>With copper prices going up, I wonder if any mfrs are "optimizing" their
>manufacturing processes to the small side of the allowable tolerance? (The
>ASTM spec is 1% or 1 mil, which ever is greater) It's not like the average
>Home Depot or Lowe's buyer carries a micrometer to verify that the AWG 12
>wire is really 0.08081 inches in diameter as opposed to, say, 0.08. That
>2-3% difference could add up when you sell millions of pounds of wire, and
>your overall profit margin is in the 5-10% range.
That's exactly what they are now doing with plywood. Last time I went to
Lowe's to purchase some 3/8" and 1/2" sheets, the so-called 3/8" was
actually 11/32" and marked "approximately 3/8". The "approximately" 1/2"
plywood was actually 15/32".
Whenever I start a house restoration or home improvement project, I usually
buy just the estimated amount of material that I need. If I take my time
finishing a project and happen to come up short on somethig like moulding,
and go to purchase the extra that I need to finish, almost inevitably in
the time period between my initial purchase and the second batch, they have
shaved the dimensions down to something slightly smaller, and it becomes
difficult, if not impossible, to make pieces from the two batches match up
perfectly.
Don, k4kyv
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