I only learn't metric at school and when I left the 1st cattle place I worked on the other 4 guys were older and had no idea of metric.
We started of fencing and I was told cut your strainer posts 8 ft, 4ft in the ground and 4ft out, stays at 9 ft, posts at 6ft. I figured that out easily with 30cms to the ft but then when we came to setting the fence out they started talking in chains, thats when I had to plead ignorant.
I put 4 strainers and stays in yesterdy ready for my son to come home fencing this week. These days my strainers are 1275mm out of the ground, thats 4ft 3inches.
One thing I still do that I learn't from the old blokes was to cut notches in my shovel handle showing 18inches, 36inches and 48inches for my different posts depths. Even with my sons one will be barring and one shoveling and when someone says "How much further"? the call will be about 8inches, you won't hear them say 20cms or 200mm and they are only 17 and 19yrs.
