It's not as though he was cutting it to 19-31/128ths. How hard is it to
hit a quarter inch mark if that's the dimension you choose, for whatever
reason? Is there something magical about even inch marks? It takes no
more time or thought to set a stop for 19-1/4 vs 19 or 20, so why worry?
If even inches give mystical pleasure, then go for it. Even better, go
metric and take advantage of every measurement for all practical
purposes being an even number of millimeters. Hardly seems worth
complaining about though.

Roger