time
steve
 
yea. im only 18 so im hoping its worth it to learn metric! sooner or later the U.S. will switch for real just so we can interact with the rest of the world lol.

my micrometer is imperial but a quick calculation will convert to metric. for example, i want to make a 10mm diameter on the lathe just put 10/25.4 in calculator =.3937



.3937 x 25.4 = 9.99998 mm. close enough to 10 for me!

so an imperial micrometer is just as accurate for measuring metric as imperial.


the best part about metric is you get rid of that nasty half digit on the digital calipers. Ha.




imagine a new world with no 127 tooth gears, no reversing your lathe to cut metric threads, your socket set would be 1/2 off and 1/2 times the weight! 2x more space in your tool box! one less button on caliper! you could even feel like your driving 1.6x faster! :lol:
 
You have no idea the havoc it causes in international companies. We make equipment for the oil industry and our Houston designers use ASME and we use ISO 8015 for geometric tolerances. When comparing drawings or trying to run projects over the various sites, the incompatibility of these standards means a great deal of headache.

I grew up in the 80's in Australia where there was still a great deal of SAE. I am bilingual but for machining, I stick to metric.

Paul.
 
I haven't, my machines are import & I do try to keep all fasteners metric on them as well as anytime I make something for them. That way I only need to keep a metric set of tools close by. I used to work on imports for automotive so most of my tools are metric anyway.

Most of my measuring tools can read in metric (DRO, calipers, micrometers, depth gauge, height gauge, etc.) but I still prefer to use American standard. Even when I have to machine a metric dimension, I still convert it American standard to make the cut. I do use metric sometimes but it's not what I prefer. I also hate threading metric on the lathe, can't use the halfnuts.

As you mentioned, metric endmills are not as common here in the US. Neither are drill bits. Along with fractional drills, I also use number drills & letter drills, are there similar metric equivalents to these? I have never seen any readily available.

I do agree the metric system makes more sense & I think is easier to use. But when it comes to machining & other things I just stick with American standard, since that's what's commonly used here it makes it easier. Like if you go to the hardware store & need to buy plumbing supplies or electrical, you don't go looking for pipes in metric sizes.
 
In the us we have probably only used the 1000th of an inch for less that 100 years, machinists measured everything in fractions of and inch and most of our tools still reflect this, fractional drills reamers ect. so we really didn't even convert out tools to 1000's of an inch yet that's only been a hundred years.
steve
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top