When is 5/16" not 5/16"?

Your calipers appear to be reading 3/16”.

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

True enough! I didn’t realize how to read them – I was reading the outside ring as 64ths, which is the source of my problem. That would explain some similar problems I’ve had too. Maybe I should switch to day-shift woodworking…

-- It takes a viking to raze a village. &mdash Blog'r: http://www.gradin.com

These fancy machines that make you have to calculate and convert.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Believe me, I’ve misread my share of measurements during the day-shift!

My calipers only have 100ths on the dial, so I have to have a conversion chart on the wall … I can’t remember the decimal equivelant of 17/32!

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

Others have pointed out the conversion error, but I’d toss out there that far too often we measure as though the number is the important thing. Why not make the slot the width you feel comfortable with, measure the inside as you have, keep the calipers at that width and go find a bolt that fits between the other fingers of the calipers?

In most cases in woodworking the numbers aren’t nearly as important as the “feel” of the piece, and often I don’t get that ‘til after I’m making sawdust.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

Geez, if I only had a dollar for every time I misread my tape or a pair of calipers…or the dial on a machine, etc. etc. Whats that old adage…measure twice, cut once, still f**k it up! As far as the calipers are concerned, get yourself a set that reads in fractions. When I worked in a cabinet shop my boss forced me to use only decimal calipers..he had some European machines ( planer, panel saw, shaper) and he wanted me to get used to doing conversions. I hated it..I was always staring at a conversion chart, and double and triple checking myself on measurements.

This is the one I have..its well made, accurate, and it also has the decimal gauge in the center
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1047&HS=1

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

I completely agree with Dave, sometimes no matter how many times you measure….. And again, you can do what I did….get the calipers for dummies [smile] with the large LCD readout and fractions, but then sometimes I still manage to find a way to do it wrong…LOL

-- Jim Hallada, Chesterfield, VA

Here is a page I use at work:
http://icrank.com/cgi-bin/pageman/pageout.cgi?path=/data/screw/screw_source.htm&t=2

Use the drop down and select a screw size.

-- Andy Stark

Here’s what a scatterbrain like me uses, get them free at metal supply stores.
Everthing is there from numeric bits to Metric all aligned for instant reference!

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z27/mskiba2/ROUTERSTATION039.jpg

-- MARK IN BOB, So. CAL