I spent 45 years as a machinist. In the seventies there was a push to convert. It failed. My first boss made the statement that it would be too expensive. I spent the entire 45 years working day in day out with measuring tools based on inches. As time went on and the realities of a global economy began to have an effect, I had to work more and more with metric drawings. In the machine trades accuracy is essential. The conversion had to be precise. I spent thousands of hours over the course of my career multiplying and dividing by 25.4. I was always being paid a wage and therefore being paid to multiply and divide by 25.4. In southwestern Pennsylvania there are thousands of machinists doing the same thing day in day out. Add up what it's costing the manufacturing sector in lost production time and tell me it would have been too expensive to make the switch fifty years ago.
@Delgen1951
3 жыл бұрын
The boss looked at the First $$ amount and stopped there, he did not look deeper. That is bosses for you, don't fix thill it brakes.
@olepigeon
3 жыл бұрын
Money wasn't the reason for its failure, it was purely political. It's easy to quickly point to President Reagan since he ultimately dissolved the Metric Board, but it was actually Frank Mankiewicz and Lyn Nofziger. Frank Mankiewicz was technical luddite who was oddly proud of being ignorant of science, claiming credit for destroying metrification efforts in the United States. He successfully got Lyn Mofziger, an extreme conservative, to convince Reagan to dissolve the board. Lyn Mofziger appeared to believe that metrification was synonymous with anti-religious tyranny. Now we're only 1 of 3 countries on the entire planet that don't use metric. Well, not entirely. Ironically, the NIST's official U.S. weights and measures is converted from metric.
@rfly-fpv
3 жыл бұрын
@@olepigeon Oh man, good to know about this facts! Thanks for sharing that
@deerfootnz
3 жыл бұрын
@@rfly-fpv the only country not using metric. The other two are converting to metric now.
@tjampman
3 жыл бұрын
How does the saying go again? The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is now.
@hansj5846
3 жыл бұрын
This is obviously only discussed in Myanmar, Liberia and the US. The rest of the world is shaking their head in disbelief
@karn6356
3 жыл бұрын
Myamar started to converting to metric, Liberia is preparing to convert to metric
@JimmeShelter
3 жыл бұрын
@@karn6356 We'll all hold our breath.
@JimmeShelter
3 жыл бұрын
When I wake up in the morning and I weigh the days upcoming decisions, I always say to myself "I wonder what Myanmar would do?"
@daedalron
3 жыл бұрын
To be clear, there were 3 countries not metric, that never meant there were 3 countries using imperial. Myanmar was not imperial. They used their own units (before now starting to convert to metric).
@hansj5846
3 жыл бұрын
@@daedalron cool. I never knew that. Even worse 🤣
@someopinion2846
3 жыл бұрын
Americans say Imperial is more intuitive; the measurement units are easier to imagine. Personally I don't find square feet intuitive, my European feet are kind of oblong.
@PROPAROXITONO
3 жыл бұрын
it's intuitive because they are used to it. but if they use the metric, the metric would be intuitive.
@stevenmckee6134
3 жыл бұрын
Yep, and my yard is a lot bigger than 3 feet
@hillbillysceptic1982
3 жыл бұрын
Imperial is the best, it explored and discovered the world, it created the worlds largest economy, won two world wars, created aviation, sent men to Moon and Mars. All metric did was start an argument.
@TheUlrikkaul
3 жыл бұрын
@@hillbillysceptic1982 NASA turned to metric in 1990!
@Seele2015au
3 жыл бұрын
Let's say you want to build an aquarium: nothing fancy, just a rectangular box. You have your measurements for all three sides, and with metric, you know how much water it contains, and how heavy it is right away. Sure you can do that with imperial, but a fair bit of calculations, requiring conversion numbers, would be quite necessary.
@jools2323
3 жыл бұрын
I can't imagine a single scenario where Imperial would be better/easier than Metric.
@TheNakedWombat
3 жыл бұрын
Star Wars. Metric Forces just doesn't have the same evil ring to it.
@andrewosier614
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheNakedWombat Good on ya. 😂 👍
@janbanan5933
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheNakedWombat Got to give you right there.🤣🤣🤣
@chrisharris1522
3 жыл бұрын
if you only had an imperial ruler it would be easier to use imperial measurements than converting to metric then back again
@spetsig
3 жыл бұрын
Not in its current form, but imagine if it was invented as base 10 instead like metric but with just another starting point. E.g. 1 inch -> 10inch -> 1 foot etc. Sure it would still be its own thing but not as hard to use as now and there might not have been any need to invent the metric system.
@Bleckman666
3 жыл бұрын
"100% clear". Exactly. Because percentage is based on the power of ten. It's a METRIC way of measure.
@OrjanB
3 жыл бұрын
Actually not. Going to be the devils advocate here even if I am from Norway where we use metric. So, many does not understand the difference between base 10 numerals and metric. Metric is using the meter as a definition for length, and from that units for volume (liter) and weight (gram) (using water) are derived. It is not correct to say that base 10 numerals, that actually are used all over the world, are metric. Following your logic you could say that in USA they have metric currency as there are 100 cents in a dollar, that is not correct, as the way to describe it would be that USA use base 10 numerals like the rest of the world, hence their currency follows the laws of base 10 numerals. Percentage is not metric, it means part of 100 and comes from base 10 numerals and was around a long long time before the french invented metric units.
@infoverflow5559
3 жыл бұрын
@@OrjanB Correct Metric doesn't include anything that use power of 10 as conversion multiplier but that is the idea of calling things "metric" if they use the idea of the metric system, not necessarily having anything to do with the unit of meter itself. Anyway it makes sense to have units scale and relate to each other in the same base as the base of numbers we use. For computers it's base-2 for us it's base-10
@JimmeShelter
3 жыл бұрын
@@OrjanB Excellent. A lot of griping about having to use fractions rather than decimals.
@massimookissed1023
3 жыл бұрын
What's this "100%" crap ? You mean 144 per gross.
@Bleckman666
3 жыл бұрын
@@infoverflow5559 exactly. For a beautiful and timeless example of the powers of ten, see this short film by Charles & Ray Eames: kzitem.info/news/bejne/kZyBqJysfZymrGU
@enigmaticx326
3 жыл бұрын
Australian here. Every time I hear someone talk in imperial they may as well be speaking another language. Makes no sense to me. Glad you’ve seen the light. 👍🏻
@renaebona1931
3 жыл бұрын
I am American and imperial is a foreign language to me, all my life.
@Apoc5k
3 жыл бұрын
Still prefer millimetres over fractions of an inch.
@thephilby6656
3 жыл бұрын
In Australia ae well and frustrated because all our screws are still sold in imperial lengths
@JimmeShelter
3 жыл бұрын
I guess you have never had a pint of beer.
@Lleanlleawrg
3 жыл бұрын
@@JimmeShelter US or UK pint? UK pints are larger. I have frequently bought a 'half-liter', which is slightly more than the US pint, and slightly less than the UK pint. Why do you ask?
@tstcikhthys
3 жыл бұрын
You're not saying it, but I am: everybody needs to do this and should do this.
@E9248-j7z
3 жыл бұрын
I work for a Belgian company as a repair technician, so everything I do 9-6 is metric. Once I really understood how much better metric was, I started using it in my personal life. There's no going back for me lol.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Too far gone now lol
@billshiff2060
2 жыл бұрын
You are addicted to repeating decimals now........3.333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333
@ricardoaraoz717
2 жыл бұрын
@@billshiff2060 LOL... nope. If it's centimeters then 3.3 will do, you just have to have a tad of common sense.
@billshiff2060
2 жыл бұрын
@@ricardoaraoz717 You are not building any thing for me lol "will do" WON'T DO lol
@richardsinger01
Жыл бұрын
@@billshiff2060 so how many thou is 1/3" then?
@chriswindberg5010
3 жыл бұрын
Been an electrician for near 13 years and been getting into woodworking the last 2 years. Totally comfortable with imperial but after seeing more and more woodworkers on KZitem mentioning metric and seeing how it just seems easier calculating in whole numbers, I'm being more and more tempted to try it out. This video may have just put me over the edge. Thanks Jason!
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
You’re welcome!!
@christopherhume8896
3 жыл бұрын
It's funny, I'm an electrician in the UK and, even though everything is in metric, when I ask for a 5 foot light fighting the wholesaler knows exactly what I want. 1,500mm. Oddly most of the screws I buy are still in imperial.
@gilgameshlfx7006
3 жыл бұрын
@@christopherhume8896 That's because if you're using imperial, you're screwed.
@billshiff2060
2 жыл бұрын
In woodworking especially you are required to divide spaces into multiple segments. Metric is base 10 and has only TWO factors 2 & 5. The foot based on 12 is a composite number and is the smallest number with the factors (2, 3, 4, 6), and is the smallest to include as factors all four numbers (1 to 4). So you can split a foot evenly into 2,3,4,6 or 12 parts, in metric only 2,5 or 10 parts. That is why 12 inches in the foot is superior to metric 10 ESPECIALLY if you are building on the fly on location. You don't want those bloody repeating decimals every time you try to divide something into more than 2 or 5 parts . Similarly the yard is evenly divisible by 2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10 etc .
@ricardoaraoz717
2 жыл бұрын
@@billshiff2060 so when woodworking you would usually concern yourself with a 0.1 millimeter error? LOL Nobody ever taught you how to round a number? Is it too much for your brain?
@alankohn6709
3 жыл бұрын
My father was in the building industry and was in the generation that did the switch from imperial to metric and remember hearing statements like "grab me 6 foot of 100 mill pipe"
@Agnemons
3 жыл бұрын
I often use "6 inchs" instead of 150 mm and yes, I converted in the early 70's. And being an "Old Fart" is measured the same way in imperial or metric 😁
@douglasbrown5692
3 жыл бұрын
No contest. As an ancient retired furniture maker, taught Imperial at school and converted to metric around 40 years ago, I can confirm its' superiority. Functionally, there's only one unit - the millimetre. You simply have to read the numbers on your tape/ruler. Just stick with it, and Imperial visualising will fade away. Good ridance to two yards, one foot, eight and thirty-seven sixty-fourths of an inch!
@trrexxx
3 жыл бұрын
Right on! Breaking inches into absurd fractions or converting yards into a mile that has four random digits doesn't make sense. I think any who try metric still try to convert back and forth which is a mistake and then they become frustrated before they really understand how simple working in metric is.
@Kujo174
3 жыл бұрын
Usually, everyday lengths are measured in meters and centimeters. I guess, coming from imperial, Americans have that intuitive desire to use the "smallest" scale (so mm), but m and cm are more "standard", practically speaking. Technically, m is the de facto standard. And even more technically, there is no smallest scale. In steps of 1/1000th, below milli meters is micro meters, nano meters, pico meters, etc... Having said all that, it doesn't matter too much, as you know, since they are all easily converted by introduction or removal of 0s. It's only a matter of what scale is appropriate for the given task.
@douglasbrown5692
3 жыл бұрын
@@Kujo174 Indeed - in my experience as a furniture maker, plans are drawn up in "mill", i.e. 3m 14cm 8mm is simply written 3148mm.
@Delgen1951
3 жыл бұрын
@@trrexxx An American mile is 2.3 km long and is set that way by law, dating form the 1820s and the treade of the meter, by an act of Congress, this includes all standard American Measures. How is 2.3km random when converted to feet it looks that way 2280 feet to the mile or 2.3km.
@chrisharris1522
3 жыл бұрын
@@Delgen1951 A mile is about 1.6 km
@taitai300
3 жыл бұрын
It's funny to me how when Americans talk about the metric system they talk in millimeters, while I and almost everybody I know will talk in meters and then centimeters, like 1,500 mm to me is a meter 50 or 150cm
@bogna8877
3 жыл бұрын
That's what I've noticed too. It's so cute and funny and overcomplicated way of calculating. Americans: when you reach too many zeros just cut off some and switch to the bigger unit. As simple as that.
@nicolasinvernizzi6140
3 жыл бұрын
@@bogna8877 and some seems to think that using the different prefixes takes more mental effort. like if you are measuring a table and wrote it like 0.001 km or 1000 mm or 100 cm or 1 meter its all the same, its unnecessary to use some of the prefixes for every day life but doesnt take more than 2 seconds to understand it. for example there was a comment in other video that was something like..... "why use 45.7 cm when you can write 457 mm and drop the point" and i think some americans think that every prefix is like a different unit and dont realize that is all the same thing.
@lenroddis5933
3 жыл бұрын
@@nicolasinvernizzi6140 As far as I'm aware, cm isn't a "preferred" unit in the SI system. Americans have had difficulty dealing with prefixes like kilo, micro, mega etc. ever since Greek was dropped from their school syllabus.
@maas2198
3 жыл бұрын
I guess it's because the most americans who switched to metric have a job where sub-inch measurement is relevant, i.e. carpenter or engineer. So in these jobs mm is the mainly used unit. For someone who grew up with the metric system it's normal and intuitive to use km, m, cm and mm dependent to the case and size.
@rfly-fpv
3 жыл бұрын
@@nicolasinvernizzi6140 I read some study that it's easier to convert to metric from imperial by introducing only one unit. In Australia (country that switched from imperial) they use millimeter rules instead of centimeter rules just to get rid of decimal fractions in daily work in many fields. They just work with big numbers but they are all integers.
@jorgeconcheyro
3 жыл бұрын
Talking to an American friend once, I realise Americans think we use millimeters, which is wrong, we measure things in centimeters (3/8") or meters (~3ft) ... I don't say I'm 1700mm tall, I say I'm 1.70 m and a nail is 5cm (2"). So a foot is 30cm, 3 feet is a meter (kinda), a table is 78cm from the floor. If you look at the tape measure you'll see the predominant mark is in centimeters... so and inch is just 2,5cm... It is the same confusion as with "bidet", we don't p**p in there, just wash hahahaha. Of course, we use millimeters but only when something is not an exact multiple of a cm or half a cm... just in case somebody wants to read my 2 cents on this ;) Cheers!!!
@mikaihlberg2269
3 жыл бұрын
What, you don't say "Usain Bolt is the holder of 10.000mm sprint world record"? :p
@thesolarsailor
3 жыл бұрын
Great timing on this video, I was considering trashing all my imperial rulers in the shop and switching to metric on Tuesday! I built a small project a year or so ago where I could only find metric plans, was not that difficult of a switch. I am of the age where we learned metric in elementary school because President Carter wanted us to join the rest of the world, well except for Myanmar they still use imperial measure too.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
I find it so much easier for sure!
@TheArtificiallyIntelligent
3 жыл бұрын
So nice to hear this! I'm from the U.S. and am finally in a place where I can put together a home shop and decided a few months back that I'll go 100% metric. There's nothing wrong with using imperial for the right reasons. Unfortunately, a lot of the U.S. woodworkers seem to brush off metric with something that boils down to "Murica!". The only two reasons I can think for someone to stick with imperial are: (a) your tools are all imperial, and (b) you're a master of fractions. If you're not a master of fractions already, there's absolutely no reason to make yourself one. I do find it difficult to visualize metric lengths, but that should be expected. It will get much easier.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
For sure and that’s when CM and M come into play. But, that would have opened up a whole other can of worms. Lol
@richardsinger01
Жыл бұрын
We have been tussling with this in the UK for decades. Workplaces are mostly metric (maybe entirely) but those of my age group are somewhete in between. Educated in imperial for rhe first few years of our schooling, then in metric for the rest. The only place I use imperial is woodworking - mostly becausr of American books and plans. In fact I use both systems. A component might end up as 14 3/4" x 5/8" x 22 mm. I think its time to commit!. Meanwhile certain politicians are trying to reintroduce imperial measurements in post brexit Britain because "Murica!" no wait....
@BobWitlox
3 жыл бұрын
In wood working or engineering it may be good to use mm for every measurement, but in everyday (metric) life you use the closest unit to describe something or visualize something. For a tiny measurement I use mm. For something I can hold in my hand, I think in cm. For an area or a room, I think in meters. For travel in km. That's the beauty of metric. It's basically all the same, just another power of 10.
@billshiff2060
2 жыл бұрын
In Australia,they don't use the centimeter, it is forbidden. They only use units with a factor of 1000 to prevent confusion, so only microns, millimeters, meters, and kilometers.
@moderntouchfurniture
3 жыл бұрын
Jason you nailed it right on. I changed to metric last year, and I use the FastCap True 32 measuring tape which is in millimeters only, that way I don't get distracted with centimeters, and it absolutely works great for me. It's so much easier to do the the math now, and I have not made one math mistake since I switched.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
I have that same tape measure and it really helps when doing cabinets on the 32mm system
@EdyMar77
3 жыл бұрын
visualization in metric is more easy in meters , that is the beauty of metric , you just had to get used to it. a tall person is about 2 meters , a short woman is about a meter and a half . Also you can measure thing by walking , a full step is about 1 meter . very useful to make estimations without any measurement tool
@traog
3 жыл бұрын
The same can be said for imperial, a tall man is 6 ft, a short woman is 5 ft, a full step is about 1 yard, useful estimations with out any tools. The beauty of metric is in converting scales, mm cm M Km.
@Ander01SE
3 жыл бұрын
And that's not even the best thing about the metric system. A box with the inner measurement (10cm)³ can hold 1 liter of water... 1 liter of water weights 1 kilogram (under "normal" temperatures).
@keppycs
3 жыл бұрын
1 liter of water weights 1 kilogram at 4°C
@saxus
3 жыл бұрын
@@traog Yes, and this is the most important part: if you have to switch between scales you just have to move the comma in your number. You don't have to multiply by 3 and 12, it's not intuitive. Also using the fractions. IMHO counting with imperial numbers would be much more easier if you simply use decimal fractions.
@fotopdo
3 жыл бұрын
This is great probably the best discussion of why metric is a great option for woodworking. I really like that you are using an “I” statement, “I prefer metric”, “it works for me”. It happens to be a great way to communicate in all aspects of life. I recently have begun using metric, I had been planning for a while, putting together enough measuring tools... and was looking forward to it. I was still pleasantly surprised by how refreshingly easy it is.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
I am glad you enjoyed it!
@jriis2010
3 жыл бұрын
I saw a very good tutorial on how to make mortises using a router. Being a Dane using the metric system, I really do not understand why you would measure 3/16 of an inch instead of just measuring 5 mm. I know its not exact 5 mm, but about 4.76 mm, but no weekend warrior is able to measure 0.24 mm anyway.
@billshiff2060
2 жыл бұрын
NOT exact... that my friend is the POINT.
@giuliobernacchia1848
Жыл бұрын
@@billshiff2060 the point is that Metric people will mortise at 5 mm so their work will be 100% exact. You guys don’t cut at 4,5/16th and we don’t cut at 5.3 mm or 4.7, unless we need to, in which case there is absolutely no problem to do so if you have the right tools and the right reason to.
@billshiff2060
Жыл бұрын
@@giuliobernacchia1848 4.5/16 = 9/32 we would definitely cut that but no one ever is 100% exact.
@zuluflor4
3 жыл бұрын
for you to easy imagine the metric: 10 mm is about the width of a pinky, 100 mm is about the width of a hand, 200 mm is about the length of a hand, 500 mm or half a meter is around the length from ellbow to fingertip and a meter is the length of a G36 rifle ^^.
@kiljucook7625
3 жыл бұрын
Actually 10 mm, 100 mm, 200 mm 500 mm and so forth.
@agn855
3 жыл бұрын
Yep, the majority of aMuricans prefer to measure in NRA scale anyway ;o)
@HotelPapa100
3 жыл бұрын
American school kids learn metric. 9mm at a time. I'll see myself out...
@Drescher1984
3 жыл бұрын
I usually switch to cm when above 9mm and m when over 1000mm
@keppycs
3 жыл бұрын
This argument is literally the same as: one foot is the same length as someone's foot, or the *average* foot. You're generalizing standard measurements to things of a variable size. It's stupid.
@bjogen1
3 жыл бұрын
Here's the reason metrics is easier: In both systems this statement is understandable: Add 30% to 10 inches = 13 inches Add 30% to 10 meters = 13 meters But: Add 30% to 48/64 inch = complicated Add 30% to 0.1 mm = 0.13 mm
@IronFreee
3 жыл бұрын
It's like when Europe changed money. At first we had no idea of the value of that new money. I was trying to convert in the old money and it wasn't easy, 1 € = 6,55957 FF. That's not the way to do it, you have to forget the old currency and think with practical references. How much for a bread, how much for a movie, how much for my salary. Same thing with imperial and metric, the sooner you make new references in meters the sooner it will become easier to imagine. The biggest advantage of metric is the conversion. There's 1000 mm = 100 cm = 10 dm = 1 m 1 km = 1000 m All you have to do is to move the coma: 6575 mm = 657,5 cm = 65,75 dm = 6,575 You can also easily divide: 1 m / 2 = 0.5 m = 5 dm = 50 cm = 500 mm to remember them you can associate them with words like centimeters sound like century = 100 year millimeters like millennials = in 1000 of years No one use the decimeter... but it sound like a decade = 10 years
@mattiasakerblom3426
3 жыл бұрын
the decimeter is used. not as frequent as some of the other units but not uncommon. Mainly in speach or when pricing stuff like a carpet. The Hectogram is used in the same way, pricing mainly.
@IronFreee
3 жыл бұрын
@@mattiasakerblom3426 Yes, I wasn't serious about nnever using it... it was just a way of saying it is less used. People usually jump from meters to centimeters, spiking the decimeter.
@daedalron
3 жыл бұрын
@@IronFreee Actually, US won't have to move the comma, they'll have to move the dot. They use a dot for decimal separator, unlike many european countries who use a comma ;)
@IronFreee
3 жыл бұрын
@@daedalron Yes, Europe use dots for large numbers to help read them. Like: 10.000.000 for 10000000
@nickeos
3 жыл бұрын
@@IronFreee 1 cubic dm is also the same as a liter. I don't know why we say liter instead of cubic decimeter though... edit: actually it's kinda obvious... 1 liter is easier to say than 1 cubic dm
@davidwise1302
3 жыл бұрын
Christoph Waltz in a hardware store in "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee": "I'm looking for something in centimeters." "Why?" "Because inches don't make sense." I agree with you. Working in inches you have to constantly do fraction arithmetic and most adults have nightmares about learning fractions. In high school and college I worked part-time in construction and carpentry for my father. I never did it constantly enough to read a tape on sight so I always had to figure out the fractions. Then in Summer 1973 I worked construction in Germany. First day on the job I was handed a Meterstock and was told to get a board of certain dimensions. The easiest thing imaginable. As soon as I returned home, I bought a metric tape which I still have -- measurements for my father I'd do in inches and measurements for myself in metric. Yes, it's obvious or should be: if you're doing in metric then do it in metric. There's absolutely no reason to convert it to inches. Pick your system and work within it! To eyeball measurements: for measurements in yards or meters, they're close enough to equivalent so treat yards and meters as the same. It's about 5 cm to every 2 inches, so just divide inches by 2 and multiply to 5 to get centimeters. Using that rule, a foot is about 30 centimeters. A centimeter is about 3/8 inch. A credit card is about 1mm thick, a house key about 2mm. And the more you use it the better you get at it. Slight quibble though. 1/32 inch is 0.79 mm, so you can measure with a bit more precision in 1/32nds of inches. However, using millimeters feels more accurate because you are more confident in making your measurements and you are much less likely to make a mistake or a miscalculation than you would if you were using inches.
@vHindenburg
3 жыл бұрын
Ironically usually just called Zollstock ( Inchstick)
@markopizurica
3 жыл бұрын
I'll end your gripe with rough estimates in metric in a few lines - but essentially, nobody using metric estimates in mm for large spaces. Try adopting a centimeter, or even a meter in your daily life as a core value when doing metric. mm are too precise. So when doing really precise work use mm. Working on something about a foot size and it's already cm - as in 36cm and not 360mm.. As soon as you are dealing with an arm length sizes or more, switch to meter, as in "meter 16 and a half" for 1m + 16cm + 5mm or 1165mm It will become easy to estimate a room size as "5m, maybe 5 and a half". Nobody says "the room is 5464mm long" :)
@SquishyFletcher
3 жыл бұрын
"Nobody says "the room is 5464mm long"." Not quite true, architects will say that...
@KlaasDeSmedt
3 жыл бұрын
@@SquishyFletcher not true, architecture is mostly done in cm ;)
@SquishyFletcher
3 жыл бұрын
@@KlaasDeSmedt I was taught to work in mm...because each mm can matter when it comes to things like wall thickness. If you don't account for the 9mm plasterboard (at each end) and just work from the studs, then your measurements are going to be off by enough to matter at the end of a long hallway.
@Daneelro
3 жыл бұрын
When you think in metres, then think of how many steps a distance is: one metre is about one step of an adult male. Engineers prefer to use millimetres, even for things as long as a railway vehicle (even though manufacturing precision for an entire vehicle only recently came below the cm range and a carbody will change length in the mm range due to thermal expansion or elastic compression/stretching).
@KiSUAN
3 жыл бұрын
@@SquishyFletcher No we won't say that, we will use mm on a floor plan and technical drawing, but we will use meters on site, with a client and so on, we will say this room is going to be 3 by 4,3 meteres, that's also why you don't use square millimeters, you use square meters. You don't visualize a space in mm, you do it in mts, same as you don't visualize the distance between two places in mm or mts, you do it in kilometers.
@chrisshannonmoeller781
3 жыл бұрын
I am trying this for the same reasons, calculations are easier and more accurate.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Go for it
@rakashaagain
3 жыл бұрын
accuracy I disagree. It's as accurate but it's much more complicated.
@noa.sendlhofer
3 жыл бұрын
As a European it's my favourite thing to watch Americans be impressed by the metric system haha
@martinum4
3 жыл бұрын
Same, and i love it
@billshiff2060
2 жыл бұрын
Only the ignorant would be impressed by a system that has only 2 factors baked in to EVERY level.
@adammabe5819
3 жыл бұрын
My favorite part of any day is when I get to say, "I've never thought of it that way before," and this video brought one of those right out of my mouth! It seems we share some common ground with the division of inches issue, so I took your advice and am taking metric out for a test drive on my current project. I'd been kicking the idea around for some time, and now I'm kicking my ass for not trying it sooner. WOW. Mind blown! I agree that the comparison/conversion thing really is what makes one side so hard to see from the other, but at this rate, I'll be fluent in both languages of measurement in no time. Thanks for the lightbulb moment! Something tells me I will never forget this. lol
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Glad you found it helpful
@henningmogensen9144
3 жыл бұрын
when I was leaning carpentry (1969-1973 in Denmark) we had danish inches, english / american inches and swedish, when bying wood. But all other mesurements was in cm og mm. All calenders from the tradeunion had conversion tables. Danish:26.1245 mm - swedish: 24.7 and imperial: 25.4
@mountainlightwoodcraft
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Jason. I switched to metric measurements initially when I was building face frames for large cabinets with numerous fixed shelves (that require rails), as well as top and bottom rails, and I got tired of calling out to my assistant, "Okay, the first fixed shelf center is at 13-23/32 from the center of the cabinet top; the second fixed shelf center is 28-9/16 down from that," etc. Mind numbing. Now, I simply say, "First is at 177 (mm is understood), second is at 305," etc. Way easier, not to mention the fact that millimeters (approx. 25/inch) are 50% more accurate than our rulers or tapes that divide into 1/16-inch segments. Like you, I still struggle with visualizing a room at 750 cm or a cabinet at 1850 mm, but I found it it is completely irrelevant. I can do all of my visualizing in Imperial dimensions and then do my piece measuring using the more accurate and user-friendly metric system. In that regard they work in total harmony. Good stuff, Jason.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Glad to hear you enjoyed the video 👍
@SuperSrjones
3 жыл бұрын
I just say "Hey Google, what's (whatever i want to know)" I have the google hub on the desk in my workshop.
@Agnemons
3 жыл бұрын
The whole "Visualise in imperial" is bogus. You visualise it as "Yay big" and then attach a dimension to it. You are trying to "fix" the wrong problem and that will always cause issues. If you don't know what dimension label to attach to what you are visualising go get a tape measure (METRIC!!!!) and learn. Thats what you did when you started learning the Imperial system.
@johngillespie3409
2 жыл бұрын
@@Agnemonsyour silly, plumbers visualize in American by estimating how long it is to the meter. How many 20 ft sections of pipe, pvc comes in 20 ft sections, will it take. F metric 100 ft , 29 m, plumbing math blows away metric and imperial, will make you cry 😭 8 years to become a master plumber 🪠 what are you measuring picture frames., Who needs to change?
@tessvandijk2351
3 жыл бұрын
Absolutely my reason to switch too. Love it.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
I love it!
@youdqtube
3 жыл бұрын
This was a GREAT post and as I started to watching I thought "Why be concerned about making some thing in exact feet or inches" and then you made the same point. If you need about 3 feet, make it a meter, etc.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it
@EarlJohn61
3 жыл бұрын
900 mm or 90 cm or .9 m is closer. And also a little bit smaller... If you need something to fit in a space that is about 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet and you make it 1m X 1m X 1m you'd have about an 80% chance of at least one side being too big... If however you make it .9m cubed it would probably fit... Better yet... Measure the bloody hole in mm and make the damn object to fit.
@JimmeShelter
3 жыл бұрын
@@bentswoodworking When you buy wood, you still buy it in boardfeet right?
@dk70
3 жыл бұрын
Im sorry, but when you say "not everybody should so this"...uh, they probably should. Maybe not if they have grown up with it, but they certainly should be taught metric at school. Nothing is easier in imperial units. Metric is also pretty intuitive for day-to-day things.
@Delgen1951
3 жыл бұрын
excepte for time which is NOT Metric any were in the world, even France which tried to change time gave up on it after ten years of of trying to make it work, look up a photo of a metric timepiece, and you will see why.
@johannesbohm6458
3 жыл бұрын
@@Delgen1951 time cant be metric since the metric system only describes distances, areas (distance squared) and volumes (distance qubed). Everything else is part of the SI-units (which metric is a Part of) and seconds, hours, etc. are SI-units.
3 жыл бұрын
I had been thrown in the other direction. Coming from metric Europe to the imperial Philippines I learned some tough lessons. Worst had been the board feet for wood. And then the authorities. OMG! I had designed my house 100% metric. But when I submitted the plans for the construction permit, they were refused. I had to hire an engineer who recalculated all my plans in imperial measuring. But when we built the house, we used the metric system. Our workers quickly learned it and liked the much easier calculation. Thank you for your convincing video.
@rossrandall7106
3 жыл бұрын
I started learning imperial at school but then our country (Australia) switched to metric. Metric is far easier to use and easier to teach kids.
@bonyfletcher7657
3 жыл бұрын
Nobody says "this right there is 2500 milemiters" They say "this right there is 2.5 meters"
@peterkotara
3 жыл бұрын
When I'm discussing measurements with a colleague we almost always use mm without actually saying the "millimetre/s" part on the end E.g twenty two fifty eight by three oh six. If not using mm then we would state the unit E.g eighteen sixty lineal meters, Three fifty micron film build.
@wowwipeout71
3 жыл бұрын
Technical not true, most trades in Australia especially building, quote in mm's like a sheet of plasterboard will always be advertised as 2400 x 1200 x 10mm because that is what you will accurately buy then if you want to cut that in 1350 x 950 , saying to someone to cut 1.35m x 950cm is confusing - plus your measuring tape has mm, cm and m and to the mm is more accurate :)
@bonyfletcher7657
3 жыл бұрын
@@wowwipeout71 Yeah, but i was refering to eyeballing something. Say you looking a tree, you'll say "This tree is about 5 meters tall"
@PLF...
3 жыл бұрын
Bony> carpenters do all the time. Also if you count precision, "2.5 meters" could be 2.486 meters. Something you definitely don't say is "2.5 zero zero" meters. If you work in millimeters all day it's not really do that weird.
@Durin01
3 жыл бұрын
@@wowwipeout71 1350mm x 950mm ≠ 1.35m x 950cm... 1.35m x 95cm would be correct. But your point is still correct. Measurement is normally given in mm.
@gudjonjonsson4272
3 жыл бұрын
I work with metric and then I came to US and I had to learn Imperial and it can be frustrating Just like you said metric is Easy
@petersumpter1630
3 жыл бұрын
Metric also ties things together. The distance from the pole to the equator is roughly 10,000km. One litre is 10cm x 10cm x 10cm. One litre of water weighs 1 kg. One cubic cm of water weighs 1 gram. One cubic metre of water weighs one tonne. In Celsius (centigrade) water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100 degrees. It just makes simple sense.
@talalon4098
3 жыл бұрын
Also- it takes one calorie to heat one gram (milliliter, cubic centimetre) of water in one celcius degree.
@fryvox3147
3 жыл бұрын
@@talalon4098 who is using calorie, better use Joule
@talalon4098
3 жыл бұрын
@@fryvox3147 that's true, but Joules aren't part of the daily metric system.
@JimmeShelter
3 жыл бұрын
..."roughly"..... lol
@JimmeShelter
3 жыл бұрын
It takes ROUGHLY one calorie to heat one gram (milliliter, cubic centimeter) of water one celsius degree.
@grkuntzmd
3 жыл бұрын
I'm a retired physician and so have no trouble thinking in metric for things like centimeters, liters, ℃, etc. in medical applications, but when I do woodworking, I still use imperial. I am getting very frustrated with having to do calculations like dividing 5⅜ inches in two equal parts. Thanks for this rational argument for changing to metric woodworking. I'm going to give it a try in my next project.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it 👍
@richardsinger01
Жыл бұрын
Yes, this is a pain in the neck to work out - particulatly if you want thirds. But there is another way. Use a pair of dividers and a sector. No measurements needed.
@KnottyDogWoodshop
3 жыл бұрын
This is a good video about why it was a easier switch in my shop too. Like you know I do a lot of cabinets and hardware is also based on mm so the transition to switch just made sense. Hope more people are open to trying it out!
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Cabinetry is what really does it for me.
@darrylbuckett5380
3 жыл бұрын
You got it in one my friend, I was born to imperial but moved to OZ back in 74 which uses metric, so at the ripe old age of 70 I both use and think in both ways depending on what i'm making the materials i'm using and the fact the house I live in was built using imperial. But if I had to choose one then I would go with metric, it is easier and the way everything is done now and into the future. one last thing, the fact your american who uses metric, that makes you an honary Oz. Cheers
@silknfeathers
3 жыл бұрын
I grew up originally with Imperial. My father was an engineer pattern maker, he dealt with thousandths of an inch daily. When we moved to Australia and then took up metric, initially he was annoyed. One day, whilst discussing it he said "thousandths of an inch makes sense, it is easy to work out thousandths". That's when I pointed out to him he was correct, it IS easier, which is why the metric system is based around this (a thousand millimetres, etc.). Eventually he came around. Only the blindly obstinate could prefer imperial, but I do understand thinking what you are used to is the best, because, well, that's what you are used to...
@billshiff2060
2 жыл бұрын
You obviously didn't learn much machining. Metric is crap for machinists. Great for mechanics wrenches. I do both and imperial is better for machining and metrology. .001" is perfect for most everything .0001" for fine work is just right. The resolution of the metric system is clumsy and impractical, forcing machinists to count by 5's or 2's or some crap in between. .1mm is too big .01mm is too small and .001mm is way too small. The use of commas is idiotic, I'm sure they did that just to be "different", very french. Not to mention that thread chasing dials are near impossible on metric lathes, which are standard in imperial lathes, because metric threads are not whole fractions of the master lead screw. .00039 There are other problems too. In Australia,they don't use the centimeter, it is forbidden. They only use units with a factor of 1000 to prevent confusion, so only microns, millimeters, meters, and kilometers.
@silknfeathers
2 жыл бұрын
@@billshiff2060 No, I don't do much machining, unlike my brother and friends. You're problem with metric is that you don't use it, your systems are set up not to use it. Everyone I speak to in industry (building and mechanical- including engineers) prefers metric. I am well aware of the use of division of thousands, we grew up with it (well, I'm old enough not to have, but still prefer metric by a country mile!😁
@billshiff2060
2 жыл бұрын
@@silknfeathers I have a full compliment of metric tool and measuring instruments. I work metric stuff regularly including today. What is ridiculously comical is that I can plainly see that some anal metric bone head has converted some previous drawing from imperial to metric with the attendant loss of accuracy only to have me convert it back to imperial and restore the original intent. I see 9.5mm and I know it is a sloppy conversion from .375" etc. Dicks gotta be dicks I guess. Imperial units evolved over eons directly from the actual work being done and those units are ideal for their applications. The metric "system" was pulled directly out of some frogs bung hole and FOISTED on everyone regardless of the suitability of the scale. The inch/foot/yard was created BY humans working with them FOR humans working with them. Metric is entirely arbitrary with no consideration for actually working in it. For every supposed "advantage" the metric system presents , there is at least an equal advantage in the imperial system. Likewise for Disadvantages. In reality 1 micron has NO meaning since no one can reasonably deliver it.
@jeffjordan5426
3 жыл бұрын
I switched over to using metric a year ago and never looked back! So much easier to do that math in my head with metric vice imperial. Like Jason, I still have trouble visualizing what longer lengths would be.
@Rene-Hernandez
3 жыл бұрын
Same!
3 жыл бұрын
Suggestion: Use meters for longer, ex. 1,5m or 150cm length instead of 1500 mm
@totherik91
3 жыл бұрын
Try to measure your bodyparts or common objects like arm, finger, washing mashine, your car, etc and even if you wont remember the exact numbers, you will get in the correct ballpark.
@Dutch1961
3 жыл бұрын
When you're new to the metric system and you're having trouble visualizing longer lengths you could use what you know. You know what one foot looks like and you know what five foot looks like. One foot is just over 30 cm or 300 millimeter (30.48 cm to be precise). So one meter (or 1000 millimeter) is just over three foot, (=91.44 cm) and 1.5 meter (or 1500 millimeter) is just under 5 foot (152.4 cm). It isn't accurate but it will give you an impression. If you want to be accurate use a tape meassure.
@measuretwicewoodworks
3 жыл бұрын
Great job explaining. I use both as I’m at the age where I was taught imperial until the age of 11 and then the school system changed over to metric.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it
@chrisshannonmoeller781
3 жыл бұрын
Where did you grow up? Seems odd they would switch.
@phatphat7089
3 жыл бұрын
@@chrisshannonmoeller781 probably Canada we switched in the 70s im in the same boat got taught imperial till grade four or five then got switched over to metric!
@EarlJohn61
3 жыл бұрын
Possibly Australia... I was taught British imperial measures in primary school: miles, Feet, inches, stones (I weigh in at 18 stone) pounds, ounces, acres and (as a farmer's son) bags per acre. Then in Secondary school the teachers introduced us to these new measurements... I find I can use either... Just please don't mix the two... 4 meters of 4x2 will get you 3 feet of 100 X 50p.a.r. between the eyes!
@seanmcintyre3986
3 жыл бұрын
I moved from Kenya where we used imperial to Australia where metric is used, my god! Metric is so much better.
@williamhardes8081
3 жыл бұрын
from an aussie, so true. n thanks for coming to join us 😁
@renaebona1931
3 жыл бұрын
I have recently switched to metric. I am a mini maker (dollhouse, furniture etc.) and very happy to use metric now. When I got an odd 16th or 32nd measurement I always took the closest even measurement and added scmidgy widgies to it. Weird I know, but I don't think I was ever meant to use imperial. Now I can even measure half a millimeter easily and be more precise in less time 😊 Great video!
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Glad you found it helpful
@mrklean0292
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your perspective on this. Years ago I worked in a hospital pharmacy as a pharm tech. In hospitals across the US the metric system is used extensively. It took all of a couple of days in class to learn to use it, and once I did, I wondered how I went, at that time, 35 years without ever using it. I remember the push in the 70's to go metric, but then it just fizzled out. Now here I am almost 60 and I have recently gotten into woodworking. I bought an Incra fence with imperial markings a couple of years ago, but have slowly started to purchase metric measuring tools because of just the main reason you mentioned. It is easier. I don't have to look at my tape measure 20 times to make sure I did it correctly. Being visually impaired doesn't help much also. So now I am looking at converting the fence to metric. I love the fence, I don't think I could do woodworking without it. The only other imperial tool that I regret purchasing was a 36" Woodpecker t-square (not that I regret the Incra fence, I just wish that I had gotten the metric version first). I have never used it and will probably sell it.
@PeteLewton
2 жыл бұрын
I accidentally ordered woodpecker rulers in metric, and I'm loving it!
@bentswoodworking
2 жыл бұрын
Lol happy accident
@JD-ff4of
3 жыл бұрын
It doesn't matter which one I use, I still measure once and cut twice!!
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
🤣🤣
@AlexKall
3 жыл бұрын
So relatable 🤣
@miroslavkral5406
3 жыл бұрын
All is well until you cut three times and it is still too short for you.
@conikapernick3713
3 жыл бұрын
🤣😂
@andrevanlooy1012
3 жыл бұрын
2200 mm ? We never say that in Europe ... here we measure in meters and centimeters. So 2200 mm becomes 2meter20. Only when is has to be very precise we add mm, and even tenth or hundreds of millimeters.
@nicolasinvernizzi6140
3 жыл бұрын
same here in south america, like for example i am 1 meter 76 cm tall. we would never say 1760 mm. all measures are expressed on the biggest posible unit within the context.
@Llortnerof
3 жыл бұрын
It's ultimately all the same anyway. The base unit is the meter. The prefixes all just define what multiples or fractions you use, but you're technically still working with meters. Meanwhile, Imperial and US custom actually have to convert between different units. You could actually just go and work in kilo-inches and milli-inches if you wanted to, although few people would understand what you're doing.
@HotelPapa100
3 жыл бұрын
Depends on the jargon, really. Mechanics, metalworkers find mm in their drawings and use it while working. They still may talk in meters when getting the bar stock from the shelf. Woodworkers use cm. Builders usually work in m or cm. Surveying is done in m AFAIK.
@HotelPapa100
3 жыл бұрын
@@Llortnerof " work in kilo-inches and milli-inches if you wanted to, although few people would understand what you're doing." Dunno, the mil is pretty common in metalworkin, AFAIK. a mil: A thousandth of an inch for an American mechanic. a millimeter for a British mechanic a milliliter for a chemist...
@puncheex2
3 жыл бұрын
Even on your metric plans? My assumption was that construction plans, for instance, say only millimeters. Do they not, or do you just use a conversion in your head when you see the naked number on the plans?
@MikeyDonna
3 жыл бұрын
Well you finally convinced me to try metric. Like a lot of people I was stubborn and down played the metric system because I didn’t want to take the time to learn. Yes I can see that during the learning process it will slow me down. I’m retired now and slowing down to learn doesn’t matter. I’ve struggled with fractions all my life and I can see once learned it’s bound to be easier. Thanks for pushing me over the edge . Mike
@astranger448
3 жыл бұрын
Worked as a European exchange student in the US, summer of 84, in a machinist/engineering company. Machinists worked in imperial, on imperial machines. The engineers would convert to metric, do their calculations then convert back to imperial because it was quicker and much less error prone.
@backbeatwoodworks
3 жыл бұрын
I use both systems. If you do any digital making with 3D printing or CNC kind of stuff, it's much easier to use metric.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Yes I am finding metric easier with the cnc for design
@warrenpeterson6065
3 жыл бұрын
I'm Canadian and we started converting to the metric system in 1970 and ended in 1984. I'm old enough to remember all the Nay Sayers and the common complaint was "The US isn't converting so why do we?" ... lol. Living next to the US, our largest trading partner, forced us to maintain both systems and this provided an old dog like me time to learn. What I find interesting about the US is that it's Healthcare, Scientific, Engineering, Mechanical, and Mathematical based industries all use the metric system but the average Joe can't or doesn't want to figure it out. Let's see ... approximately 7.6 billion people around the world use the metric system and a few hundred million refuse to .... well doesn't that just about explain everything you need to know about the US.
@billshiff2060
2 жыл бұрын
If everyone jumped into a bituminous cauldron, would you jump in too? -Beldar Conehead
@cbarnes2160
Жыл бұрын
@@billshiff2060You can't be serious.
@allent555
3 жыл бұрын
Wow, this is so cool! My cousin and I were having this exact conversion this morning over breakfast before this video.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Perfect timing!
@GreenSaxon
3 жыл бұрын
Is this a comedy sketch or do American's actually still believe the Imperial system is better than the Metric system?
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Most do
@Daneelro
3 жыл бұрын
You can deduce it from his defensiveness: it has been made a nationalistic identifier to stick to Imperial, so "patriotic" conservatives will be triggered by any use of, not to mention positive mention, of metric.
@Delgen1951
3 жыл бұрын
@@Daneelro This is because every time you read through one of this commits pages you find "Stupid Americans" type of commits and this does not help if you want Americans to convert. Also If asked to a European "why do you care?" I don't get a response.
@Daneelro
3 жыл бұрын
@@Delgen1951 Again, why do you even bother to _read through_ these comments pages, why do you _subject yourself_ to that? No one forces you to, clearly, you have some emotional reason to do so. In addition, I must admit I am also questioning your perception of offensiveness. To see what I mean, here is an example. Once I saw a YT video with a clip of a US talk show host being a guest on the show of a German one. In the comments, people discussed that both are very tall but very similar in height, and wondered which one is taller. I found the height of both, but the first in inches and the other in centimetres, so it couldn't be settled because the inch measurement could be anything from 1 cm smaller to 1 cm taller. I posted my findings in a comment, expressing my frustration at failing to settle the issue by jokingly calling Imperial "Barbarian". The discussion on heights lingered on until a new commenter came who never bothered with the original issue of which TV host is taller & took massive offence to the "Barbarian" jest and started a flame war. He wouldn't calm down even when other US commenters tried to explain the matter to him, and only stopped when YT apparently banned him (I don't think for _this_ comment thread). Would you make a comment about a well-known backwardness of some country/region on some issue (be it cashless payment limitations in Germany, the use of toilet paper in the West instead of water from an Asian perspective, or separate hot/cold-water taps in the UK), you'll get self-depreciating humour or something like that. Regarding your question, why Europeans care about Americans not converting, the video was actually quite fair in acknowledging the main reason: the internet is global & English-dominated, yet we find too many US-based sources (including news sites and "influencers" with actual aspiration to reach a global audience) that won't give quantities in metric. If you want a personal response, myself, I also care about the political aspect, since the movement that stopped & turned back the adoption of metric in public (completely ignored in the video) is basically the same that brought the US and the world the likes of Bush & Trump. Back in the actual paper newspaper era, many US news & magazines were already printing both measures (among those I read, for example the National Geographic), but were forced to stop this practice about two decades ago by political campaigns (what's now called "cancel culture" has been practised by such people for ages).
@fleefie
3 жыл бұрын
@@Delgen1951 Conservatards are so triggerred all the time kek
@seybertooth9282
3 жыл бұрын
Metric vs imperial.... which might be the best? Tricky. Could it possibly be the one adopted by 96% of all humans? Just an idea.
@peterkotara
3 жыл бұрын
Sensible gun policy vs mass shootings, Universal health care vs medically induced bankruptcy, Proportional representation vs electoral college, Actual journalism vs Fox "News"........I could go on.
@justinkase1360
3 жыл бұрын
@@peterkotara What a joke your comment is, I do appreciate it.
@Yaroslav_Tselovanskyi
3 жыл бұрын
@@peterkotara Your comment implies everyone else except US are commies, that is simply idiotic assumption.
@peterkotara
3 жыл бұрын
@@Yaroslav_Tselovanskyi How so? I can't see how you could arrive at that conclusion. P.s your comment would read better if it were written "Your comment implies all countries except the U.S are communist, that is simply AN idiotic assumption"
@JimmeShelter
3 жыл бұрын
Everyone should be right handed too I guess.
@bellybutthole69
3 жыл бұрын
As a Canadian, I'm used to the metric system, and when it comes to big measurements, I usually use the other units ( meters / centimeters ) , calculating everything in millimeters sounds extreme to me ! :)
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
That is true, but that would have been a whole other can of worms to open in that short video. LOL
@kryptik0
3 жыл бұрын
You can always convert that to centimeters or meters.100m = 1cm; 100 cm = 1m; 1000m = 1km. The strength of the metric system is that it provides a proper way of breaking down a centimeter (millimeters). An inch does not have a little sister.
@BernhardMarchhart
3 жыл бұрын
Ahhh stop stop stop. The basic unit is Meter 1 Meter = 10 Dezimeter 1 Dezimeter = 10 entimeter 1 Zentimeter = 10 Millimeter Only upscaling is 1000 Meter = 1 Kilometer Next step ist square and its simple Metric factor is 10^2 =100 1m^2 = 100 Squaredezimeter 1dm^2 = 100 Squarezentimeter 1 cm^2 = 100 Squaremillimeter
@stephenrichie4646
3 жыл бұрын
I measure and calculate in centimeters. I.e. 402mm is 40.2 cm. Simplifies my thinking, anyhow.
@QBziZ
3 жыл бұрын
It is, but still very easy to convert to larger units, even though we never say 2450mm, we still know right away what he is talking about. That’s part of the beauty of metric.
@brentprosser5563
3 жыл бұрын
I’m switching right now. I didn’t know you had switched, but it made sense to me. The biggest step was finding plans that were in imperial. I found changing one measurement to a close metric measurement would allow me to basically set my own measurements for the rest of the project. Of course, most of my festool tools I just purchased are now in imperial so I’ve got to get that changed.
@Jmvars
3 жыл бұрын
The US already uses more metric than most people realise, for example: How many cents make a dollar? 100 cents. Does that sound familiar? How many centimeters are in a meter? 100 centimeters. "Centi" means "hundreth". Think of the word "percent". It translates to "per hundreth". 14% would be "14 per hundreth", or 14/100. Honorary mention: "per mille" is "per thousandth", which at least in Norway is used to indicate blood alcohol content. Think of the words "decade" (10 years), "century" (100 years) and "millennium" (1000 years). "Deca" is "ten", "centi" is "hundreth", "milli" is "thousandth". You've probably heard the phrase "give me x cc, stat" from medical shows. cc stands for cubic centimeters (cm³), which equals to 1 milliliter. 10cc would be 10mL. cc is also used in engines as a measurement of displacement.
@Sbjweyk
3 жыл бұрын
I think you make it more complicated for you than it should be. Try to use cm and meters instead of just mm. picturing 1000 mm in your head is kinda hard but 1 meter is easy once you know the dimension of meters. A good way to remember what a meter is it is a big step. Of course it’s just roughly a meter but it’s a great way to get an idea of the dimensions of something like a room.
@DynamicDaveJonker
3 жыл бұрын
Need more convincing... all the youtubers are always complaining that 3/4" plywood is never 3/4"... No, but 3/4" plywood is always 18 mm :-)
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Lol. Exactly!
@3dmazter
3 жыл бұрын
No its not. 18mm plywood is rarely 18mm exactly. Its closer to 19 most of the time.
@labrat7357
3 жыл бұрын
The thing that always gets me is the simple 3/4" ply Vs 18mm ply. One is close and one is correct. It only takes a few 3/4" dividers to make an error big enough to ruin a project.
@InspireWoodcraft
3 жыл бұрын
Interestingly enough neither 3/4" or 18mm is actually 3/4" or 18mm. 3/4" plywood in the states is almost always milled at 23/32" (18.25mm) and stamped and/or sold accordingly. 1/2" is 15/32", 5/8 is 19/32, etc. Most of the time due to variances in milling operations, where said plywood is manufactured and shipped from, and varying densities and qualities of the species used to make plywood, it is rarely exactly 23/32" (or the appropriate near equivalent) as advertised either. 18mm plywood imported to the US is not typically 18mm either, but somewhere around 17.3mm to 17.7mm. And as I found out recently after a purchase, 18mm phenolic ply is well over 3/4", closer to 20mm. In my experience most of the time these small variances do not matter. But when trying to do intricate joinery or when those small variances compound, it makes an enormous difference and can really be frustrating. Although I am one of those "KZitemrs", I grew up in the lumber industry and spend half my adult life buying and selling the stuff. It can be quite the headache.
@gertbrugge973
3 жыл бұрын
@@3dmazter maybe in the USA, but here in Europe it is 18.00 mm. Regards from a cabinetmaker
@CraigularjJoeWoodworks
Жыл бұрын
I ended up switching to all metric because of Brian sedgely. Love it, especially because I’m Canadian and was already half metic to begin with
@michaelkaye4998
3 жыл бұрын
I’m in the same process. I bought several measuring devices including a tape measure. My test project is building cabinets to fill in under a mobile bench. I did all measurements in metric. I kept all measurements to .5mm. Anyway it is easier to combine measurements. But I still have trouble visualizing a space in metric.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Me too for aure
@irish73tjk
3 жыл бұрын
I began switching to metric after discovering Mattias Wandell, my math is also so-so. it's made a world of difference for me, Thank you Jason!
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
You're welcome!
@bobprice9541
3 жыл бұрын
American Imperial is the most confusing mess ever. This American has always preferred the metric system and I wish we would switch over. It's nice that everything is in nice round units of 10, where imperial has random numbers. By the way, did you know the British Imperial has different volumes from American Imperial? It turns out that the American version is an older version of British Imperial.
@tjguzik
3 жыл бұрын
example from real American company orders high-class parts for appliances from an English company - all measurements are given in inches and the whole brothel - accuracy class is 0.01 English speakers change inch measures according to their valid table of measures 1 English inch - 25.39mm 1 inch overseas idiots (no matter which side) 25,401 batch of things made - cost approximately £ 1.2 million sent overseas - it turns out that it does not fit .. there are differences of up to 3-4 millimeters ... the company is almost bankrupt ... since then there has been a rule - measurements are given in SI or let them fuck bananas on the tree straighten ...
@felixfromnebraska8648
3 жыл бұрын
Great video, Jason. I have often thought about changing over to metric for the same reason. I guess after your explanation, I will have to try it. Thanks again, Felix!
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Go for it
@ZenoDovahkiin
3 жыл бұрын
The thing is, I totally get 4:15. You can more easily visualise imperial, but that doesn't have to be the same for your grandchildren if metric becomes popular. Like, in my head I don't convert costs to German Marks to determine whether something is expensive, I grew up on the Euro.
@thebarnworxgarage4806
3 жыл бұрын
Good video man! Being Canadian I use both as well.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you
@joeybassbass
3 жыл бұрын
I’m a beginner woodworker. I’ve used a 10-based number system for my whole life. The fractions of an inch seem more like a foreign language, to me. Wouldn’t it be easier if I just committed to using metric? Social stigma aside, it’s clearly the more logical system.
@spetsig
3 жыл бұрын
You could also argue its a sunken cost fallacy. For anyone starting off from scratch its a no brainer to start getting all tools and trinkets in metric. But if everything you already have spent alot of money on is already in imperial you will have a harder time to switch cause of money already spent and the big initial investments needed to do so again for metric items. An easier way might be to slowly replace old items that need replacing or new purshases with metric items or one that have both measurements on the same item (like rulers have). Like slowly getting off an addiction ;)
@billshiff2060
2 жыл бұрын
You must have a terrible time cutting a pizza for 4. or 3 or 6
@flokithemad3273
3 жыл бұрын
Something to help out with metric that I don't see anyone talking about. If you look at the metric SI prefix list it becomes clear. Here is an example. Take a base unit, Meter is the base unit of distance, litre is the base unit for liquids, bite is the base unit of data. Milli will always be 1000th of the base unit. Centi well always be in increments of 100 of the base unit. Those are in the negative scale, so going lower than the base unit. there is also SI prefixes for going greater than the base unit. Kilo is 1000 of the base unit. Knowing this makes it easies to calculate in a multitude of fields. Hope this helps. Please google Metrix prefix for the SI unit table if you want to have a look yourself.
@Llortnerof
3 жыл бұрын
You prefixes are off by one digit. Milli- is 1/1000th, centi- is 1/100th. 1/10th is deci-. The prefixes are based on the latin words for 1000, 100 and 10, as well. For that matter, 10x and 100x are deka- and hecto- respectively (i.e. a dekameter is 10 meters, a hectoliter is 100 liters; these are rarely actually used). Liter is merely a synonym for dm^3 kept for historical reasons, it is *not* a base unit for liquids (or a base unit at all). In fact, *there is no base unit for liquids*. *All* volumes are measured in meters, just like areas and lengths, including volumes of liquids. Just in 3 dimensions instead of one or two. Byte is not an SI unit, there is no SI unit for data.
@flokithemad3273
3 жыл бұрын
@@Llortnerof I see that. Was typing in a rush. My apologies and thanks for the correction. I've corrected the typo
@fuzzywun
3 жыл бұрын
As I understand it.... America signed up to the metric sysem in 1895. The "Standards" (duplicates of French Standards) are held in Washington. Then everything is CONVERTED to Imperial forLbs Ft Inches Etc. I think there is a new definition of the Standards rather than using the original physical items - but not sure about that. Something to do with wavelengths, light, etc. BTW, I am totally bilingual 48" plus a mm! Grew up Imperial, but Metric in common use now. If I say anything in Imperial to my kids they just look totally blank - they had metric from day one. Great channel Jason , thanks!
@corvus1238
3 жыл бұрын
I was brought up in the UK using imperial and made a conscious decision to change to metric in the 80's. I have never looked back. I would say that if you want to convert start by thinking of 1 inch = 25mm, 2 inches =50mm and 4 inches = 100mm. Once you get that into your head you'll be away. The problem with imperial is all those fractions. Thousandths of an inch need to be converted to sixteenth of an inch at times (hard sums!) The equivalent in metric would be achieved by a multiplication or division of 10 in other words add or take away zeros and even this is rarely necessary if you just work with one unit; millimetres. Most architects and designers just use mm now so no need to convert mm into cm or metres even. All measurements integrate too; 1 cubic metre holds 1000 litres of water and weighs 1000 kg (1tonne) and it all relates to the size of the earth; the distance from the equator to the north pole is 10,000 kilometres, neat isn't it? Life is so much easier for those of us who use metric.
@michaeltempsch5282
2 жыл бұрын
All in mm on building plans also removes the risk of lost, or added smudges being interpreted as, decimal signs (. or , depending on where you are)
@agn855
3 жыл бұрын
No German would say "that door is 2000mm", it‘s just 2m high. Only Australian construction workers are using mm for building houses (for a good reason, they’re only wasting a fraction of material AKA money that way). Means, using that "billion mm“/big numbers“-argument against the metric system is complete nonsense.
@tonyjordao2595
3 жыл бұрын
In South Africa is the same, all dwawings for construction or metal fabrication are in mm, take a wile to get that wen i arraive is South Africa, in 89, were in Europe everything is in cm.
@paskovalokki6589
3 жыл бұрын
@@tonyjordao2595 Atleast here in Finland all technical drawings are in mm but in real life we still use cm and meter too
@naughtypine
3 жыл бұрын
I have been using metric every so often, and have finally switched over to metric. It saves alot of time, errors and inconvenience. Don't be afraid to try it. Its also fun buying new tools. I'm 74 old dog new trick.
@ericrickert3045
3 жыл бұрын
I can use both. It is what you are used to and can visualize. It is a non-issue for me.
@grg200
3 жыл бұрын
Jason, I completely agree, my only issue is most of my measuring tools are imperial. I will convert over time. Thanks for your content and, from a former Marine, thanks for serving.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
I actually find that has not been an issue as I don't use most of my layout tools for measurements. the small ones that I use frequently are usually both metric and imperial.
@chrisshannonmoeller781
3 жыл бұрын
“Former Marine?” So you were dishonorably discharged? I doubt it. “Once a Marine Always a Marine.” Same for other veterans. Even for an “Army Puke,” I love Jason’s work. He is an amazing craftsman and social media personality. I have told him so in another post and am actually disappointed when he misses a post on Thursdays. (Yeah, my life is that sad I guess that I track this now...) Seriously, I am not trying to attack you. I applaud yours and Jason’s service. We need to drop “former” when we describe our service affiliation. My opinion only, feel free to disagree.
@RWWarner3608
3 жыл бұрын
@@chrisshannonmoeller781 What an ass you are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@chrisshannonmoeller781
3 жыл бұрын
@@RWWarner3608 been called worse. Don’t like people disparaging themselves when they have served with pride.
@reginabailey9521
3 жыл бұрын
I also switched to metric in my sewing projects! It’s so much easier to calculate materials.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
😊
@NochSoEinKaddiFan
3 жыл бұрын
If you want to "see and feel" longer measurements, maybe think like this: one bigger step is roughly 1m=100cm=1000mm so 2.5m is roundabout 2 and a half steps. You can roughly walk along a length and count your steps; roughly of course, since we are not standardised but human. But still, maybe that helps :)
@juliushoffman15
3 жыл бұрын
Good way of looking at conversion and making it easier. Though I haven't been looking to convert to metric, one of my measuring devices has both metric and imperial and I have used the metric side when it made small measurements easier.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Thats kinda what got me to look at switching actually.
@craigreed6610
3 жыл бұрын
I have the same issue with those pesky fractions. Going to give it a try on my next project.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Nice!
@chrisshannonmoeller781
3 жыл бұрын
You will (probably) not regret it!
@thomasliebreich3510
3 жыл бұрын
I‘m from central europe and grew up using metric. I use imperial as well. Sometimes the arguments makes me smile. Metric is to complicated I heard. My response usually is: 1L water is equal to 1000mL, and 1mL is equal to 1 cubiccentimeter and equal to 1g. In imperial you have 1gal equal to 128 fl.oz. or 231 cubicinch. Are you kidding me 😀
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
🤣
@ZeoCyberG
3 жыл бұрын
Context has a lot to do with whether that is true or false. Like it is harder to do fractions in Metric, which is why most avoid it and instead convert to decimals instead. There's also reasons why you're not going to be using Metric Time in your daily life, along with other examples where Metric hasn't taken over everything. Metric is simpler in multiple ways to Imperial but that doesn't mean it's always simpler and easier to use... Most imperial measurements are based on the way we perceive the world with our physical body and senses. So you can be stuck in the middle of nowhere with no measuring tools other than your body and your senses and still approximate most Imperial measurements. But that won't be as simple if you try to do the same with Metric... How we perceive the world and how living things in general deal with variables and a level of unpredictability lends itself to a less precise way of measuring that has the tolerances to deal with those variables and not need to be constantly re-calibrated. Traditional woodworking, cooking, and other things people can do in their daily lives are examples where this may be the case. The opposite is just also true when we get into things that do work better with precision and that's where the Metric system shines. Both systems just aren't designed the same way and if you use a system in a way it wasn't really designed to be used then it won't perform as well as it will at things it was designed to handle. Sure, things Imperial can be easier and better at can be very few and far between compared to Metric but there's no such thing as a perfect and better at everything system and it can be times to switch to another system when the application calls for it. There can also be overlap, because you can use decimals and base10 in Imperial too. While it's not as either/or as some people may think of it... In the United States, metric units are used almost universally in science, widely in the military, and partially in industry. Just not in the household and daily life...
@jriis2010
3 жыл бұрын
Yes. its multiplication or division by 10.
@berndheiden7630
3 жыл бұрын
@@ZeoCyberG Off course it is all about with which system you grew up! The example I find to demonstrate that the best is the gas consumption of a car. In imperial it is miles / gallon, in metric it is Liter / 100 Km. So you say how far can I get with a certain amount of gas and we say how much gas do I need for the standard distance of 100 Km.
@genrabbit9995
3 жыл бұрын
Which gallon? the English or the US gallon? these are different.
@errolpereira8292
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you. From Canada 🇨🇦
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
You’re welcome
@19FlyingWombat76
Жыл бұрын
I`m great with Math but never had anything to do with Woodworking BUT as I inherited all the old tools from my Grand-Grandfather who was Carpenter I started and loved it in a second! That`s why I followed your channel to learn more about it. I recon I couldn`t do it easy on imperial as both of my countrys @ half German/Aussie use the metric system and it`s the logic thing.....even in the view of Math. Thx for your channel Mate and keep going! I have MUCH to learn!
@strangelyjamesly4078
3 жыл бұрын
When you talk about 4.3 inches your half way there already.
@kvernesdotten
3 жыл бұрын
Props to you for being open minded enough to try! The most critical of the metric system tends to be those who never tried. Both systems have positives and negatives
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Agreed
@mattiasakerblom3426
3 жыл бұрын
What is the good thing about imperial? (Serious question?)
@kvernesdotten
3 жыл бұрын
@@mattiasakerblom3426 it's completely linear so adding or subtracting will never change or have to be converted. 5 is always bigger than 4 etc instead of trying to add 7/16 and 5/8 and such. Also it is very handy when looking at ranges, for example if you have a bunch of sockets and you see 17 and 19,you know 18 is missing without already knowing what fractions should have been there.
@mattiasakerblom3426
3 жыл бұрын
@@kvernesdotten that is the good thing about metric. What is the good thing about the imperial standard?
@kvernesdotten
3 жыл бұрын
@@mattiasakerblom3426 while metric is good at addition and subtraction, imperial is good at multiplying and dividing because you can never end up with never-ending repeating decimals like 33,333333
@customer7903
2 жыл бұрын
I live in Europe and what you are saying makes so much sense. When I tried to do conversions for making woodworking items (the plans I get are generally imperial) I have had such a issues doing a conversion in the hardware store I get in a real mess so I am going to take your advice and just go for the nearest equivalent pieces of wood and run with it. My problem was so many (most) plans and drawing online are in imperial so I just did not give them a try. I also had real issues when I was in school trying to use imperial so metric is SO MUCH easier - many thanks for giving me the confidence to run with metric for my amature woodworking at home.
@martiekr
3 жыл бұрын
Very nice explanation. I hope more people see this and try to use your suggestions on using the metric system.
@garthrogers2269
3 жыл бұрын
Metric also saves so much time, and therefore man-hours, because the calculations are easier and faster.
@federicosbetta1368
3 жыл бұрын
to eyeball bigger measurements just start from meters, 1 meter is more or less 1 yard that both are more or less one step, those 10cm difference are irrelevant when doing a rough visual estimation, at that point you don't need to calculate a conversion, you just move the decimal point. If you are used to feet it might be usefull to think in terms of half meters.
@TheJonasbz
3 жыл бұрын
I would say if you are used to feet, try think in decimeters, no one talk about more than one halfmeter
@richard281150
3 жыл бұрын
I'm from the UK and was a toolmaker (now retired) and have used metric for over 45 years and find it so much easier than imperial but like yourself I still can only visualise long lengths in imperial; weird eh? How woodworkers go about adding up small fractions such as 64th's etc. is beyond me when metric makes it so much easier as long as (as you said) you can forget about always wanting to think in imperial; forget what the imperial equivalent is and it'll make life so much easier.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Still a place for both for sure.
@drewskolnicki4812
5 ай бұрын
I love this, I too would like to build my projects in metric and after seeing this video I’m willing to try.
@luvwud
3 жыл бұрын
I'm of the generation that's had to learn both. I measure in metric (like you bad maths) and visualise in imperial. But also write sizes down in both. Very true no one version is better than the other.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
I think it boils down to what your more comfortable with
@DaileyLabs
3 жыл бұрын
I’m doing this! I blame covid but my 1/4 to 1/8 to 1/16 to 1/32 is completely gone. I find myself saying 32 and that little one before 3/4.
@bentswoodworking
3 жыл бұрын
Give it a try!
@jeffh4505
3 жыл бұрын
You mean I can blame COVID for that now? Phew! Who know I've had COVID my entire life?!
@balthazarbeutelwolf9097
3 жыл бұрын
If your imperial mesurement rulers give fractions in powers of 2, you could use hexadecimal numbers to avoid complicated number conversions, e.g. 60 inches becomes 3C inches, and in terms of 1/16-inches this is then 3C0. There is just the minor inconvenience of visualising in your head hexadecimal quantitites...
@Eaglefield_
3 жыл бұрын
Dane here. When it comes to the metric system, we end up trying to estimate in meters and centimeters, as that is usually good enough. After which we can work down to millimeters if need be. Probably helps that planks are usually sold in meter-sizing and not in feet and inches. For large projects and the millimeter is pulled in I personally use it for tolerance, and the fact that all the numbers line up on a straight ruler makes it easier to work with over conversion. It's like megajoules and kilojoules, but for distance, weight, and volume.
@philiprennert7730
3 жыл бұрын
I’m German so I use the metric system and for me it’s easier for example what’s 0.1mm in inches I don’t know . The only time we use inches is for PVC pipes and stuff like that
@buddy1155
3 жыл бұрын
0.1 mm = 3/72 inch or 26/964 foot or 73/87593 yard or 23/98758323 mile... see how easy it is.
@philiprennert7730
3 жыл бұрын
@@buddy1155 sure yeah looks pretty easy 😂
@EarlJohn61
3 жыл бұрын
Or 0.1mm ~ 4/1000 of an inch! But if you are working in a fully metric country why would you want to know this?
@Llortnerof
3 жыл бұрын
@@buddy1155 Actually, that's way off. An inch is 25.4mm, so 0.1mm is 0.1/25.4=1/254 inch. 3/72 is 1/24, that's off by an order of magnitude. That'd be more than 1 mm.
@potterteksmith7548
3 жыл бұрын
I grew up and was trade trained in imperial units then the country changed to metric (metres, kilograms, litres etc) in the 70s and it took surprisingly little time to come to grips with it despite some initial worries. The prospect of changing back to the crazy imperial system would generate far more grey hair now. Can't imagine working in 32nds, 64ths, pounds, gallons now although I'm somewhat bilingual having survived the crossover :) Metric is easy!
@CraigUSAF
8 ай бұрын
I totally agree with you on metrics. learning from you, making sense. easier by far.
@grumpywiseguy5992
3 жыл бұрын
No reason to light you up. You are young, have good eyes, a very sharp mind, and for you this makes a lot of sense. I understand that. I spent most of my life working on motorcycles as a hobby, that are always in metric, except for H-D engines. It is much easier to use metric mechanics tools than imperial. However, having spent 70 years of my life working around imperial measurements in my home life, I find it exceedingly difficult to visualize what 618mm looks like. That and my eyes are such that I cannot easily and quickly discern each and every millimeter on a measuring tape. Even with reading glasses on. Finally, one attribute of imperial is that one can choose how much measurement precision one needs on a project. Carpenters and frames rarely go more that an 1/8 of an inch in precision. Easily seen by poor eyes (or hangover eyes), and houses don't care. BUT a furniture maker requires at least 1/32 precision if not more. All cases are easily handled within the imperial system on most measurement tools. Not so with metric. You either have 1mm precision or 1cm precision and nothing in between and that is it. I have measurement tools in both systems, tools in both systems. Plywood, most of the time is either 3/4 or 18mm. Oh, and machinists in the US have to deal with thousandths of an inch, what do we do about that!! In a way, I wish that the US would have converted in the 70s when there was a push to do so. It would be a lot easier on everybody today given how the world economy works. But alas it was not to be. Stay safe and have a great day.
@tokudan
3 жыл бұрын
A metric measuring tape usually has markers for centimeters, 5 millimeters and millimeters. So if millimeters is too small for your eyes, but 1/8" is good then just use the markers for 5 millimeters. 1/32" is about 0.7 millimeters, so for making furnitures we just use millimeters, which is precise enough. Easily handled on metric tools. Anything more precise that's not historical in the USA? They use metric anyway for easier numbers. Metric scale is defined all the way down to yoctometers. A yoctometer is equivalent to roughly 0.4 sextillionth of an inch. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_System_of_Units#Prefixes Even the length of an inch is defined in metric for about 60 years now: One inch is defined as the length of 2.54 centimeters. You're already using metric and have just put a strange number system on it, so you can keep using the units that you are used to ;)
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