USA just will not go metric.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Keith Tanner said:

One of the acceptable examples they give is 15/32 gallon for a 60 fl oz container. Sheesh.

When I was a kid working on bikes in my grandfather's garage, therefore mid-1980s, there was only one wrench that could loosen or tighten my bikes' axle nuts without rounding them.  19/32".  5/8" was too loose.

Have you ever seen or even heard of a 19/32" wrench?  That was the only one I'd ever seen.  I suspect now that it only existed so people could avoid buying metric wrench sets and still be able to work on 15mm headed nuts/bolts.

A lot of stuff on bicycles is a holdover from old, goofy British sizes.

Standards are important, that's why there are so many of them.

I live just south of the Canadian boarder out on the prairies. A Canadian couple asked me to design/draft a house for them and I told them that I had no idea how to draw in metric. They told me not to worry and that they had Standard American tape measurers and that all building material and dimensions were sized just like in America. 4x8 plywood, 4' drywall, and 16", 19.2", and 24" o.c. spacing. Same for cabinets, bathrooms, doors, and wall stud heights.

ShawnG said:

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Keith Tanner said:

One of the acceptable examples they give is 15/32 gallon for a 60 fl oz container. Sheesh.

When I was a kid working on bikes in my grandfather's garage, therefore mid-1980s, there was only one wrench that could loosen or tighten my bikes' axle nuts without rounding them.  19/32".  5/8" was too loose.

Have you ever seen or even heard of a 19/32" wrench?  That was the only one I'd ever seen.  I suspect now that it only existed so people could avoid buying metric wrench sets and still be able to work on 15mm headed nuts/bolts.

A lot of stuff on bicycles is a holdover from old, goofy British sizes.

Standards are important, that's why there are so many of them.

The bike shop where I used to work had a full selection of Whitworth wrenches 

How many metric countries have been to the moon? 

Boom! 'Murica. 

z31maniac said:

How many metric countries have been to the moon? 

Boom! 'Murica. 

How many non-metric countries have been to the moon in the past half century?

How many metric countries have crashed a Mars probe because they used the wrong units?

Keith Tanner said:

z31maniac said:

How many metric countries have been to the moon? 

Boom! 'Murica. 

How many non-metric countries have been to the moon in the past half century?

How many metric countries have crashed a Mars probe because they used the wrong units?

You have to actually get to Mars to crash on it. How many countries have even made the attempt?

Toyman! said:

Keith Tanner said:

z31maniac said:

How many metric countries have been to the moon? 

Boom! 'Murica. 

How many non-metric countries have been to the moon in the past half century?

How many metric countries have crashed a Mars probe because they used the wrong units?

You have to actually get to Mars to crash on it. How many countries have even made the attempt?

 

Nine, I think. Depends on how you classify the ESA (I counted them as "1") and if you count Russia and the USSR as the same (I did). It's hard. Using your own special units makes it harder.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Three. China, the USSR, and the USA are the only other countries to do a soft landing on Mars and establish communication with the surface. 

The USA has landed multiple times and operated probes for years. 

In reply to Toyman! :

The Mars Climate Orbiter wasn't intended to land at all. And you also said "made the attempt", not "succeeded". So, nine have attempted to get to Mars.

And the US is (as far as I know) the only one to pancake an orbiter because of confusion over units.

If the American auto industry is using metric, I'm sure NASA is.

That said, I'm a product of the Canadian public school system. I was taught metric but I'm 6' tall and I work in feet and inches because that's what most people seem to be comfortable with.

Makita circ saw blade nuts are 13mm because everyone has a 13mm or 1/2" wrench.

NASA's all messed up. The orbiter failure was because NASA was expecting metric and Lockmart's software delivered info in imperial. Meanwhile, due to the antique nature of some of the components, they actually use degrees Rankine to measure the temp of the main engines of the SLS. So they try to be metric, but some legacy systems require a mix.

I worked in meters and cm until I moved to the US, now I work in meters and cm unless I have to communicate with someone who's not technical.

IKEA seems to use a lot of 11mm fasteners because that's also 7/16". I have always assumed that's the reason. I know you can get their cabinets in either metric or imperial sizing - not just converted measurements, but actually different sizes.

Keith Tanner said:

z31maniac said:

How many metric countries have been to the moon? 

Boom! 'Murica. 

How many non-metric countries have been to the moon in the past half century?

How many metric countries have crashed a Mars probe because they used the wrong units?

It was a joke. I thought the 'Murica made that obvious. 

A large boulder the size of a small boulder....

In reply to Beer Baron :

Hands up if you understand the pre-decimal British currency.

My hand is not up, other than there's apparently a way to transform  Robert Tanner - my uncle's name -  into a value. He used to have it written on the side of his Lotus Cortina.

RX Reven' said:

In Puerto Rico, highway signs use metric for distance and standard for speed limits.

Standard what?

Or

What standard?

Or

Standard... what?

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Keith Tanner said:

One of the acceptable examples they give is 15/32 gallon for a 60 fl oz container. Sheesh.

When I was a kid working on bikes in my grandfather's garage, therefore mid-1980s, there was only one wrench that could loosen or tighten my bikes' axle nuts without rounding them.  19/32".  5/8" was too loose.

Have you ever seen or even heard of a 19/32" wrench?  That was the only one I'd ever seen.  I suspect now that it only existed so people could avoid buying metric wrench sets and still be able to work on 15mm headed nuts/bolts.

I acquired a 19/32" wrench from somewhere, and always wondered what it was for. It's always been there in my toolbox, waiting, patiently, for the one day it's needed. 

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

ShawnG said:

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Keith Tanner said:

One of the acceptable examples they give is 15/32 gallon for a 60 fl oz container. Sheesh.

When I was a kid working on bikes in my grandfather's garage, therefore mid-1980s, there was only one wrench that could loosen or tighten my bikes' axle nuts without rounding them.  19/32".  5/8" was too loose.

Have you ever seen or even heard of a 19/32" wrench?  That was the only one I'd ever seen.  I suspect now that it only existed so people could avoid buying metric wrench sets and still be able to work on 15mm headed nuts/bolts.

A lot of stuff on bicycles is a holdover from old, goofy British sizes.

Standards are important, that's why there are so many of them.

The bike shop where I used to work had a full selection of Whitworth wrenches 

Whitworth is still standard units, just used in a different way. 

The little threaded stud on the bottom of a camera is, AFAIK, still a whitworth thread. 

One might still purchase new whitworth fasteners. The various websites selling parts for SU carburettors stock them. 

Peabody said:

RX Reven' said:

In Puerto Rico, highway signs use metric for distance and standard for speed limits.

Standard what?

Or

What standard?

Or

Standard... what?

You know, freedom units

Peabody said:

Standard what?

Or

What standard?

Or

Standard... what?

Standard, as in Standard American, since there is no more Imperial anymore. You know, like as in Normal. The length of the King's thumb's first joint (inch), the size of his foot (foot), the length from his chin to his fingertips (yard), the reach between some sailor's arms pulling up a rope or 6 feet (fathom)... 

Wikipedia.org: United States customary units

VolvoHeretic said:

Standard, as in Standard American, since there is no more Imperial anymore.

Oh, there totally is.

British use Stone.

They use Pints, and ounces and quite a lot of units of volume, especially in traditional trades like brewing and distilling. These will be *different* measures from U.S. units with the same name.

They also use Acres for land measurement.

Knots and Nautical miles are very standardized and not an SI measure. Even nations that complain about how stupid Imperia or SAE units are will use Nautical miles and Knots... because they make a lot of sense. But they're not metric.

In reply to Beer Baron :

Thanks for the clarification.

I have noticed, while we are on the subject, that newer SAE fasteners that ostensibly have a 9/16" across the flats hex will allow a 14mm to fit just fine.  Older ones certainly do not, 9/16" is a bastard size partway between 14 and 15mm.

(It is technically 14.29mm, which is outside the normal tolerances for all but a well worn out 14mm wrench/socket, and too small for a 15mm to get a good bite)

Woodward propeller governors use an 11/32 nylock nut on the spool valve.

That's the only reason I own an 11/32 wrench as well as the only place I've ever used one.