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Is there a difference between the two? As my dictionary says 1 GB gal = 1.201 U.S. gal!!!

I suppose 1 gal of resin from the U.S. is slightly less than the gallon that I am used to.

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Regards,
Bob

If your boss is driving you nuts, build a boat.
Growing older is mandatory, getting wiser is optional.

Yes Bob there's quite a difference, the US Gallon is considerably smaller.

1 US Gallon = 3.785 litres

1 Imperial Gallon = 4.546 litres

Other liquid measures are different too, in the UK a Pint is a full 20 fl oz, in the US a mere 16 fl oz!

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Graham in Shepperton, England

Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.

Thanks Graham.

I am trying to make some price comparison for epoxy between the U.S. and Malaysia. I got a quote of 1 kg of epoxy and 0.6 kg of harderner for US$10. The mixing ratio is 1:0.6.

Sound too cheap to me true.

_________________
Regards,
Bob

If your boss is driving you nuts, build a boat.
Growing older is mandatory, getting wiser is optional.

That does sound remarkably cheap, wish I could get some!
FWIW, I paid £85 ($144) for a 6 kilo pack of West epoxy, a 1.2 kilo pack is around £23 ($39).
I got a couple of cans of Everstar epoxy cheap at the local marina, it's good stuff but curing time is quite slow and I found it too thick for laminating, fine for gluing though.

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Graham in Shepperton, England

Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.

I run into this "gal" problem all the time. All paint and concrete stuff in Canada is specified in US gals - can't figure why? we're supposed to me metric here!! OR MAYBE I SHOULD SAY, "can't figure why we're supposed to be metric here!!!!"

Just remember 16 vs 20 ozs to the pint - they're both 8 pints to a gal. Therefore imp is 25% more or US is 20% less - 160 ozs vs 128.

Ken Franks
Calgary, Alberta
CANADA

I think the question is why can't the US get on the international bandwagon and get metric!!! I'm afraid we're never going to get rid of the miserable old system. But at least we've learned how big the liter is - from Coke bottles!

As a user of both systems, sometimes all mixed up together if it suits me, I can see the benefits and drawbacks of both.
For very small measurements the millimetre reigns supreme, but for me the inch is far superior to the centimetre for medium measurements. I don't use the foot very often preferring to measure in inches up to a yard or metre, which are so close to each other there's little to choose between them!
Interestingly, I had a conversation with a French builder (house not boat) once and he told me their favoured unit was 30cm, near enough a foot!
When it comes to volume and weight though the metric system is hard to beat.
1 cubic centimetre of fresh water weighs 1 gram, 1 litre weighs 1kg, and 1 cubic metre weighs 1 metric tonne. Simplicity itself!

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Graham in Shepperton, England

Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.

Interesting about 30cm! What stud spacing do they use for walls? And how big are sheets of drywall & plywood?

I do a lot of construction for self & neighbors, and know how to use a tape measure, as well as CAD. Invariably, my dimensions in CAD drawings are in feet & inches, and then someone up on the roof takes a measurement for a cut and calls out "132 5/8 inches" I'm not super-fast at dividing by 12, and wish the foot was 10 inches instead of 12! It's just not a convenient system at all. Gets worse when you try to estimate how many "yards" (cubic yards) of concrete you'll need. Quick, tell me the number of yards of concrete needed to fill a footer trench that measures 24 inches wide by 18 inches deep, by 98 feet long!!!

<What stud spacing do they use for walls? And how big are sheets of drywall & plywood?>

I have no idea about stud spacing. Plywood in the UK is generally 2.44m x 1.22m, the metric equivalent of 8' x 4', although it's normally referred to as 2.4m x 1.2m. You have to be careful when designing structures to take that extra 2 or 4cms into account, as I found when designing and building my workshop!
I assume ply is not cut to that size specifically for the UK market, although it may be. I'll have a word with some of my friends across the channel and see what I can find out.

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Graham in Shepperton, England

Good, Quick, Cheap, pick any two.

If you think building is confusing try furniture making! Plywood comes in 4' x 8' sheets but thickness is in mm. Okay, my bookcase is 4' wide (to optimise sheet usage) how long is a shelf?

Concrete is easy. Just measure in "foot inches"

One cu ft is 12 foot inches. How thick is your slab, therefore how many cu feet do you need. Convert to cu yards and then order in cu metres! (You NEVER want to be short!!)

Or to make it really simple one cu metre is 100 sq ft!!

Like I said before, "can't figure why we're supposed to be metric here!!!!"


Ken Franks
Avalon Decorative Concrete Ltd.
Calgary, Alberta
CANADA