Give me back the old Imperial measurements such as inch by thick running from nothing to feck all. :curtain_call: In Harland and Bluff we worked to the fine tolerance of the "peak o' yer cap" dimensions, if the peak fitted the gap that was good enough :applause:

My metric hammer isn't as good as the old fashioned and reliable 7llb shifter :very_sad:

I had the misfortune, among many, to be educated (partly) during the changeover from imperial to metric and I now work in metric, think in imperial and talk in Eastantrim. Nobody understands me.

Setting tappets with the peak of your cap required a knack, inlet 250 thou clean rim, exhaust 500 thou greasy rim. Anything else and the engine would be clattering across Biscay.

500 thou? - That would be a Carpenter's half inch would it?

And, if you are going to get a combi-shifter then get a good one...

Been there done that, worst was leaving a Stilson wrench on the piston top :eek: The chief was NOT a happy bunny especially when we sang Lulu's big hit. "it goes boom bang a bang, boom bang a bang loud in my ear" :really_mad:

:applause::applause:

As near as damn it, depending on tolerance, although in many shipyards on the Lagan tolerance wasn't tolerated. Neither was abstinence

Slow chaps like myself assumed there was about 40 thou in 1 millimetre and then multiplied or divided as necessary. In A-Level maths this is called calculus or matrices or something complex. Ah the good old days. A white boiler suit with a wee notebook in the breast pocket sodden from sweat, engineroom boots without socks or laces, an 8 inch (50,000 mm) Bacho shifter and a yellow or orange USA safety torch which never worked and 4 hours of bliss.

Reminds me… I always used to carry a metal nail file, the butt end was exactly 15 thou and ideal to set points on car engines. The file end could be used to clean them as well.
Also handy as a screwdriver and lock pick.

sailed on a boat with a Kelvin 3&1/2 Hp petrol/paraffin . Engine originally installed in 1923 , instruction manual said adjust tappet with the thickness of a business card. Tried using feeler gauges and the engine ran rough as, used a card and she ran sweet as for many years after that, would love to have that engine now.

I was 14 years old and ran a fishing boat at weekends taking anglers out fishing. That one had a Kelvin pet/par engine. it was a reliable boat too. I used to a fiver a trip doing that. Big money back in those days.

A "British Standard" business card. None of your oul "DIN" cards in them days.

What factor does one use to convert to an Imperial Visiting card?

Not sure David but I think that snob value is involved somewhere.

just spoke to Tmac and he told me to go away (I think thats what he meant) I simply asked about Whitworth and BSF threads....must have touched a nerve methinks. Thats sure to cost me a case of black bush

And don't forget we British did not stop at BSF, oh no, we had the British Standard Cycle thread, a British Imperial screw thread standard made for bicycle and motorcycle applications.
For reasons best known to themselves the Japanese never warmed to this excellent thread and that is why they made such heavy weather of their Sunday cycle through Malaya. And the cry went out from Percival's HQ to send more drawing pins to the front line.

Swiss army file:applause:

Our plumbers are so adept at making any thread fit another (using a pipe and shifter or, for rounded-off heads, king-stilsons) that E-S has omitted several threads that the true aficionado will surely recognise:

A variety of French Round threads as well as their asymmetrical trapezoidal thread and the Czech tire valve thread for several.

(Leckie uses only Molegrips to butcher mechanical fastenings).

Good injuneers like wot I is don't bother mating threads we just weld the bloody thing together, job done, dismantling same is some other buggers problem. BSF big stupid fecker, BSW bought some at Woolworths, TPI tired, pissed and ignorant, UNC under no circumstances.

UNC, UNC?? Are you sure of the right sequence? On sea trials H&W was generally NUC.

ID 10 T problem just shown on my status monitor. Must be a problem down below.
maybe someone did something wrong. I have confidence that Tmac will soon have it sorted.
Reckon we should get underway in the morning. But to where? anyone got a favourite port they would like to visit?

If we want somewhere warm without going too far South then maybe Sevastopol would be an option? Perhaps our insanity might react with that in situ to bring about sanity.

Do you intend breeding with the locals?

sounds reasonable ES. Sevastopol it is then. I'll go look it up on the map thingy. Hmmm. put in (or is that Putin), Vladimir went there too!
However if we are all on our best behaviour we might make it back out of there again. may even leave a bit of a mess to get them thinking.

I was thinking more of arithmetical multiplication than the biological kind. We are too numerous not too numerate.

never was good at arithmetic it all just did'nt add up to me.