Should We Swap To Metric?

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Should we switch?

  • Yes

    Votes: 18 37.5%
  • No

    Votes: 25 52.1%
  • Metric is only for calibers.

    Votes: 5 10.4%

  • Total voters
    48

Rooster1971

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These are pricey but I use mine all the time. First time I saw a guy with them I was blown away went home and ordered some. Knipex Adjustable Pliers. They are spring loaded on the adjuster and can be manipulated with one hand. The smooth jaws have enough slip you can basically ratchet them around nuts. They also make jaws with teeth. They wont take the place of a giant Crescent or pipe wrench but they are amazingly handy tools. I would put the quality on par with any professional tool brands. Video on amazon shows them at work.

I have a couple pair of knipex channel locks. Not cheap, but if you use them for a living they are well worth it.
 
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HELL NO!!!!
My first experience with metric was trying to convert speed limit signs into the MPH speedometers in our vehicles. I've hated it ever since. My 82 Bronco was 50-50 metric/standard. I can't tell you how many holes I tapped out so I could use a proper 15/32 wrench on it.
Oh wait......15/32 is British Standard.....we aren't the only ones that didn't use metric...
 

Rod Snell

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Actually, all scientific work (including NASA and rocket science) have been on the metric standard for a long time. Metric distance is defined by specified wavelengths of a certain color laser, and all "English" lengths are then defined by the metric length.
All meteorology is in metric units, except the surface measurements are translated to English units for distribution to the US public. Here's a real weather map for pilots: https://aviationweather.gov/metar

Most people I meet who rant against the metric common units don't really know many of the English Standard units either, just a few of the ones we see every day in the US. Do you use "Stone" for mass, like the Brits? What is the true English unit for work? Energy? We use Kilowatt-hours for our electric meters (that's metric!) so why don't we use horsepower (English Unit) for our electricity?
For you horse racers, how many feet in a furlong? (all English units)

And finally, we lost a Mars lander because a semi-literate programmer used English speed units instead of the metric speed units that have been the standard at NASA for many decades. Hit the Mars atmosphere too fast and burned.

Most of our problems with units in the US is that we don't use a consistent, rational system of units, just a mis-matched mixture of irrational units that no one really understands, and can't convert without a programmed calculator. But we can take comfort that great-grandpa used our wrenches marked 32nds of an inch, just like god intended...….?
 
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I will say go to metric. Yes you old farts are set in your ways, however metric is a helluva lot easier to use. Plus, no more fractions. No more how many pints to a quart, how many quarts to a gallon, etc etc. You just move the decimal however many places. Plus the fact that all science is in metric. But, thats just my opinion. Which, with two quarters, will get you... um.. crap not much anymore.
They sent an engineer over to our shop from Germany for a couple of years. He got here and was saying when he got moved in that he had no idea how to cook anything correctly. The box said add "2 cups of water" and he had no idea how much water that was. And he asked what the hell was a teaspoon vs. a tablespoon? What's the difference?
 

SoonerP226

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They sent an engineer over to our shop from Germany for a couple of years. He got here and was saying when he got moved in that he had no idea how to cook anything correctly. The box said add "2 cups of water" and he had no idea how much water that was. And he asked what the hell was a teaspoon vs. a tablespoon? What's the difference?
It's a pretty lousy engineer who can't figure out unit conversions. That's high school stuff.
 
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Well, I'd have to get rid of half of my tools so I say what wrong with the present system? If it works... The big question is how much money will the politicians make if they decide to change things as they are? That probably is the reason we'd ever change if money were to be made.
Besides, the next thing they'd want to do is join the EU.
 

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