Odp: [sdiy] Metric OT rant

[James Husted]

On 8/11/02 3:58 AM, "Roman" <modular at go2.pl> wrote:

> well, it's obvius M8 is the fat one, while M5 the more skinier...
> But what a heck is this 4-40 or 8-32 crap? 4 is the diameter
> and 40 - length? Or this 17/32 thing. I can't divide numbers
> just like that! It takes a while (I'm that stupid) to see 5/16
> is smaller than 11/32.

4-40 means a size 4 screw with 40 threads per inch, 6-32 is a size 6 with 32
threads per inch etc. Can't tell you where the size 4 and 6 come from
though. Unlike wire and sheet metal, the larger the number, the larger the
size.
-James