calibration conundrum

[Kevin Jenness]

I set the ruler on my sliding table saw fence last week using a Starrett 6" rule between the stop and blade. Today I cut a piece of 3/4" mdf for a template at 36 1/8", and checked it against the piece it had to stand in for. 1/8" short! I set the stop to 6" and the rule fit tight between the stop and blade. Set the stop at 36 1/8" and measured with a tape- 36". Checked the graduations on the fence rule against an accurate 24" rule- ok. What the?

Well the answer is that the 6" rule is actually a 150 mm rule with english and metric grads, the English calibrations stopping at 5 3/4". How easy it is to make a wrong assumption. I'm about to start cutting 18 sheets of plywood for a kitchen. I'm sure I would have realized the mistake before long, but...

[Jay Aubuchon]

18 sheets?! Yikes! Good catch.

[Ole Anderson]

Every once in a while, you need to check the calibration by measuring a ripped piece.

[Vince Shriver]

Glad you caught it in time, Kev; that could have been a tough one to live with. Just reinforces my never-ending search for a board stretcher.

[Rod Sheridan]

Good catch Kevin, most of the tooling in the world is metric.

I gave up fighting the trend and now make all my cabinets and furniture using the metric system. Much easier.

Rough stuff like framing/fences etc is easier in Imperial............Rod.

[Erik Loza]

Oofta!

Erik