Thread: Grit diameter vs grit number vs scale

This site shows still different numbers.
Just Ask Jeff: How are grit/mesh/micron related and what is what?
Too much confusion...

Are there any official ANSI sources?

I am not too worried about the grit size at this point. I just don't like confusion too much.

Originally Posted by time2shave

Are there any official ANSI sources?

Yes, there is only one official source, here's their webpage: American National Standards Institute - ANSI

The ANSI want you to buy the standards, even in electronic form. That's a racket in my opinion. They should be educating people about the standards, not charging money for it. No wonder there is so much confusion around.

So I guess, we will never know what the true numbers are unless someone wants to buy the document(s).

Here is another site with still different numbers.
http://www.washingtonmills.com/docum...it-sizes-ansi/

Originally Posted by time2shave

The ANSI want you to buy the standards, even in electronic form. That's a racket in my opinion. They should be educating people about the standards, not charging money for it. No wonder there is so much confusion around.

They are a 501c3 private not for profit organization with 22 million USD annual budget. I don't see why they should give stuff away for free, it's entirely up to them to do so or not.
If it were a government agency with the money paid by the taxpayers, this would be publicly available, but that's not the case.

So I guess we'll just have ignorant taxpayers.

Well, if they don't want to pay for the knowledge...
For example a non-for-profit organization got many thousands of dollars in exchange of educating me. I pay for most books, magazines, and newspapers I read, I think it's pretty much the same thing with the ANSI standards.
My local public library is free to use, but it gets funded by taxes. The research that the federal government pays for is publicly available for free on the internet (unless it's secret), but it still costs tax money to produce.
That's just the way things are.

Originally Posted by gugi

They are a 501c3 private not for profit organization with 22 million USD annual budget. I don't see why they should give stuff away for free, it's entirely up to them to do so or not.
If it were a government agency with the money paid by the taxpayers, this would be publicly available, but that's not the case.

Actually, a 501c3 company IS supported by the government. They dont pay taxes. That's how the government supports them. An example: if your landlord let's you stay in your flat for free, then you are being supported for the amount of the lease.

I say, do away with ANSI scale and all other scales. Provide grit size in microns. Problem solved. I think I personally would much prefer it this way. These scales do not serve any good purpose and only add to confusion and add another layer of complexity.

Does Norton have a web site that provides grit info? Are there datasheets or specifications for their stones?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by MarkinLondon

Actually, a 501c3 company IS supported by the government. They dont pay taxes. That's how the government supports them.

There's a difference between not paying taxes, being paid by taxes, and being a government entity. There are plenty of businesses that are exempt from paying various taxes, as well as plenty who receive direct funding by the government, yet none of them is required, or supposed to give away their product to everybody.
Exempt Purposes - Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)

I think it would be nice if everybody in US would switch to using the metric system of units, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.

I have put on a little work about size distribution, particle sizes and how these are being measured for grit rating. Maybe someone will find it useful