# Question for woodworkers outside the USA



## WoodCrusher (Mar 27, 2015)

I was wondering what measurement system you guys outside the USA use for woodworking- imperial or metric?


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Map of countries
International Measuring System of Units by Country


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## WoodCrusher (Mar 27, 2015)

Semipro said:


> Map of countries


 Thanks. I was aware the US, Liberia, and Burma are the only countries still using imperial or some form of it but was wondering what others prefer to use specifically for woodworking. Canada for example being a metric country but also being so close to the US is one of the places I was curious about.


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## Cassandra (Mar 15, 2006)

Whichever is most convenient at the time. Most of the time, I use imperial, especially when selecting hardware like nuts and bolts.


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## vindaloo (May 30, 2009)

I use both. 

If I'm measuring something then it depends which line is nearer.

If I'm building something I choose which I'm going to use for the duration.


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## jj777746 (Jan 17, 2015)

WoodCrusher said:


> I was wondering what measurement system you guys outside the USA use for woodworking- imperial or metric?


Hi Rob,I still use both.Tape Measures,Rulers etc.sold in Australia have Metric on one side & Imperial on the other,but professional woodworkers mostly use Metric here in Oz as far as I know. Jim.


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## Murtu01 (Mar 9, 2014)

South Africa - metric, although some of the old school use both.

The old school use imperial.


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## MYB506 (Dec 5, 2012)

We were still using the imperial system when I started woodworking so it's all I still use. I wish I has started with the metric system because it would have been much easier. Maybe I would only have to measure twice instead of three times before I cut!


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## jeff.fredrick (May 20, 2010)

I'm in Australia. I prefer to use metric whenever possible but a lot of plans from the USA are in imperial. I just hate it when a plan calls for a 11 inch and 63/64 length. Why not say 12 inches? This is very common especially with plans from Fine Woodworking and boatbuilding plans.

Under these circumstances I normally convert all measurements to metric and make a story stick. This gives me a better visual of the project and even picks up mistakes in the plan. Anything that I intend making more than one of I make templates out of 6mm mdf. Working with these templates and the router ensure accuracy every time especially with things like chairs or toys.

Hope this helps Jeff


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## Geevesmac (Jul 15, 2014)

Metric for me (in Australia) although I commonly use imperial (which I am familiar with from my childhood) due to the U.S. influence, and even Canada, eg JessEm. Metric is easier.
Greg


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## jcayer (Aug 22, 2014)

I try to use metric most of the time but we have to buy 4x8 sheets, 2x4, 2x6 ... lumber and buy wood using board feet measures ... so I end up using both


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

jj777746 said:


> Hi Rob,I still use both.Tape Measures,Rulers etc.sold in Australia have Metric on one side & Imperial on the other,but professional woodworkers mostly use Metric here in Oz as far as I know. Jim.


Me too, I speak both languages. N


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## donald_archer (May 24, 2012)

Canada uses metric. I use imperial. But I am old


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## thomas1389 (Jan 4, 2012)

WoodCrusher said:


> I was wondering what measurement system you guys outside the USA use for woodworking- imperial or metric?


When working (chemical industry) we converted to metric many years ago but the building industry to this day still uses Imperial (likely to be compatible with the U.S.)
Our real estate companies, in the east at least, tried to use metric some while ago but went back to Imperial in their advertising.
Our food stores switched to Metric years ago but the hassle they got from consumers caused them to now show both, with Imperial being dominant on any advertising flyers or in store signage.
Personally, I use both, whichever is easiest at the time.
Our road signs are all metric, speed, distance, etc.
Metric was a boon to the oil companies. People in the U.S. complain when fuel prices increase a few cents a gallon, but we get those increases per litre, a heck of a difference. And there is always some new reason (excuse) as to why the increase.
Our fuel prices change daily. A cent or two up or down, usually up, overnight.
So that's my rant, and I'm sticking to it.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Imperial works just fine for me. There was a long running thread here, on the subject. Apparently those of us that _like_ Imperial, and fractions, are 'special needs'...


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I use both. I prefer metric. I only buy tape measures that have either one or the other but not both which makes it easier to switch back and forth to me.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

I noted with surprise that when my grandson was born in January, the hospital gave the size and weight in Imperial. Shocked I was.
To further confound, my daughter who grew up with and was taught metric, is happier using Imperial.


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## JCJCJC (May 15, 2012)

*Metric yards*

I use imperial instinctively when working in wood, and metric in steel - comes from fixing (arguable) European-only cars so all my spanners and drill bits etc are metric sizes. I learnt both systems in school.
I'm open to correction, but I believe Britool and Rolls-Royce changed to metric a few years ago. Briggs and Stratton seem to be still holding out for the Empire.
My father (RIP, b. 1917) was old-school woodwork. He used to say a carpenter should be good to a 1/16th of an inch, a joiner to 1/32nd, and a cabinet maker to 1/64th. A metric woodworker is probably good to 0.5mm at best. Since 1/64" is a finer tolerance than 0.5mm, his theory was that woodwork in imperial is inherently a more precise practise.


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## lenh (Feb 27, 2009)

Imperial for me. That's what I grew up with and that's how all my belongings are measured. Except Festool, every tool I own is imperial. 

When someone says that something is 647 cm long I have no conception of what that is - without a converter. For me metric would be like learning a new language,.


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## ksidwy (Jul 13, 2013)

Hi Rob, in Brazil we use metric.
Sid


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Metric, although I can work in both (and I have dual tapes). I'm trade and Imperial just isn't acceptable any more - none of the drawings come with anything other than metric. In any case whilst MDF boards come in Imperial sizes (2440 x 1220 is actually 8ft x 4ft) it is always thicknessed in metric (e.g. 12, 18, 22mm) not near Imperial equivalents. Drywall on the other hand is all metric (e.g. 2400 x 1200 x 12.5mm)

Regards

Phil


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

I use both.

I make items for myself, so minute fractions are not important. If it looks right, then it is right.

Most plans are in Imperial.


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## BrianS (Nov 7, 2004)

WoodCrusher said:


> I was wondering what measurement system you guys outside the USA use for woodworking- imperial or metric?


Hi Rob. I'm in the Great White North and I refuse to be metricated. I still use imperial measurement.


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## graycat (Oct 14, 2013)

Australia / metric. Going beyond the scope of your question: I grew up with the imperial system and am comfortable with it. I now use metric almost exclusively. It is easier to use, takes less time, and, in my hands at least, is less prone to error. Further, in OZ, materials are supplied/listed/sold in metric dimensions. Most tools are dimensioned (if there is such a word) in the metric system. Plans using imperial measure are easily converted to metric. Offset tables (for building boats) are the only area in which I find any extensive conversion required and that is easily managed with a spreadsheet (e.g. Excel or similar). I would not voluntarily return to using imperial measurement; metric is, for me, much more convenient. Peter M (Australia).


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

The post that pretty much ended Harry's thread about "the stupidity of Imperial measure" was one that one that I copied and pasted that said NASA will now be working exclusively in metric. They probably already had been. The physics I learned was exclusively in metric. The handwriting is on the wall. The question is just when.


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

jw2170 said:


> Most plans are in Imperial.


Plans you buy might be, James, but I'd bet you that any and all drawings from architects or used in trade joinery shops are all in metric these days. Pretty much that way here, still, although the mags generally publish in metric only these days

Regards

Phil


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## RÖENTGEEP (Feb 18, 2014)

In Mexico we use metric normally, but I have to use both because most of the plans are in imperial, so its normal for me use both now.


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## swarfmaker (Aug 27, 2012)

I started with imperial, but South Africa went metric in the 60's. I am quite comfortable with both systems. I also do a lot of work involving threads, and work with metric fine, metric course, BSW, BSF, BSP, an the American NF, NC NP, not to forget BA, and a host of others. Although we are "metric" stock board sizes and building material in general is still sized in imperial but converted to metric, ie. a sheet of ply is 4vt x 8vt, sold as 1220 x 2440 mm


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

In the UK there was an official decision to switch to metric in the 60s I believe, but there are still a couple of imperial measures in official use: miles on road signs and pints for beer. I think everything else is supposed to be metric, even if the quantities are straight conversions from imperial, like the 568ml (1 pint) carton of milk or 454g (1 lb) pack of sausages. Oh and as per Dan's post, baby weights are always lb and oz 

I'm of the metric generation so I'm metric only for woodworking. As Phil said all materials are sold in metric and any professional plans will be metric. Yet it is still impossible to walk into a shop and buy a metric-only tape measure. They all have both metric and imperial measures. If you want a proper metric tape you have to hunt one down on the internet, or go to France!

Like with the milk and sausages, the shadow of the imperial system still falls across woodworking materials, but in a frustratingly inconsistent way. Sheet materials are usually 2.44m x 1.22m (8'x4'), but timber lengths are more metric, e.g. 2.4m. So if you want to make a framework to support a sheet of plywood, you have to buy longer timbers, say 3m, or trim the plywood.


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

AndyL said:


> Yet it is still impossible to walk into a shop and buy a metric-only tape measure. They all have both metric and imperial measures.


Some of the trade suppliers I deal with sell metric-only tapes (and I've been given them by reps), although it may be an under the counter item - not sure :lol:



AndyL said:


> Like with the milk and sausages, the shadow of the imperial system still falls across woodworking materials, but in a frustratingly inconsistent way. Sheet materials are usually 2.44m x 1.22m (8'x4'), but timber lengths are more metric, e.g. 2.4m. So if you want to make a framework to support a sheet of plywood, you have to buy longer timbers, say 3m, or trim the plywood.


The biggest annoyance is plasterboard vs. plywood when doing framing work, especially on jobs where one side of a wall requires plywood cladding (e.g. pattresses, but the other doesn't - that can mean having to trim 40mm off the end of every 8 x 4ft piece of plywood to match the 2400 plasterboard sheet length which is maddening, even with a Festool saw and rail. It does tend to be a shop and bar fitting thing, though, so maybe it's just the trade I work in 

Regards

Phil


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

Phil P said:


> Some of the trade suppliers I deal with sell metric-only tapes (and I've been given them by reps), although it may be an under the counter item - not sure :lol:


It amazes me that even somewhere like Screwfix that is supposed to be a trade supplier doesn't have metric tapes in their catalogue. I'll have to try the secret handshake next time I'm in there :dance3:


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## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

Here we use metric, officialy but the oil industry uses imperial. 

I prefer metric for all my construction projects but, for instance when I am making MT joinery I set the table saw to get tenons 12mm thick and make the mortises with 1/2 inch drill bits and so on.


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