who buys SAE tools these days?
- Thread starter impulse922
- Start date
Mickey O
Well-known member
Even your crescent wrenches and ratchets?
Falcon67
Well-known member
Just try finding a left handed metric crescent wrench at Sears...
alex71
Well-known member
There's a current thread on Practical Machinist on this very topic. Might be interesting reading for some here.
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/lets-go-metric-but-how-205498/
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/lets-go-metric-but-how-205498/
Mickey O
Well-known member
"....so we can more easily bond to the rest of the world..."
How about the rest of the world go SAE.
Lump
Well-known member
Ha. I get the idea...but this "half-size" concept isn't valid or accurate. That measurement description is indeed just like it sounds..."1/1000" represents a piece of a size which one thousand pieces will make up one inch. There is no other way to look at it, but I can see how it might be confusing to others.
You know, it's a lot like learning a second language. I know a few words of Spanish, but when I hear or see words in Spanish, my brain must first convert them to English before I can understand the meaning. And if I want to say something in Spanish, I must think of it first in English, translate it in my head, and then say it...which is WAY slower than it would be if I could generate the original THOUGHT in Spanish in my head.
I grew up learning wrench sizes to hand to my dad, and before long it became second nature for me to understand the natural progression of the fractional sizes...even before I had them all memorized (IE: 5/8 is instantly obvious to be the same as "10/16", so the next size up is 11/16, when working in sizes found on American cars of the vintage I am familiar with.) Today when I see a nut or bolt, I THINK in fractional sizes like 7/16 or 7/8. Like every wrench-head my age, I can naturally hold two fingers apart to approximate sizes like that. But when one of my car buddies who works on current cars describes something to me in metric sizes, I must ask them to "translate" it into approximate SAE sizes, before their description of the item means anything to me.
I also understand that metrics are easier to calculate and work with, ONCE YOU KNOW THEM. Everyone gets it that 11 mm comes right after 10 mm, and that 20 mm is twice the size of 10 mm. But dinosaurs like me...I can spot a nut or bolt which requires a 9/16 wrench from 3 feet away (about 1 meter
). But a centimeter and a millimeter means nothing until I get out something to measure it with. I can accurately estimate 1/2", 2.5", a foot, 8 feet, and 20 feet very quickly, due to a lifetime of practice. But when I read a thread here where someone is talking about how to deal with something like a "20mm" bolt...my mind is blank. I don't know whether it is about a half inch in diameter, or an inch...or 3 inches. Like I say, today's young Americans are all being taught metrics, and MOST cars are now MOSTLY metric. So I am a dinosaur, and America will continue to become a metric nation...without me.
you wish, just check the U.S. trade deficit for the past 20 years. if you want sell more American product to the rest of the world, make product according to their rules. it's like if you wan live in Germany, learn the damn German, if you want come over to the states, learn to speak the damn English.
if you work on modern "American" cars and trucks, try doing it without the metric tools. good luck.
if you work on modern "American" cars and trucks, try doing it without the metric tools. good luck.
OP
impulse922
Well-known member
i like metric
me too!
can we share tools?
the metric system just *makes sense*, but i guess that is just the newer generation coming out in me
SM Racing
Well-known member
I have ten fingers, don't know about the rest of Ya'll. Apparently the King of England was blessed with 12 hence we have that asinine system.
can we share tools?
If you ever visit germany.....maybe
I don´t know but i think metric is easier. 10 mm is 1 cm. 12mm is 1,2 cm but what is it in fractional ??? Or if you measure 1/2" which is 12,7mm but what is 12,8mm in fractional ??? Or if you have to make a thread for a 8mm thread you need a 6,8mm drill bit. But if you don`t have metric drill bits which is the fractional equivalent ? 17/64 is close (ca. 6,75mm) but how do you know that without calculating ?? a big mess....
atari
Well-known member
I buy a set of both in just about everything. I factor in the cost to both when shopping for something new. I am always afraid that I will need something and I will have it in metric and not SAE or the other way around. My car is metric (2000) and my truck (1979) is SAE.
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JohnFreeman
Well-known member
Don't own any imports, work mostly on old stuff for fun.
nate379
Banned
pmohr
Well-known member
GTM?
I kind of miss doing Procharger or Greddy/AAM TT installs on the Zs, but certainly don't miss Vortech or TN/JWT TTs.
I definitely never want to do headers on one in the car again...dropping the front subframe with the engine/trans and doing a whole TT kit on the ground is so much easier in comparison.
jethro29
Well-known member
at home all i use is sae,[65 falcon.73 pinto,78 harley} but at work i never use them.
Lump
Well-known member
If you ever visit germany.....maybe
I don´t know but i think metric is easier. 10 mm is 1 cm. 12mm is 1,2 cm but what is it in fractional ??? Or if you measure 1/2" which is 12,7mm but what is 12,8mm in fractional ??? Or if you have to make a thread for a 8mm thread you need a 6,8mm drill bit. But if you don`t have metric drill bits which is the fractional equivalent ? 17/64 is close (ca. 6,75mm) but how do you know that without calculating ?? a big mess....
As I said before, metric is certainly easier, and if we were all starting out from scratch, we would all agree. But when you spend a lifetime learning and totally understanding one system, switching over is not always that easy. If you work on modern cars and/or trucks for a living every day, then you will get used to it. But if you spend your time with older project vehicles, then metrics can be very confusing.
Nitroneal
Active member
If the whole world wants to be metric, go for it. Let's start with converting the compass rose! Yep,,, 400 degree compass, think about it.
OK, back to the OP question. In the last year I bought SAE and Metric 1/2" deep impacts, SAE and Metric Flare wrenches, a combination SAE and Metric Socket set and 3/8" and 1/2" drills. Where are the metric drills anyway?
Mr.Nutcase
Well-known member
Ha. I get the idea...but this "half-size" concept isn't valid or accurate. That measurement description is indeed just like it sounds..."1/1000" represents a piece of a size which one thousand pieces will make up one inch. There is no other way to look at it, but I can see how it might be confusing to others.
You know, it's a lot like learning a second language. I know a few words of Spanish, but when I hear or see words in Spanish, my brain must first convert them to English before I can understand the meaning. And if I want to say something in Spanish, I must think of it first in English, translate it in my head, and then say it...which is WAY slower than it would be if I could generate the original THOUGHT in Spanish in my head.
I grew up learning wrench sizes to hand to my dad, and before long it became second nature for me to understand the natural progression of the fractional sizes...even before I had them all memorized (IE: 5/8 is instantly obvious to be the same as "10/16", so the next size up is 11/16, when working in sizes found on American cars of the vintage I am familiar with.) Today when I see a nut or bolt, I THINK in fractional sizes like 7/16 or 7/8. Like every wrench-head my age, I can naturally hold two fingers apart to approximate sizes like that. But when one of my car buddies who works on current cars describes something to me in metric sizes, I must ask them to "translate" it into approximate SAE sizes, before their description of the item means anything to me.
I also understand that metrics are easier to calculate and work with, ONCE YOU KNOW THEM. Everyone gets it that 11 mm comes right after 10 mm, and that 20 mm is twice the size of 10 mm. But dinosaurs like me...I can spot a nut or bolt which requires a 9/16 wrench from 3 feet away (about 1 meter
Like I say, today's young Americans are all being taught metrics, and MOST cars are now MOSTLY metric. So I am a dinosaur, and America will continue to become a metric nation...without me.
a 20mm will be smaller than to 13/16, 21mm is almost the same to 13/16
Mr.Nutcase
Well-known member
OK, back to the OP question. In the last year I bought SAE and Metric 1/2" deep impacts, SAE and Metric Flare wrenches, a combination SAE and Metric Socket set and 3/8" and 1/2" drills. Where are the metric drills anyway?
3/8 would be a 10mm and 1/2 drill would be 13mm...
by the way you dont need a metric drill because it adjusts
djb2
Well-known member
Hmmm, you think you have 10 fingers, because you have always been told that.
You have 8 fingers and two thumbs.
Even if you count with your thumbs, the pinky is difficult to move separately from the ring finger.
So why are we counting base 10/decimal?
rsanter
Well-known member
I do....
vintage american muscle my friends
bob
vintage american muscle my friends
bob
Please explain that comment.
mtkst19
Well-known member
had this conversation today w/ a few friends. I have zero sae tools in my work box, and have the basic c-man set from their 260 piece setup in my home box that is designated to one drawer and i cant think of ever using. I simply dont work on domestic stuff. It is not what I know. I'm not anti-'merican. Just a realist and stick to what i'm good at.
There are a bunch of techs out there who are good w/ ford/chrysler/chevy. I have no need to attempt to do their work. Likewise, they generally dont touch the stuff i work on. Be like having a baseball catcher play hockey goalie-- similar skills are used to do the job, but it is not the same.
There are a bunch of techs out there who are good w/ ford/chrysler/chevy. I have no need to attempt to do their work. Likewise, they generally dont touch the stuff i work on. Be like having a baseball catcher play hockey goalie-- similar skills are used to do the job, but it is not the same.
Merkava_4
Banned
what kind of stuff you work on? if you make a living wrenching, would you tell your customers to get the hell out because their cars have metric fasteners?
for me, I have both, my own cars are all metric from factory, but the the add-on aftermarket stuff are mostly standard. my lawn mower is metric.
the cars I work on at school are mix bag of metric and standard, often times on the same car.
I buy standard stuff for things around home because normally they are cheaper than metric.
That was a 1 liner meant to reel somebody in.
CD360
Well-known member
I use SAE daily workng on Caterpillar marine diesel engines. I use metric on the weekends when I am wrenching on my car.
Lolol, your so called American system came from England, theres nothing to be patriotic about here, they are just different systems.
Heavy Metal Doctor
Well-known member
+1. Most medium & heavy duty's still have a little SAE hardware (Freightliner chassis' are nearly all SAE). Nearly all aftermarket bodies & equipment are still SAE.......PTO's and clutch pumps, beds and accessories, hydraulic fittings and hoses, although I am starting to see hydraulic fittings that are metric but with standard ol' SAE threads.
A lot of the PTO's I hang have metric/SAE studs. The end that screws into the trans case is metric, and the end that holds the PTO on is SAE.
+2 on that idea...... I am adding more metric stuff as we see more non-US hydraulic system components and high-pressure water pumps -- mostly German stuff that the body builders are using more and more.
Ditto!!!
look, if you old timers feel you are violated by metric, don't hate the metric system, hate the people/companies who choose to use metric hardware on their product(i.e. GM, Ford, etc).
or, hate the government who allowed the importation of product which using metric hardware. they should have told the manufactures "if you wanna sell *** here in American, you have to build it using American standard".
I am all about a switch to the Metric system. The Imperial system is so unorganized. 12 inches in a foot. 3 feet in a yard. 5,280 feet in a mile.
For example, which is easier for you to calculate? How many feet are in 4 miles or how many meters are in 4 kilometers?
For example, which is easier for you to calculate? How many feet are in 4 miles or how many meters are in 4 kilometers?
Lump
Well-known member
The way you asked your question leaves me an opening...
For anyone who is familiar with the metric system, it is much easier to calculate how many meters are in 4 kilometers. But as for me...I know there are 5280 feet in mile, and I'm not sure how many meters are in a kilometer. 1,000? 100? Hell, I can look it up, but you asked, "...which is easier for YOU to calculate..." So if I'm calculating in my head, I know that we're talking just over 21,000 feet. But I would have to look up how many meters in a kilo... Now, my sons, on the other hand, would agree with you, and when my two year old grandson is old enough, he too will wonder about the crazy system we old dinosaurs used to use.
Remember, I never said the SAE system was BETTER...just more natural for me to use. And, to keep on track with the OP...I already have most SAE tools that I need, but keep buying them anyway. I have a smaller collection of metric, which I continue to add to...
mrpowderkeg
Well-known member
I can look at a bolt or nut and tell you in SAE what size it is, I also can do it when working on a metric car as well, but if you mix the two and use each type it gets to be a mess.
GF's dad is a supervisor building power plants, refineries etc... from talking with him, those boys will never go to metric.
GF's dad is a supervisor building power plants, refineries etc... from talking with him, those boys will never go to metric.