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0 pointsthomk6y ago0 comments

Agreed. If you have ever done any type of construction you are very thankful that you can divide a foot evenly by 2, 3, 4 and 6.

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irrational6y ago

Yeah, woodworking is so much easier when using feet and inches. It's so incredibly useful to be able to divide a foot into half, thirds, quarters, sixths, and twelfths.

Taniwha6y ago

nah, a mm is an incredibly useful unit for woodworking, it's a little less than the width of a saw cut, it's just about the right precision for most woodworking

irrational6y ago

It's not the precision. It's the divisibility. 10 can only be divided in half. It can't be divided into thirds, quarters, sixths or twelfths evenly and that ability is invaluable.

This is the same reason why, in the old days of grid layouts, grids were 12 columns wide and not 10.

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beerandt6y ago

But a sawcut is (typically) exactly an eighth inch.

runxel6y ago

Well, architectural construction is based on the "octameter", so 12.5 cm.

That adds pretty well ;)

jessaustin6y ago

You've flummoxed me with this. The internet seems sure that "octameter" is a "metrical foot", which in this context is quite a pun. Without a link to confirm an architectural connection, I'll take this as a fairly obscure joke...

runxel6y ago

Haha, no, it's not a joke as I can tell you as an architect.

Sadly there are no english links, but have a look at Wikipedia [0] and you will see, that I've not dreamed that up :) Of course it has a referenece norm: the DIN 4172, which calls it the "oktametrisches Maßsystem" (_octametric system of measurement_). It is made since a brick would be 11.5 cm and the mortice 1 cm = ∑ 12.5 cm. Eight bricks with mortice are a meter. Pretty easy actually!

[0] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baurichtma%C3%9F

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irrational6y ago

Yeah, woodworking is so much easier when using feet and inches. It's so incredibly useful to be able to divide a foot into half, thirds, quarters, sixths, and twelfths.

Taniwha6y ago

nah, a mm is an incredibly useful unit for woodworking, it's a little less than the width of a saw cut, it's just about the right precision for most woodworking

irrational6y ago

It's not the precision. It's the divisibility. 10 can only be divided in half. It can't be divided into thirds, quarters, sixths or twelfths evenly and that ability is invaluable.

This is the same reason why, in the old days of grid layouts, grids were 12 columns wide and not 10.

2 more replies

beerandt6y ago

But a sawcut is (typically) exactly an eighth inch.

runxel6y ago

Well, architectural construction is based on the "octameter", so 12.5 cm.

That adds pretty well ;)

jessaustin6y ago

runxel6y ago

Haha, no, it's not a joke as I can tell you as an architect.

[0] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baurichtma%C3%9F

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