On 2/9/2014 10:20 AM, Swingman wrote:
On 2/9/2014 8:55 AM, Jeff Thies wrote:

I needed a 16mm to remove a faucet a day ago. Every metric set I have
jumps from 15 to 17...

Damned faucet manufacturers seem to delight in making attachment 'non
standard', particularly when dealing with "cartridges" and their
replacement installation.

I'm still waiting on Kohler to deliver parts for two, 12 year old
faucets, on the same vanity, which failed within days of each other.

Synchronized obsolescence.

I'm afraid this goes way back and wasn't invented in Asia.

Back in the early Seventies I managed to shear off the threaded portion
of a microphone stand (in a particularly foolish way) and decided to see
if I could avoid buying a new one.

There was a tool & die place just up the block from my parents' house. I
showed it to the guy, who - although there'd probably have been no
profit in it - said he could rethread it quickly for just a few bucks.

I said that would be great. He took out a gauge of some kind and tried
to match it up with the mating threads. Nope, too coarse. He grabbed the
next one. Nope. Too fine. With a puzzled look he explained that 27
threads per inch was what was needed, apparently unique to the mike
stand trade. And still the case, I believe.