Tools you wish you'd bought sooner...

[9xxNick]

Gimli Glider - that was a new one on me. Interesting read on Wikipedia.

[gareth_r]

9xxNick said:

Gimli Glider - that was a new one on me. Interesting read on Wikipedia.

Also see the Mars Climate Orbiter.

[snotrag]

I'm under 40 and a mechanical design engineer by training so of course my whole life has been Metric - imagine my confusion when I did a career/industry switch from Automotive to the world of Aviation, only to find everyone talking in 'thou and 16ths of... Frustrating.

Whats even more potty, is that back in the 70's and 80s when Airbus was looking to take over the grip of the Amercian companies in the airliner business, they (of course) designed all the aircraft in Metric - however it was a sales driven decison to effectively 'convert' to imperial - the idea being that you'd never be able to sell a metric product to an American company, the mechanics and engineers wouldnt understand it and nor would they want to have to buy all new tooling.
Airbus products thus have an awkard combo of Metric stuff hidden away, mixed with Imperial on everything intended for being regularly 'touched' in normal maintenance.

Madness.

[AJLintern]

Yes I'm working on a research project with a US team who are using imperial, while we are supplying our assembly which is all metric...having to be very careful at the interfaces! You'd think that especially in a scientific research environment it would have switched to SI units many years ago, but apparently not

[Indecision]

PushedDover said:

Upgrade time ?

https://www.sam-turner.co.uk/products/portek-petro...



We ve got a manual one from Sam Turners, as yours but complete. - such a simple thing that transforms post knocking versus a sledge hammer type

Just go all in!
https://www.approvedhydraulics.co.uk/products/ah46...

[Trustmeimadoctor]

And why do the Americans still use volumetric measurements too I will never know!

[9xxNick]

gareth_r said:

Also see the Mars Climate Orbiter.

Good call - another interesting example of human fallibility.

[Promised Land]

AJLintern said:

Yes I'm working on a research project with a US team who are using imperial, while we are supplying our assembly which is all metric...having to be very careful at the interfaces! You'd think that especially in a scientific research environment it would have switched to SI units many years ago, but apparently not

The same could be said about this country, why do we still use mph, mpg etc but buy Dino juice in litres? Sign measured in yards. Distances in miles.

Yet car weights are in kg and boot spaces measured in litres.

Don’t get me started on tyre sizes.

The building trade is still riddled with both imperial and metric, it will never go fully metric like everything else here won’t do.

Personally I can and do work with both, not on the same item but I can use 1/16ths, 1/32nds etc fine.

[loudlashadjuster]

Promised Land said:

AJLintern said:

Yes I'm working on a research project with a US team who are using imperial, while we are supplying our assembly which is all metric...having to be very careful at the interfaces! You'd think that especially in a scientific research environment it would have switched to SI units many years ago, but apparently not

The same could be said about this country, why do we still use mph, mpg etc but buy Dino juice in litres? Sign measured in yards. Distances in miles.

Yet car weights are in kg and boot spaces measured in litres.

Don’t get me started on tyre sizes.

The building trade is still riddled with both imperial and metric, it will never go fully metric like everything else here won’t do.

Personally I can and do work with both, not on the same item but I can use 1/16ths, 1/32nds etc fine.

Even in resolutely metric France they still routinely measure some things - pizzas, wheels, TVs - in inches. The difference is that unlike some people here and in the US, they don't generally consider using a different measurement system to be an existential threat to their way of life.

[skwdenyer]

donkmeister said:

eltax91 said:

MajorMantra said:

Glad you highlighted this, I've been meaning to pick up a metric-only tape as two sets of units on a tape is just unhelpful.

I dunno. I often switch to inches if the thing I’m measuring is bang on a round number. It helps my old brain remember you see.

That does make sense, but surely it's quite a rare occurrence?

I'm units bilingual but the one time in my professional life that I had to work in lbs and inches (it involved some old equipment) it did slow me down and caused me to check and re-check my work. Can definitely understand why Gimley Glider situations occurred.

I’m doing building work at the moment.

If the measurements are rough and ready I use inches. Far easier to estimate, less temptation to chase pointless precision. When the measurement really matters, I switch to millimetres.

Of course I draw plans in SI (I’m a mechanical engineer by background), but imperial length units really do have a rather nice hierarchy of tolerancing (we don’t build buildings to better than a 1/4 inch) which is reflected in most tape measures. It just isn’t sensible to try to cut 2x4 carcassing timber with a site saw to millimetre accuracy. You can’t calibrate the floating null on the average tape measure!

Maybe I’m an outlier

[Error_404_Username_not_found]

Morning fellas.
Just a heads up...
There's a couple of outlets on eBay offering big discounts on Makita kit right now.
(Toolden and buyaparcel. No idea if they're related).
Couple of random screenshots.
I have no connection with these businesses whatever. Just thought it might help.

[Stegel]

EggsBenedict said:

Now have a look at Vice Versa tapes for even more measuring convenience....

https://www.thetapestore.co.uk/advent-vice-versa-d...

Looks like the same thing:

https://www.axminstertools.com/axminster-precision...

I bought a couple two months ago and the Stanley dual unit tapes have been unused since. Where the benefit is especially noticeable is checking the diagonals on door linings etc. - having to read across the imperial units on one leg was ridiculous in hindsight.

[Error_404_Username_not_found]

Conversely, my favourite tape rule is an inches-only Rabone.
Yep, I'm old.

[GeneralBanter]

snotrag said:

I'm under 40 and a mechanical design engineer by training so of course my whole life has been Metric - imagine my confusion when I did a career/industry switch from Automotive to the world of Aviation, only to find everyone talking in 'thou and 16ths of... Frustrating.

Whats even more potty, is that back in the 70's and 80s when Airbus was looking to take over the grip of the Amercian companies in the airliner business, they (of course) designed all the aircraft in Metric - however it was a sales driven decison to effectively 'convert' to imperial - the idea being that you'd never be able to sell a metric product to an American company, the mechanics and engineers wouldnt understand it and nor would they want to have to buy all new tooling.
Airbus products thus have an awkard combo of Metric stuff hidden away, mixed with Imperial on everything intended for being regularly 'touched' in normal maintenance.

Madness.

The construction industry had me stumped when I first started with terms like ' four by twice' and 'gross heavy'

[gareth_r]

snotrag said:

I'm under 40 and a mechanical design engineer by training so of course my whole life has been Metric - imagine my confusion when I did a career/industry switch from Automotive to the world of Aviation, only to find everyone talking in 'thou and 16ths of... Frustrating.

Whats even more potty, is that back in the 70's and 80s when Airbus was looking to take over the grip of the Amercian companies in the airliner business, they (of course) designed all the aircraft in Metric - however it was a sales driven decison to effectively 'convert' to imperial - the idea being that you'd never be able to sell a metric product to an American company, the mechanics and engineers wouldnt understand it and nor would they want to have to buy all new tooling.
Airbus products thus have an awkard combo of Metric stuff hidden away, mixed with Imperial on everything intended for being regularly 'touched' in normal maintenance.

Madness.

That would suggest that the Americans who worked on imported motorcycles, cars, agricultural equipment, domestic appliances, etc. were smarter than those who maintained aircraft.

That's a little worrying.

[TGCOTF-dewey]

Whoever recommended the wera pocket tool set... Thanks.

Mine arrived last week. Perfect for the car.

[MajorMantra]

Stegel said:

Looks like the same thing:

https://www.axminstertools.com/axminster-precision...

I bought a couple two months ago and the Stanley dual unit tapes have been unused since. Where the benefit is especially noticeable is checking the diagonals on door linings etc. - having to read across the imperial units on one leg was ridiculous in hindsight.

That one you've linked is dual unit though.

[Stegel]

MajorMantra said:

Stegel said:

Looks like the same thing:

https://www.axminstertools.com/axminster-precision...

I bought a couple two months ago and the Stanley dual unit tapes have been unused since. Where the benefit is especially noticeable is checking the diagonals on door linings etc. - having to read across the imperial units on one leg was ridiculous in hindsight.

That one you've linked is dual unit though.

Doh!! https://www.axminstertools.com/axminster-precision...

[tumble dryer]

MajorMantra said:

Stegel said:

Looks like the same thing:

https://www.axminstertools.com/axminster-precision...

I bought a couple two months ago and the Stanley dual unit tapes have been unused since. Where the benefit is especially noticeable is checking the diagonals on door linings etc. - having to read across the imperial units on one leg was ridiculous in hindsight.

That one you've linked is dual unit though.

I think I'd just prefer the metric readings on the 'top' side of the tape, where I normally mark off from.

I don't mind the imperial measurements, sometimes they're handy for a quick and accurate conversion.

[mgtony]

Re work platforms, there was an adjustable one posted the other day but can't seem to find it. Not sure if it was a UK one or was this one I've just seen this at Screwfix. Adjustable from 51cm to 76cm:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/werner-760mm-x-1-16m-fo...