Um, achtung, everyone –
We’re not talking about the size of the socket itself (the part that fits over the nut or the bolt head). The 1/4 inch and 3/8 inch and 1/2 inch notations are for the square-shaped fitting that connects the socket to the ratchet part. Somehow that got standardized decades ago in imperial units and for the sake of compatibility they’ve remained that way – even for sockets that are completely metric. And there may be some metric sockets that will fit closely to an imperial nut or bolt – but many others don’t. I know; I have metric sockets only. Sometimes I have to take out the adjustable wrench if I’m dealing with an imperial fastener, and for other sizes the metric socket works well enough. Carleton From: owner-u...@colostate.edu [mailto:owner-u...@colostate.edu] On Behalf Of Jeremiah MacGregor Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 12:43 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:43834] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish sales in the UK. I've seen people at work tighten and remove 13 mm heads with a half inch wrench. The wrench fitted the bolt with no effort and the bolts were not damaged. There is a big difference between what things may be intended to be or what is stated on a piece of paper and what they really turn out to be. Jerry _____ From: Bill Potts <w...@wfpconsulting.com> To: U.S. Metric Association <usma@colostate.edu> Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 12:25:36 PM Subject: [USMA:43830] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish sales in the UK. Wrong, Jerry. 1/2" sockets are definitely not 13 mm ones in disguise. If you're trying to loosen a stubborn metric nut made of relatively soft metal (e.g., on a car battery clamp, which usually has a 10 mm nut), the wrench will slip and you'll wear down the apexes of the hexagonal shape, creating an almost circular nut. That's because the nearest non-metric size, 13/32", is not 10 mm in disguise; it's a little over 10.3 mm. The 1/2" socket in your example is, similarly, not 13 mm is disguise. It's exactly 12.7 mm and would not even fit onto a 13 mm nut (or bolt head). The imprecise fit, in your 8 mm socket example, is a close one you might get away with, but it's an exception. 5/16" sockets are just that -- not 8 mm. Bill _____ Bill Potts WFP Consulting <http://wfpconsulting.com/> Roseville, CA http://metric1.org <http://metric1.org/> [SI Navigator] _____ From: owner-u...@colostate.edu [mailto:owner-u...@colostate.edu] On Behalf Of Jeremiah MacGregor Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 06:53 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:43808] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish sales in the UK. 5/16 is 7.9375 mm. An 8 mm socket would fit and the less than 0.0625 mm difference would not be noticed. I have also seen 1/2 inch wrenches and sockets fit a 13 mm head even though the 1/2 inch is smaller then 13 mm. It would seem that the 1/2 inch sockets are really 13 mm ones in disguise. Thus I would not be surprised if a socket labeled as 5/16 inches was really 8 mm in disguise. According to this thread: http://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57707 Spark plugs are metric, so it would be a true 8 mm. You can even buy spark plug taps with a metric thread. Here is a whole set of spark plug taps, all metric: http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?item_ID=9721&group_ID=1154 Or are you trying to tell us you still drive a model T which did use inch based spark plugs? Jerry _____ From: Stephen Humphreys <barkatf...@hotmail.com> To: jeremiahmacgre...@rocketmail.com; usma@colostate.edu Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 8:31:32 AM Subject: RE: [USMA:43788] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish sales in the UK. It would not work - you have to buy a 15/16ths socket as per instructions _____ Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:39:49 -0700 From: jeremiahmacgre...@rocketmail.com Subject: [USMA:43788] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish sales in the UK. To: usma@colostate.edu Are you sure it isn't really 8 mm and you are just approximating it? Jerry _____ From: Stephen Humphreys <barkatf...@hotmail.com> To: Jeremiah MacGregor <jeremiahmacgre...@rocketmail.com> Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 11:08:15 PM Subject: RE: [USMA:43759] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish sales in the UK. mixed My sump plug is 15/16ths _____ Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:03:06 -0700 From: jeremiahmacgre...@rocketmail.com Subject: Re: [USMA:43759] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish sales in the UK. To: barkatf...@hotmail.com Then what units are cars made in if not metric units? Jerry _____ From: Stephen Humphreys <barkatf...@hotmail.com> To: jeremiahmacgre...@rocketmail.com Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 9:57:15 PM Subject: RE: [USMA:43759] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish sales in the UK... No because they're not _____ Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:48:17 -0700 From: jeremiahmacgre...@rocketmail.com Subject: [USMA:43759] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish sales in the UK. To: usma@colostate.edu So do you discuss cars in metric since cars are only made in metric units all over the world? Jerry _____ From: Stephen Humphreys <barkatf...@hotmail.com> To: U.S.. Metric Association <usma@colostate.edu> Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 7:25:46 AM Subject: [USMA:43670] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish sales in the UK. Sounds like we have some car enthusiasts on the list :-D _____ Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:37:31 -0700 To: usma@colostate.edu From: br...@bjwhite..net Subject: [USMA:43668] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish sales in the UK. Funny. All of my cars have been manual transmissions (including my Audi Allroad and my BMW 540i...both 6-speed manuals). It took me getting a British vehicle to have an automatic. :) (A Range Rover Classic I picked up for $500, fixed it up a little bit and have since put 16,000km on it since I bought it a year ago.) I wish it was a manual transmission, but they never imported manuals to the US. But, I have 7 other cars, and they are all manual transmissions..... At 20:24 2009-03-10, Carleton MacDonald wrote: I’ve actually driven a manual transmission car most of my life: MG 1100, VW Beetle, two Rabbits, two Saab 900s (and two motorcycles mixed in). The car I have now (and have had since 2002), a 1999 Saab 9-5, is the first automatic I’ve ever owned. Metric related: Unlike most American cars, the km markings on the speedometer of the 9-5, inside the mile ones, are lit at night and can be read. Carleton From: owner-u...@colostate.edu [ mailto:owner-u...@colostate.edu <mailto:owner-u...@colostate.edu> ] On Behalf Of Stephen Humphreys Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 05:50 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:43627] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish sales in the UK. Congrats are due to you for mastering the use of a manual gearbox! I think that's more of an achievement than road placement (based upon most Americans driving Automatics). > From: carlet...@comcast.net > To: usma@colostate.edu > Subject: [USMA:43622] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish > sales in the UK. > Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:18:29 -0400 > > > I remember the first time I rented a car in the UK. October 1982, > Edinburgh, Scotland, British Rail Waverley Station. > > Left my wife Susan at the bed and breakfast, took a bus downtown, went to > the station, to the Godfrey Davis office. A kind, pretty young woman (I was > young then too) had me fill out the paperwork then gave me the keys. I > thanked her, opened the door, got in, and sat down. On the left side. > Where's the steering wheel? Oh, right. Got out, closed the door, glanced > at the booth: she was inside, hand on her mouth, suppressing a laugh. > Walked round the back of the car, got in the right side, sat down, felt the > shift with my left hand, started the car, said a very significant Anglican > prayer, put the car in gear, and headed out, saying to myself, "Drive on the > left. Drive on the left. Drive on the left. Drive on the left ..." Headed > back to the bed and breakfast, scared to death. Picked up Susan, headed out > of town toward the bridge over the Firth of Forth. Stopped, took picture of > the famous railway bridge. Started up again, found myself making a left > turn to the right side of the intersecting road, corrected quickly, too > quickly, hit a stone kerb, blew out the left front tire, stopped to change > it. > > Somehow we got through the three days without hitting anything, and it even > included a distillery tour, a steam train ride, and a night in Glencoe, > where my ancestors got massacred in 1692. > > Carleton > > P.S. When we got back to San Francisco we went to the store and Susan > bought soup; I told her to put the Campbell's soup back on the shelf! > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-u...@colostate.edu [ mailto:owner-u...@colostate.edu > <mailto:owner-u...@colostate.edu> ] On Behalf > Of Paul Trusten, R.Ph. > Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 21:02 > To: U.S. Metric Association > Cc: U.S. Metric Association > Subject: [USMA:43620] Re: Jerry's questions regarding "imperial" fuel & fish > sales in the UK. > > > Ah, but the rule of the road is in the eye of the beholder. Left-siders must > think the rest of the world has it backwards. > > Quoting Brian J White <br...@bjwhite.net>: > >> >> I think you brits should also fix your cars and >> roads so you drive on the correct side of the road. But that's just me. > :) >> >> >> At 15:54 2009-03-09, Stephen Humphreys wrote: >>>Sorry  - I think you might have the wrong person. >>>I'm not anti-metric - I'm a pro-choicer. >>> >>>The most 'extreme' views I hold on the subject regards safety.... >>> >>>I have always said and always been firm that: >>> >>>1) Road signs should stay imperial >>>2) Medicines and chemist goods should always be metric >>> >>>Both of these relate to safety concerns. >>> >>>For most other things (in fact prob all) I >>>prefer the dual route or a flexible degree of choice. >>> >>>This may put me at odds with many on this list >>>but I'm always truthful and up front about it >>>and as many many have said it is healthy to have >>>a contrary view here for purposes of debate. >>> >>>With regards to the USA - I actually believe it >>>should be more metric than it is. >> >> >> > > > -- > > > > Paul Trusten, R.Ph. > Public Relations Director > U.S. Metric Association (USMA), Inc. > www.metric.org <http://www.metric.org/> > 3609 Caldera Boulevard, Apartment 122 > Midland TX 79707-2872 US > +1(432)528-7724 > mailto:trus...@grandecom.net > _____ Beyond Hotmail see what else you can do with Windows Live. 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