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New Fractions Display!


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American woodworkers, of which I am one, can only think in inches. I know millimeters would be easier, but every time I go there, I find myself wishing for inches again. Old habits die hard. Anyway, all of this is off my original topic. Thanks Nemetschek for adding the fractions. Now people who view my drawings won't think 1 1/16 is 11/16!

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Conventions, not standards. Metric/decimal is, I believe, The U.S. of A. Standard.

Believing something does not make it so (even if you heard it directly from Cupertino).

Many US standards are based on feet and inches.

You really suffer from a massive Macintosh-envy! Have you sought help?

Since all US measurements are defined from metric units since the US Congress authorised the use of metric units in 1866, metre & kilogram are The Standard. Their use is perfectly legal.

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Since all US measurements are defined from metric units since the US Congress authorised the use of metric units in 1866, metre & kilogram are The Standard. Their use is perfectly legal.

From the CIA (!!!!) World Factbook:

At this time, only three countries - Burma, Liberia, and the US - have not adopted the International System of Units (SI, or metric system) as their official system of weights and measures. Although use of the metric system has been sanctioned by law in the US since 1866, it has been slow in displacing the American adaptation of the British Imperial System known as the US Customary System. The US is the only industrialized nation that does not mainly use the metric system in its commercial and standards activities, but there is increasing acceptance in science, medicine, government, and many sectors of industry.

"Increasing acceptance" .......how optimistic! I would say that over 95% of the architects I've worked with would give me a blank stare if I asked about a 600mm base cabinet. Then say, "Wow, that's really big!" ;-)

Ask Hettich and Blum why they have to design and manufacture entirely separate lines of hardware for 12" and 15" and 18" and 21" drawers, when they already had a lovely (far more graduated) range from 250mm to 650mm.

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You really suffer from a massive Macintosh-envy! Have you sought help?

Since all US measurements are defined from metric units since the US Congress authorised the use of metric units in 1866, metre & kilogram are The Standard. Their use is perfectly legal.

Standards are not legally binding until they are incorporated in laws, regulations, and judicial orders by reference.

Per the Metric Conversion Law of 1975, the metric system is the preferred system of measurement for commerce according to the Federal government.

The US Federal Government's preferences have never been particularly high on the list of things Americans consider in their daily lives -- notable exceptions when such preferences are presented on the point of a bayonet.

The US Constitution limits the power of the Federal Governemnt, and many practical matters such as determining legally relevant weights and measures are reserved for the States or the People.

Edited by brudgers
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For woodworkers and cabinet makers, nothing beats the imperial inch. An inch can be divided in half, and again and again, with the ruler hash always clearly marking the measurements -- 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8. Whereas the metric ruler may have the clearly visible 5 mm mark, but the 2.5 mm is hard to find, and the 1 mm marks requires either sharp vision or a magnifier. But for doing basic math with measurements (dividing, adding, etc.), metric is easier with the help of the calculator.

The Metric System was somewhat a nuisance in the Vectorworks spreadsheet for me recently. When entering the value 1M, the spreadsheet always wanted to show the cell's value as 3' 3 3/8" or something like that -- so that for just showing "1M" in the cell, I had to add a space before it.

I don't envy those drafters working on Federal projects (except for the money). Showing both metric and imperial values in dimensions can make the plans really crowded.

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