The idea that conversion to metric would require replacing all of the machine tools (lathes, mills, etc) is a myth. Any U.S. machine shop has walls and toolboxes covered in conversion charts, converting drill, screw, wire, sheet sizes from one crazy measurement to another. One single additonal conversion chart, inch to metric, and you can keep using your inch machines on metric projects.
My mill has inch lead screws. I added a low cost digital readout with a little button to show inch or millimeter movements, and now I do everything in metric. No problem. Don Couch --- On Thu, 12/15/11, Dan Kemppainen <d...@irtelemetrics.com> wrote: > From: Dan Kemppainen <d...@irtelemetrics.com> > Subject: Re: [time-nuts] time-nuts Digest, Vol 89, Issue 51 > To: time-nuts@febo.com > Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011, 10:29 AM > > On 12/14/2011 3:59 PM, time-nuts-requ...@febo.com > wrote: > > It's not like metric is totally absent. We drink > 2 liter cokes and defend > > ourselves with 9mm pistols. Our cars > use mostly metric parts. Even ham > > radio operators, arguably the most jingoistic and set > in the past bunch > > around, get on the 80, 40, and 20 METER bands. > > I agree with you, and funnily enough the rest of the NATO > world uses 7.62mm and 5.56mm rifles. (Both were originally > based on standard inch sized rifle cartridges designed in > the US) > > The problem in converting to metric would require replacing > a lot of tools. For example Mills, lathes, and other > machining tools and measurement devices are expensive, and > last for decades. I doubt many of the small tool shops > around here could afford it.It's a great idea to standardize > in theory, but in practice it becomes difficult. Maybe the > whole world should standardize our language. We could all > switch to Spanish or Latin or Chinese to speak with so we > could all talk with each other. That would probably be more > helpful to me on a daily basis, than having to switch > measurement systems. > > While we're on the subject, let me throw time back into the > mix. We use months and days for scheduling projects. > Meanwhile some of our counterparts use calendar weeks. This > is much more difficult to convert between than inch and mm. > When is CW 36??? > > There I threw some wood on the fire too! > > Dan > > _______________________________________________ > time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com > To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts > and follow the instructions there. > _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
