If you grow up with the metric system, one would make all the same arguments you're making, just in favour of the metric system instead. Unless you're literally putting your marking knife up against your thumb in order to measure an inch, there's no difference in how people use the metric system here compared to how you use inches in the US. There's no barrier to using fractions in the metric system. If you want 1/16ths of a centimeter, just do that. No one is forcing people to use decimals. And for the record, for a continental European, it's just as easy to measure out 200 grams of flour by look and feel as it is for an American to measure out half a cup by look and feel. It's a fluke of history that Britain still use more imperial units than the rest of Europe in daily life. I'm not saying everyone has to use metric, it's just that these particular arguments are totally vapid to someone who didn't learn the imperial system.
Another great vid. Just one caveat. One can't hint on significant advantages let alone superiority of imperial system without coming out silly. It just doesn't happen. Then there's the amplification of silliness by neglecting to acknowledge the ridiculous state of inch standard pretty much up until what, 20th century... when it was raisen to a level of decency by indirectly using metric system or methods. Bringing up some artificial 'disadvantages' of the meter standard (change of the volume of the standard plate with temperature)... Completely unnecessary in my opinion. I would much rather see the time being used to talk about wood as a material, wood grain peculiarities in different kinds of wood etc. I hope there's more to come. This course is great!
I'm quite confident the lumber I cut to length has no clue if it's measured in metric or imperial. I just find for furniture sized stuff imperial works better. But, do what ya want. The end result won't care and after all... its just woodworking.
if its just woodworking then why are you trying metric system to look so bad in regards of metric? you should focus on wood not the rise and almost complete world domination by metric system.
Great video series! Your comment how ever on the change of the reference meter I thinks is not right. The fact that the definition have been more accurate over the years have no relevance at all to your shop. Even if you change between two rulers in inched there will be fare bigger differences so you should take all measurements with the same if possible in any case. and the metal your square is made of probably have bigger temperature change than the standard meter have so you should be more concerned with the change in your ruler (both metric and inch) than the standard it was made to. The old difference of ½ a mm is over 1 meter so should be even good enough for cabinetmaking - and again it was the standard that changed - your own tape measure would probably change even more.. And I guess that inches is also based on some standard with the same issues that the meter system have ;o)
wortheffort Just a side note to the accuracy of the standard meter. Apparently the standard Yard was referenced to the meter system back in 1959 so the same apply directly to the US inch ;o) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_yard_and_pound
Hookedonwood In this matter I agree with you. In the workshop, one can use any measurement system, what's important is to use the same ruler. How accurate and the origin to a system used by many is important for consistency in a larger perspective, but not for a particular woodwork.
It seems to me that Shawn, in his role as “teacher”, was telling some of us about the history of the two systems of measurement, and explaining which of those he prefers and why. Here in England I was taught in Imperial, and Metric was an interesting side issue that those foreigners in Europe used. We’ve been metricated for decades now, and I suppose I’m more or less “bilingual”, but I still think in feet and inches, pounds and ounces, and then translate into metric for shopping. (I still can’t get my head around America’s cups and ounces in the kitchen, though.)
@@hel1copter In the US, most kitchen measurements are by volume, not by weight. That is changing somewhat, since ingredients such as flour vary in weight/volume depending on the humidity. Also, for pack-able ingredients, the weight/volume varies depending on how tightly it is packed (in other words, how much air is in the ingredient). The weight/volume equivalents are really only valid for water and are easy - 8 oz = 1 cup, 16 oz = 1 pint, 32 oz = 1 quart, 128 oz = 1 gallon. Unless standards have changed, jet aircraft fuel is measured in pounds and consumption calculated as pounds/hour.
Hi, Im Joe NOT maria. Im on her computer. Just wondering why you would put the short side of the ogee on the inside of the square where one would commonly mark a line? That is a very nice square by the way. Is it Figured maple & mahogany? Nice video.
+Maria Santiago You don't typically mark on the inside of a square because you can't retrue that part in case you cut into it, nick it, drop it, etc.... You mark on the outside because that can be retrued in seconds with a hand plane. The ogee just tells you what part of the square to use.
Watched this last episode and I must say, I'm impressed with your ability to deliver a lesson and your craftsmanship is sublime. Thanks for this, I will continue to watch other videos of yours.
An inch, even in the USA ,is defined in a way that derives it as a fraction of a meter. All definition changes for the meter since the 18th century made no difference that could have been seen by you with a microscope.
Epic mate! Again really really good. My wife is a science teacher and her whole family too and I think your holistic approach to woodwork is refreshing! I studied geology and also worked as a tree surgeon and tree inspector for a while so now coming to woodworking I have a whole range of info I apply without thinking! Planning to make a marimba for my little girl so looking forward to your sawing series! Keep up the great work.
I see what you're saying but up I don't agree. I grew up in Wisconsin and even I can see the simplicity of base ten and fractional SAE is for people who hate themselves
The inch has not been standard throughout history, until 1933 and is defined based on the metric system. The inch now is officially exactly 25.4 mm. By the way, the surveyor inch is not exactly equal to the international inch.
I appreciate the value of the Gottshall block. This maybe sacrilegious but the Gottshall block is my go-to CNC testcase. Think about it, I get a new batch of wood I have never used before. What do I do? How does this machine? For example, a key factor with CNC is feeds & speeds ... making chips not dust. A 7"x3" piece is not a lot of material to waste, but I get to cover a lot of topics with one material holding setup. At the end I get to see how accurate the cuts were, and how much finishing it would take to complete the project. How about a nice aluminum Gottshall block?
"A Standard of measurement is a modern concept." ~ Roughly quoted. Look into the Megalithic Yard, a standard of measurement used across Europe in megalithic constructions during the... neolithic (the dating of prehistoric stone structures is highly contested, but with our recent developments in archaeoastronomy potential construction, or completion dates are strongly suggested). The same basic unit of measure was very likely used across these structures, structures that may have been erected across vast distances of time and space (Europe wide... but consider also that Khufu's pyramid, the Great Pyramid, in Giza, Egypt, has the same base dimensions as the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico, though the Pyramid of the Sun is only 1/2 the height of Khufu's pyramid! How could they have coordinated those measurements across the vast distances of the continent of Africa and the entirely of the Atlantic Ocean... as well as 3,500 years!). So, I'd contend that there was a standard unit of measurement in prehistoric times, and potentially in early historic times, depending on the dates you accept for the building of the supposed Khufu's pyramid and the Pyramid of the Sun. And if you google this and see that this is pseudoscience, and that ends your inquiry... well, let it end there for you. But please understand that some of the currently observable measurements and facts about these prehistoric stone structures clearly demonstrate the use of a common unit of measurement, and this fact very seriously disrupts the accepted academic, though still hypothetical, timeline of human activity on this planet. Do some research and decide for yourself, and remember that our understanding of history and prehistory is HIGHLY political, and therefore subject to the forces of politics that work to distort the truth for gain.
You are right about speed squares being out of square right from the store. I had to go thru several at the store before one that's close. You're also right that a spear point marking knife is best. I made mine from am old 3 corner file. One thing about mine that's different from most is the back side of the handle doesn't wrap around the flat side of the blade like yours does. The back is flat all the way from the tip of the blade to the upper end of the handle. I've seen that test before and thought it was very cleverly designed. I've never tested myself by trying it, but you've inspired me to give it a go. Great video.
thank you so much for the video. i have subscribed and will be watching the entire series and probabably a lot more of your videos. When it comes to the marking knife. i assumed the one you like was possibly the veritas. When i looked it up,the veritas marking knife looks a lot like the "flexible" one that you didnt like. Can you tell me which one you use or provide a link? Thank you so much in advance.
Another great video. True Laugh-Out-Loud moment on the Baker's Dozen comment. If you ever calculate the dimensions of a geodesic dome you'll more than likely switch your preference to metric (for that build at least.) Thanks for all the effort!
Imperial system is very good for deviding a pizza but let the measurements to metric. 1/4+3/32+1/8+1ft= 8/32+3/32+4/32+how the hell i measure my foot=15/32+Nike=wtf?? on the other hand 1mm +5cm+3m=3.051m just like that. Nice video keep up!
Thank you one more time! Now I will have time every day to attend your classes. As far as possible, I will try to apply whatever I learn to the tasks I do here on the site. I am retired and choose a part of the day to stay in my studio building pieces with recycled material. They are more crude pieces where I use the glass bottles or fragments found in the trash, plus some aluminum, copper or iron material that I cut for compositions where wood ends up being the most used support. In this way, I attend to the needs of the property that always needs lamps, benches, locks, plant supports, small furniture and some rustic structural constructions. However, with your classes I am getting excited to improve the atelier facilities in the joinery. God knows! Anytime I take courage and send some pictures of my simple works. Your Master's mercy will have to be activated since they are pieces made without counting many skills. A big hug! Jak
Hi great series! I've learned a lot. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to make these videos. You mentioned that there are 12 parts to this? Are they avaliable? Is it something I have to purchase?
You mention square enough to woodwork? So what is ( in your mind ) square enough to woodwork? Off 1/128, 1/64th? What is square enough to woodwork? cheers
square enough to me means any squarer and you can't tell the difference. Wood moves, expands and compresses... So that accuracy is different for stuff such as pine vs ebony. Feeler gauge accuracy doesn't make it any stronger or better looking. Get out and build and it'll all make sense. Don't sweat it... it's just woodworking.
I just watched 4 hours of your videos and will be forever grateful. Thanks for doing this. You are a true American patriot and the best type of youtuber.
Enjoyed the video. I still need lots of practice but having a video that I can keep going back to is great. As someone more comfortable at a keyboard that a workbench i do have to pull you up on your comparison to computer memory (at 54 minutes) which uses both the wrong units and the wrong values in that you state that a gig is 1028 bytes - when actually it is 1024 megabytes
Great video, enjoyed so much of what you do! I’ve looked but haven’t found a segment where you make your portable bench vise with the wood screws.... plan to do so?
I just want to add to the positivity, you are a phenomenal teacher and deserve exponentially more views. My father was a master carpenter and I’ve inherited many of his tools. Upon watching videos here on RU-vid this has by far been the best resource I’ve come across and has definitely enthused me to get off my ass and get my hands on some wood. Many blessings Cheers
Hello sir, i wanted to tell you how great and informative your videos are, thank you a lot for that, i have already started watching all your videos from oldest to newest, but if i may, i wanted to ask you a question about chisels, can a person for example use only a chisel for heavy wood choping? Like for example if i wanted to do a much bigger rabbet cut that extend with the grains along the entire wood piece, and having several pieces to work on, can it be done? Or the chisel is not made for this sort of heavy work?
Interestingly enough the fact that computers use base-2 arithmetic does cause an issue with using base-10 decimal numbers. Using fractions with denominators that are powers of two (i.e. 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, etc.) is actually more natural for a computer. Decimal fractions cannot be represented as a nicely, some of these fractions can only be approximated, creating a rounding error. For example 0.1 becomes 1/16 + 1/32 + 1/256 + 1/512 + 1/4096 + 1/8192 + 1/65536 + 1/131072 + 1/1048576 + 1/2097152 + 1/16777216 + 1/33554432 + 1/134217728 in 32 bit base-2 which equals 0.100000001490116119384765625 in decimal.
its because the transistor only has two states on/off (bit). There was no other system to use besides binary, up until they started using hexadecimal because of bytes that were 16bits. Its all because of necessity and simplicity. nothing to do with randomness or accident or preference. The easiest and most obvious system was used.
It's difficult enough to convert your instructions without the constant metric bashing :P Here, the metric system isn't the "scientific" unit of measurement, it's the ONLY unit of measurement and we can build stuff just fine. To be honest, I don't really get the difference between the two units. You use 1/16 of an inch, we use 1/10 of a centimetre. To you it might seem more logical to use the half of a half of a half, but in the end, we both need to use a straight edge and count the marks ^^
G Knucklez I don't think the unit actually matters much. In fact I can say after the initial measurements on a story stick my rulers go away. I just find messing with the even denominators much easier. At least for furniture.
Wouldn't it be much easier to do 500 x 2 and get it correct :-p (I am a programmer and once I have to work out how many bits are in Gigabytes of data I start to really wish more stuff was in Gibibtes). Its only naturall to do the 8, 16, 32, 64 maths if you have practised it. I have not any it really does not come that naturally to me. I am grinding into middle age and I am still not sure how many yards or metres are in a mile. The key point as outlined in this video is it does not really matter as long as eveyone agrees what something means and you find something that works for you in what you are doing. Even if that means for me anything less that 2m I can deal with in Imperial or metric and anything a mile or two long I won't bother with km. One day the UK might finish metrification... but probably not. It is a very slow process, my mother is imperial appart from bags of sugar and cold temperatures somewhere around 10C upwards she uses centigrade, I guess like I do with distances. Thank you wortheffort for another very interesting and instructive video. I think I will try to work through your basic classess while still underlockdown. Never got taught much woodwork at school here.
Yes. I watched from the beginning. You did mention that one must try to watch how the wood splits as you chisel away, but as the old saying goes, Some men learn by reading, some men learn by watching and some of us just have to pee on the electric fence anyway.
It took about 45 mins and I didn't get the last mortise in. Ill try again with another piece. My own project is on hold while I wait for UPS with my Lee Valley order !
you talking abiout metric system as if its worse than imperical. You see metric system has been updated preciselly because its so hard to keep it accurate, thats why imperial system isn't used by scientists - it has stayed inacurate since its creation. Second its relative to woodworking, you can use your made up system and have your joints perfectly accurate. I find your talk about metric system silly, simply saying its not accurate enough even though its the most acurate, and convenient, and based on decimal system measuring system ever invented
Metric is based on decimals, Imperial on fractions. As said in video for human scale stuff I like the fractal method. The actual measurement is irrelevant. There's a reason why all the great architectural wonders made by ancestors used some version of dividers as stuff was build on ratios. But as I've said many many times. The wood doesn't care.
wow, such a great video series yet a lot of people again only concentrate on the "negative", apparently your own personal views are not allowed or to be aired and shared.HOW strange though is no one complained about your use of degrees yet the offical metric unit is the radian, so maybe next videos you should at least tell us how to convert into radians or even better just use them with no explaination and see who knows proper metric eh????!!!! please stick to using imperial and keep ranting on cause your videos are fantastic
I love how you handled this guy. Kids and adults who behave like children would be more respectful if people treated them like this when they acted rudely. Not that I have much room to talk, I tend to not think much about how people will take what I say until after the fact. But still, this is what is missing in the west.
As long as you stick with the same system throughout the project, it really doesn't matter. I prefer a base 10 system but that's me. Multiplying or dividing by a factor of 10 just seems easier. Imperial is based on (royal) body measurements, hence the name Imperial but if you measure your own foot with the width of your thumb, you normally get 12 measures as well. This means that if you use your body to measure, the ratios will be correct. Your stride may not be 36 inches but it will be 36 thumb widths (or 3 foot lengths measured heel to toe). The issues come from comparing your work to someone else's who used their body as a system of measurements. Their foot may be larger or smaller than yours so the chair you made, while perfect for you, could be either too big or too small for someone else. That's why we have standardized measuring systems. Metric just got there without all the guesswork of who's body do we measure from.
