Should I learn Metric now? Beginning woodworker help.

[Bill Dufour]

Hey! I get to use a fact that almost all adults get wrong. Which weighs more a pound of feathers or a pound of gold?
And how many gallons are in one barrel?
Bill D

[Mark Hennebury]

Just because people don't use a cup, don't think that they don't measure. Lots going on in the brain. Robots move due to science, humans just move, walk, run jump, dance Ballet . do gymnastics.... intuitively. It all requires calculations and measurement. Oh .. and baking is still cooking.

Cooking may be, but baking is not cooking. Baking is science. I worked in a bakery for a while, we weighed EVERYTHING, EVERY time. ALWAYS. It was beaten into us.

[Pete Staehling]

FWIW, I work in a mixed bag of mostly Imperial with fractional or decimal as fits best, with metric only sporadically. Way back when I was a young man I was excited that our country (USA) said they were going metric. I think we should have bit the bullet back then, but it never happened. As a result I worked in Imperial my whole career and most of my tools are Imperial.

I usually start with fractional Imperial, but I don't hesitate to switch to what ever makes a particular task easier. That is very often digital inches and occasionally metric.

If I were a young woodworker starting out today I'd want to be fluent in all three, but might default to metric.

[Mark e Kessler]

So you are saying it’s science now?

Just because people don't use a cup, don't think that they don't measure. Lots going on in the brain. Robots move due to science, humans just move, walk, run jump, dance Ballet . do gymnastics.... intuitively. It all requires calculations and measurement. Oh .. and baking is still cooking.

[Jon Steffen]

You are correct, My better half says it is both but firstly based on science, she should know as a recipient of the American Culinary Federation Pastry Chef Award for the Northeast...

WTF, I'm going to have to talk with my wife. Her accolade is that she graduated from the French pastry school in Chicago.... She does make wicked pastry though.

She has also echoed, baking is more like chemistry than art. Oh and she has an art degree in 2d art, so she would know. Lol

[Jon Steffen]

FWIW, I work in a mixed bag of mostly Imperial with fractional or decimal as fits best, with metric only sporadically. Way back when I was a young man I was excited that our country (USA) said they were going metric. I think we should have bit the bullet back then, but it never happened. As a result I worked in Imperial my whole career and most of my tools are Imperial.

I usually start with fractional Imperial, but I don't hesitate to switch to what ever makes a particular task easier. That is very often digital inches and occasionally metric.


If I were a young woodworker starting out today I'd want to be fluent in all three, but might default to metric.

Thanks Pete. I often start in fractions and switch to decimal, I think my problem is that I then convert back to the nearest fraction, it'd be easier to just stick with the decimel inches and use the proper tape measure, metal rule, ect.

[scott vroom]

Cooking is not about measurements at all, it's about intuition, and feeling, a pinch of this, a knob of butter etc... It is not science, it is art,

Yes, but in the baker's example measurement is paramount, most likely because of the desire to produce a repeatable, highly consistent product for your customers. When I buy my favorite scone from the baker, I appreciate that it is consistent, just the way I like it, every time. On the other hand if I'm cooking a meal for family or friends, I often do the ingredients by feel, recognizing that a bit of variety has it's place.

[Mark Hennebury]

I am not falling for that.......... If i were to say that everyone does science, I would get stoned to death.

So you are saying it’s science now?

[Jim Becker]

Cooking may be, but baking is not cooking. Baking is science. I worked in a bakery for a while, we weighed EVERYTHING, EVERY time. ALWAYS. It was beaten into us.

Spot on. The end result is predicated on very precise chemical and physical reactions with baking. Any serious baker has a digital scale right there on the counter because of this.

[Jeff Ranck]

What dividers are these? can you post a link, or photo?

Here are a couple of pictures. Lots of vintage dividers floating around, which is what I generally prefer. You can spend a lot on dividers from Starrett if you want. The important thing is that they hold a setting and the tips are sharp and come together properly.

Here's a page from Tolpin's book, by Hand and Eye. Combining dividers with a sector, now that is when things get really crazy because then you don't even have to do the "divide the remainder into three parts" type step. See a general description here: https://blog.lostartpress.com/2017/0...s-or-a-sector/

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[mike stenson]

Yes, but in the baker's example measurement is paramount, most likely because of the desire to produce a repeatable, highly consistent product for your customers. When I buy my favorite scone from the baker, I appreciate that it is consistent, just the way I like it, every time. On the other hand if I'm cooking a meal for family or friends, I often do the ingredients by feel, recognizing that a bit of variety has it's place.

It's not just consistency. The ingredients actually do have chemical reactions that affect the product. If you don't believe that, go play with sourdough breads.

[scott vroom]

It's not just consistency. The ingredients actually do have chemical reactions that affect the product. If you don't believe that, go play with sourdough breads.

No doubt that's true, but the point I was making is that the end result of the science is a consistent product that consumers can rely on, i.e. repeatability.

[mike stenson]

No doubt that's true, but the point I was making is that the end result of the science is a consistent product that consumers can rely on, i.e. repeatability.

Well, only if you count things like leavening as repeatability. But, it's obvious that this is a pointless discussion (probably because the S word was mentioned), so I'm out.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I can't believe I'm reading 9 pages and it's turned into the cooking channel.

I guess I need to decide whether I need to start measuring my Sugar Maple in cups or kilograms....

[John Gornall]

I was amused reading another posting about Blum Movento drawer slides and they were talking inches. If ever there was a time to switch it's with Euro cabinet hardware which is all metric.