Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
The Daring Dufas wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
Steve Barker wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:
9/10???? Where the hell is that on your fractional ruler? See, you're
lapsing into the metric system without even realizing it. Must've been
something you ate.
actually there are dozens of tapes in tenths. Can't hardly do stair
stringers without one.

http://www.chiefsupply.com/Survey/Me...825IE#features

steve
Ah, thanks for the info. And that's more proof that metric is easier
than fractions.

In the machine shop, everything is thousandths, even if it has a
fractional equivalent. So 3/8" is "375." So it's metric, it's just inch
metric instead of millimeter metric.
I thought something like .375 inch was called "decimal equivalent"?
I'm no expert machinist although I've repaired some CNC machinery.

TDD

Sure, .375 *is* the decimal equivalent of 3/8", but the point is, as
soon as you walk into the shop, 3/8 becomes 375. Not "point three seven
five" or even "three hundred and seventy five thousandths," but just
"three seventy five." You hear fractions sometimes, sure, but it's far
more common to speak in thousandths.

Above an inch, fractional references are even more rare. 1 1/4" is
called "an inch two fifty." The exceptions would be stock (material)
sizes which are still called out as fractional, and drill sizes which
are usually referred to by letter, number, or fraction. But everyone
knows the common ones, like a #7 drill is .201 and a #F is .257
(tap drill and clearance drill, respectively, for a 1/4" screw.)

I always think of .375 as three hundred and seventy five
thousandths of anything. I suppose the greater precision
required in a machine shop environment will lead to a
different way of looking at things.

TDD