Are the bearings in doodlebugs 5/8?

#7
Well....12mm is just a hair smaller than 1/2"
Yeah not exact but close enough for government work as they say and the axle is much closer to 1/2" than it is to 5/8" which was kind of my point.
I get tickled at minibikin saying "Sent from my Texas Instruments Speak and Spell"
All this metric stuff just ain't American.... oh well I guess it's what the world's coming to...............
 
#9
Yeah not exact but close enough for government work as they say and the axle is much closer to 1/2" than it is to 5/8" which was kind of my point.
I get tickled at minibikin saying "Sent from my Texas Instruments Speak and Spell"
All this metric stuff just ain't American.... oh well I guess it's what the world's coming to...............
You need to be right not close.

Interesting saying.
"government work, or ministry business" where I come from means you are fixing/making something on company time, but not for the company ( and usually using company supplies )
 
#10
Further thought....

The US was supposed to join the rest of the world in adopting the metric system 30 years ago in one of the NAFTA clauses.
By this time AN fasteners should have been a quaint relic like Whitworth.
I flip back and forth between all three systems without too much trouble but by now we should have one world standard everyone is comfortable with.

You know Whitworth is still out there in Auz in India being made new.
strangely in most metric countries BSP and BSPP is the norm and when confronted with American pipe most people have the exact same reaction as you WTF is that?????
Check it out for yourself.
Do you have a Japanese car or engine with pipe thread?
That my friend is actually Whitworth
 
#11
Further thought....

The US was supposed to join the rest of the world in adopting the metric system 30 years ago in one of the NAFTA clauses.
By this time AN fasteners should have been a quaint relic like Whitworth.
I flip back and forth between all three systems without too much trouble but by now we should have one world standard everyone is comfortable with.

You know Whitworth is still out there in Auz in India being made new.
strangely in most metric countries BSP and BSPP is the norm and when confronted with American pipe most people have the exact same reaction as you WTF is that?????
Check it out for yourself.
Do you have a Japanese car or engine with pipe thread?
That my friend is actually Whitworth
I know several Americans in engineering fields who use metric measurements exclusively. Not to mention the science fields. It's funny, but one of the "great stumbling blocks" against importing certain Japanese automobiles is the (gasp) lack of a silk screened MPH on the speedo. Yes, it's true, we Yanks are too frikking stupid to calculate back and forth in a two digit times-six add a one going to Kilo, and a simple .6 going the other way. So good to know it's NOT another version of protectionism by the USA. (sarcastic eye roll) (A Nissan Skyline that could never be imported has "DOT" ratings on the glass)

I use metrics whenever I can, because I am too stupid to quickly convert fractions of inches in my head to a base ten decimal system. All of this shit we're buying from China is MFGR'd in metrics, even though it is sold in inches. (Not talking Doodlefuggly here)

Japan uses JIS, not Whitworth, NPT and the like. Metric is easy and makes more sense, until I get into liquid measurements. I'm stuck at 12 OZ. Or 1 OZ in the 70's.
 
#12
The word stupid was never brought into this.

Its simply a case of no one can agree on anything and no one will change unless it is forced upon them.
Even I default to inches to measure but prefer metric for temperature and fluids.

Unless its gas of course.
Where would I be without my 160 ounce gallon cans.

Speedo:
I think this is more about restricting the import of cars from other countries than anything else.
Happens here too...
 
#13
The word stupid was never brought into this.

Its simply a case of no one can agree on anything and no one will change unless it is forced upon them.
Even I default to inches to measure but prefer metric for temperature and fluids.

Unless its gas of course.
Where would I be without my 160 ounce gallon cans.

Speedo:
I think this is more about restricting the import of cars from other countries than anything else.
Happens here too...
It tongue in cheek. 30 years in Japan, I learnt a few of those metric things. KMH to MPH conversions were on the driving tests. And yes, auto importation is all about protectionism, with reasons for non-importation cited anywhere from "Air Bag Warning Signs Not in English" to Silk Screen Speedo issues, to crash tests. Essentially, a non-US importer needs to grease up enough money skids to not piss off Detroit as it were. (VW has some catching up to do I bet)

In the 70's we were all told we'd be going metric. Everyone groaned, scary, scary business. We revolted (again) and it never came to be. Once I started living overseas, it became crystal clear to me that metric was preferable to inches. Current ideology (flag waving) lends itself to ethnocentric balking of learning a new base ten system. As if the inch-wise crap purchased at Harbor Freight was ever in "inches."

It does work out for me, since certain extremely rare and expensive bearings are priced at $25 each here, and $1.50 somewhere else- because they're listed as mm sized. :thumbsup:
 
#14
Never been there myself.
Dad went a lot.....

He showed me the BSP stuff on JAP marine engines and Kubota.

Japan has 50 cycle on one side of the Island and 60 on the other.
Even their electrical Utility is confusing lol.
 
#15
Never been there myself.
Dad went a lot.....

He showed me the BSP stuff on JAP marine engines and Kubota.

Japan has 50 cycle on one side of the Island and 60 on the other.
Even their electrical Utility is confusing lol.
Funny you should mention frequency, as I almost commented on it earlier. The Japan standard is 50Hz, but there are a lot of remaining functional grids in place from the occupation. (USA) So that is why even the domestic electronics has a 50/60 selector switch. Eventually, it will all be 50, but we've been saying that for decades. :)
 
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