Need a special tape measure

Unknown

that measured in standard inches , but the increments were in 10ths of an inch instead of the normal 16ths of an inch . The 10ths make adding and subtracting measurements a whole lot easier . Anyone know where I can get one ? Thanks .

Alan(CaliforniaRadiant)Forbes

Engineering scale

We once had plans in that scale and bought a tape measure for that one job; been sitting in the drawer ever since. It's been a while now, but I think we bought it at Grainger.

You should be able to search the online catalog.

Best wishes,

Alan

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Alan(CaliforniaRadiant)Forbes

Picture

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J.C.A._3

Hey Ron,

Just buy 2 metric tapes! Give one to your helper each day and it becomes the same thing, only in WORLD standard, not the American standard.

Please understand, when I was in the 4th grade,(lets just say a long time ago o.k.)the NUNS were teaching us the metric system in anticipation of the big switch. I really understood it! It was so easy. Alas, 30some years later, we are still stuck in the past because people refuse to change. If they would just stop comparing inches to centimeters and so fourth,it is so simple. The good ole US ain't gonna give up them confusing measures..Don't we all come here to move forward? Chris

Unknown

Was looking for

the tape measure at Craftsman , but they didn't have it . I'm gonna check the Stanley and Grainger sites now , thank you Alan .

Unknown

We were being prepared for the big switch also

I think it was 3rd grade for me and even back then us kids thought it was alot easier to grasp then this standard measure rule . By the way - why didn't we switch to metric ? Who decided to keep the standard ?

J.C.A._3

Lets see......


Considering the time frame....I'll have to blame Nixon. I also blame the public for failure to accept it, and big business for failing to promote it. Big business DID start giving the weight of their product in grams, but only to sell it overseas.

A litre is a litre, not a little more than a quart. A kilo is a kilo, not 2.2 pounds. Finding derivitives is a mere decimal point away. Finding # of litres per gallon is counterproductive. They're litres! Accept it. A meter is a meter, not 39 inches. Accept it. A centimeter is a centimeter. (not something it takes 2.5 of to make an inch)
Now we get down to the nuts and bolts ! 1 cc(cubic centimeter) of water(the most and easiest formm of measure)=(now don't let this throw you for a loop) 1 gram.(1000 grams=1 kilo)See the simplicity? If you went to a Catholic school, it's Latin. If you didn't, it's the way the rest of the world measures things, learn it and get used to it.

We are now working in a global economy, and the rest of the world is pissed! They have to make things for "us" to understand, and that costs money.Sorry to rant, but this is something I have had a hard time understanding why we don't get in on it, with the rest of the world . Chris

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Metric

I too was taught metric in gradeschool in the early 1970s in grade school. Yea, the conversions are a pain. By timeline looks like Nixon would have pushed for it, Ford ignored and Carter failed to resurrect.

Metric always seemed easy to me but it's senseless if EVERYTHING isn't metric--then it's just another confusion.

Only thing I don't care for about metric is the temperature scale. Celcius degrees are awfully large.

Favorite thing about inches, halves, quarters etc. is the convenience for tolerance.

I use 1/8" - 1/4" tolerance for piping (depending on length/pipe type); 1/16" for rough framing; 1/32" for finish; 1/64"-1/128" for joinery (depending on size/length/application). One millimeter tolerance would be good up to "finish" level by that measure. Do any engraved metric rules use 1/2 millimeter? My eyes are good, but I couldn't "eye" a micrometer!

p.s. That's not to say that my cabinetry when complete has everything fitting to 1/64". Tolerances have a way of "accumulating"!

If you don't have a "Construction Master" calculator SERIOUSLY consider getting one! You can "mix" measurements between fractions, decimal inches, metric, etc. with up to 1/64" fractional tolerance.

Caselli

Inches and tenths

would be odd.
Tenths and hundredths of a FOOT would not be odd.

The "engineer's scale" picture posted within this thread is probably marked that way.

Architects and carpenters don't usually speak in hundredths.

bruce pirger

Well, just think, if the world had all agreed, the Mars Explorer (or whatever it was) would NOT have crashed into MARS!

Mike T., Swampeast MO

I have a couple engraved General 12" stainless rules that are marked in 32nds and 64ths (of an inch) on one side and 10ths and 100ths on the other.

One stays by my keyboard where the 10ths/100ths is GREAT for computer use and the other in my box of precision tools where it's GREAT for joinery.

Believe that General makes similar but longer rules as well--but things of this precision are quite expensive.

My great-grandfathers' framing square has an engraved 100ths of an inch scale on it as well. If such are still made, I don't know where to find them as I haven't seen a new one--just mention of them in good old carpenters' texts.

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Here's a 24" rule with 100ths (and of course 10ths)

http://www.supportproducts.com/ProductDisplay.asp?prodID=RR61024

I cannot though find a single tape or folding measure with 10ths or 100ths of an inch--just 10ths or 100ths of a foot.

Even searched antique tool sources and all folding rules were 10th/100th of a foot.

Mike T., Swampeast MO

12' tape measure in \"Decimal Inches\"

http://www.tools-plus.com/sta33-272.html

"Common" only in the aircraft industry it seems...

J.C.A._3

Mike,

I can see you're passionate about measure, but wouldn't it Still be easier if the whole world was on the same page?

In my humble opinion, MM measurements are pretty darn accurate for the stuff we do, but when it comes down to machinest work, the conversion is still easier.

Think about the base of this measure. Although there are strict standards in velvet cases somewhere, it started as the measurement between a kings first and second knuckle.
What happens when a throwback 6 footer took the place of a normal sized king? It was all based on the royal family. They have freaks too!

As far as the celsius scale, what could be more simple...0 equals the temp at which water freezes. 100= the temp at which water boils. Simplicity to the finest degree! The numbers are a bit different than WE are used to, but it makes sense if you forget about the conversion thing.

I keep telling Milne that the next tape I buy is going to be metric. I don't care if the contractors have a hard time figuring it , but my measurements will be precise and available for the rest of the world. Chris

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Wouldn't bother me at all...

...if we switched to ALL metric tomorrow.

Why don't we? I say it's because women truly rule and it would mess with their measuring spoons...

The tape measure in 10ths of an inch was a quest.

----------

A weird one:

What happens to BTU?

BTU = the quanity of heat required to raise the temperature of one avoirdupois pound of water one degree Fahrenheit at or near 39.2° F, its temperature of maximum density, being equal to about 0.252 kilogram calorie

avoirdupois = the series of units of weight based on the pound of 16 ounces and the ounce of 16 drams

Unknown

Thats the one

I like having the stadard tape measure in inches and feet , but when it comes down to fractions of an inch , the 10th scale is the best . My dad had the folding ruler which they used all the time for track work when he was building subways in NYC . Thanks alot Mike .

One question - if our standard measurements are based on the height of some dead royalty , what is the meter based on ? Who decided it had to be that long ?

J.C.A._3

Ron,

Head back a few posts, 1 CC (cubic centimeter) of water =1 gram. (named it after his fathers mother, if he named it after his mothers mother, it would have been called a NANA) Why not take the square size of this to make a system from?. Don't know how they arrived at the "standard", but the rest of the measure is dedicated to that 1 simple cube. Made someone think about making it easy, then, they used the largest of dead languages(Latin) to make the differences...Centi/1/100th. Deci/1/10th , Mili/1/1000th, kilo/1000 of them.100 of them Made that the meter! There are also area measures, but I don't remember them. Hecteres(sp) ,I believe is the metric acre,1000 sq. meters?

Never made it that far in school.The teachers gave up after the 7th grade for some strange reason. Chris

Unknown

Strange Ruler

All of the blueprints for the US submarine force are all drafted and measured in 10th/inches. I use to be a pipefitter for General Dynamics Electric Boat.

I found it difficult at first. After a while it made perfect sense. I wish the metric system were in place here in the US.

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Bill NTSG

Gary

I was there too, mid 70's until 1981. South yard nuke pipeshop. I think they were Stanley tapes that we bought across the street at that tool store.

Unknown

Bill

Across the street was the bar where all them boys got DRUNK at lunchtime.

Gary Wallace AOL IM; Radiantfloors

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Hugh Mason

When it was first created, the meter represented 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the equator to the poles. To many, the earth is a more logical object to compare the length of things to than some dead king's foot or finger. More recently, the length of a meter has been defined as a specific number of wavelengths of a specific form of light.

Wayne_14

1/1/th inch rule

http://www.contractorstools.com/lufkin1.html

Jeremy_2

BTU would probably be replaced with kilocalorie(C) the amount of heat needed to heat one kilogram of water one degree celsius