Figuring out slope/grade percent

[check]

The metric system is about globalization. One standard worldwide, one world, one government, one religion, one race, one people, one size fits all. It was decided for us behind closed doors. We are too dumb to be included in the discussion.

 

[Willie B]

And the Magnetic N Pole is on the Move still!! Supposed to end up in Siberia or other points AWAY from True N. IIRC all surveys are based on Lat/Long lines True N to True S.

Zack was telling me about some unit of measure accurate to great precision, where everything is referenced from the equator, and 0 longitude. As you might expect, something to do with projection. This can be expressed 2 ways, there are minute differences. It wouldn't matter in 100 acres, but starting at the equator, your starting point might be off a hundred feet. The company he works for changed computer programs. The wrong unit of measure was used. Someone caught the error just before huge errors were made.

 

[DMiller]

GPS is currently in a battle for accuracy, are adjusting True N to Magnetic nearly weekly as the Pole swings get more or less severe.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a32496561/why-magnetic-north-pole-moving/

 

[kshansen]

GPS is currently in a battle for accuracy, are adjusting True N to Magnetic nearly weekly as the Pole swings get more or less severe.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a32496561/why-magnetic-north-pole-moving/

And then on some deeds I have seen the property lines are referenced in relation to the center line of this and that road. Well what happens if the guy running the road grader(back when many roads around here were dirt/gravel) or paver is off a few inches or they widen the rood more on one side than the other due to a rock ledge or something else? Might not matter over a short time but things have a way of adding up over the years.

I also know when we built this house the Post Office assigned us a house number they said 1400. Well a few years back when UPS started using GPS to find places we failed to get something delivers and when we checked they said there was no house at that location. Checked on Google Maps and sure enough that address came up as being about an 1/8 mile west of our house, empty field! Of course if the driver had just looked at the mail box at the end of the driveway in three inch tall numbers there was the 1400!

 

[John Canfield]

I wonder how the surveyors pre GPS accurately figured out where true North was? I know lands and islands were charted using a sextant and tables (and an accurate chronometer.) When we took our boat to the Caribbean we had a lot of charts that could be in error as much as 1/8 of a mile compared to our GPS. More than one cruiser ran aground following their GPS instead of the Mark 1 eyeball. Some of our charts hadn't been updated since the late 1800s.

 

[DMiller]

GPS is being updated near to weekly now, was brought to someone's attention of Magnetic N moving OFTEN and erratically so they checked and 95% of system was in error, that was two years ago where now they review and 'Correct' more often.

 

[Willie B]

I wonder how the surveyors pre GPS accurately figured out where true North was? I know lands and islands were charted using a sextant and tables (and an accurate chronometer.) When we took our boat to the Caribbean we had a lot of charts that could be in error as much as 1/8 of a mile compared to our GPS. More than one cruiser ran aground following their GPS instead of the Mark 1 eyeball. Some of our charts hadn't been updated since the late 1800s.

For Federal surveys my brother in law was required to go at midnight, corrected for daylight savings time, and reference Polaris. The transit was left with bits of vegetation left to show if anyone had tampered. Next day, the survey began.

A lot has changed since.

 

[Willie B]

GPS is being updated near to weekly now, was brought to someone's attention of Magnetic N moving OFTEN and erratically so they checked and 95% of system was in error, that was two years ago where now they review and 'Correct' more often.

GPS is amazing in its precision. It is corrected daily. Most of us don't have access to correction for GPS. Those with a need for precise GPS can subscribe to a correction service, or spend a large sum, submit to security clearance to acquire the factors.

If you are deemed safe, and pay, you can use GPS to the 1/10th inch worldwide. Drop your neighbor's dog's turd on his patio table.

 

[terex herder]

The metric system is just a measurement system. Who cares? You can give me prints dimensioned in furlongs and stone for all I care. The parts I use are part of a hardware system. It just happens the hardware systems that are easily available are inch based.

Metric hardware? Which metric system? If your equipment comes from Germany, the hardware confirms to DIN. If it comes from the rest of Europe, it confirms to ISO. If it comes from Japan, it confirms to JIC. And if it comes from China, it conforms to whatever system the item they copied was using.

Lets use something as simple as a 10mm hex head bolt. If its JIC, it has a 15mm hex, if its ISO, it has a 16mm hex, and if its DIN, it has a 17mm hex. Interchangeable my ass!

 

[cuttin edge]

And if you want to have some real fun hand someone an engineer's tape measure! Somehow we got one at work many years ago and it caused all kinds of confusion. If you don't know they use 10ths of a foot in place of inches! So a 4X8 sheet of plywood measures just fine but watch out when you measure 2 feet 6 inches that would be 2.5 feet!

You should see a metric survey rod

 

[John Canfield]

GPS is amazing in its precision. It is corrected daily. Most of us don't have access to correction for GPS. Those with a need for precise GPS can subscribe to a correction service, or spend a large sum, submit to security clearance to acquire the factors.

If you are deemed safe, and pay, you can use GPS to the 1/10th inch worldwide. Drop your neighbor's dog's turd on his patio table.

I have a Trimble EZ-Guide 250 GPS I use when broadcast spraying. The optional antenna I bought provides 6-8" absolute accuracy vs about 2 or 3 feet if the patch antenna is used. The subscription is SBAS (whatever that stands for) for this accuracy but there's no separate fee required however the antenna was several hundred bucks. One herbicide I use is expensive and I don't want to over apply.

 

[kshansen]

Lets use something as simple as a 10mm hex head bolt. If its JIC, it has a 15mm hex, if its ISO, it has a 16mm hex, and if its DIN, it has a 17mm hex. Interchangeable my ass!

I remember working on the WA600 Komatsu at the quarry quite often on that machine say a 10mm bolt had maybe three different head sizes depending on what component it was part of or holding on. I always made sure I reused the right bolts in their original locations. Would hate to work on that machine after some people who just grab what ever bolt they could find that looked close to the right size!

 

[John C.]

All those that I worked on matched every US size except the 10MM and 12 MM bolt heads. Thread pitches were all easy as well. The problem machines a lot of times had replacement bolt installed that had the odd size bolt heads. Plenty of replacement bolts that should have been 19 MM or 3/4 inch had 18 MM and generally made for lots of frustrations.

 

[mitch504]

All those that I worked on matched every US size except the 10MM and 12 MM bolt heads. Thread pitches were all easy as well. The problem machines a lot of times had replacement bolt installed that had the odd size bolt heads. Plenty of replacement bolts that should have been 19 MM or 3/4 inch had 18 MM and generally made for lots of frustrations.

Yeah, buy a metric bolt at the parts store and the heads are the wrong size for Japanese machinery. If you know the bolts are all original, take an 8,10,12, 14, 17, and 19mm. If not, take them all.

 

[cuttin edge]

Anyway, metric talk aside, If you can swing a grader, I would say it's your best bet. I do peat moss haul roads every spring. Once I grade them once in the spring, they maintain them with a drag behind a grader. If I was 12 hours closer, I'd help you out.

 

[Welder Dave]

I talked to the county and they said to call in about a month because they are behind in fixing roads that were washed out and/or destroyed from the excessive rain we've had. I talked to a lead hand who said residents might get upset if they're doing custom work instead of fixing the roads. The last time a grader came out he had a level in the grader so he could stay at the same angle. It's too hard to try and get it perfectly flat so water doesn't pool. 1-2% slope would be good.

 

[DMiller]

Always want a road Crowned to keep runoff IN the ditches, even as much as .5% slope is better than flat.

 

[Welder Dave]

I think the only way to have a chance of getting it flat enough is to have a super accurate laser set up come in and I'd have to have it come back every time the track needed to be groomed. A slight angle would allow for water to run to the low side where it could be collected and pumped off. The track is wide so if a few feet at the bottom is wet you can just use the higher part of the track.

 

[Willie B]

The horse show several miles from me won't open this summer. They have several perhaps 1.5 acre pads they do whatever high maintenance girls & their higher maintenance mothers do on horseback. My friends build these each year from the ground up. This stuff is a mixture of calcium carbonate ground to 3/8" minus & ground old tires. Supposed to be easier on a horse's body.
They want 1.5' difference one corner to another. They rent a lazer guided CTL to make it utterly flat, but pitched.