# How thick is .005 of an inch?



## dsdhunts (Aug 26, 2015)

hair I think 

.01 is the standard tolerance in car engines as a rule of thumb. simply from heat and metal expansion. f1 engines are around -0.02 cant start them without that giant wheeled thing and circulating hot oil and coolant.


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## USMC 82-86 (Sep 18, 2010)

Roughly the thickness of a piece of printer paper.


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## zilla24 (Jul 8, 2010)

Printer paper is about .004"


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## whack n stack (Dec 23, 2007)

Human hair is .003"


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## GRIMWALD (Sep 28, 2012)

.005 of an inch, is just about the amount of slack my wife gives to me before "I get the look", especially around hunting season.


GRIM


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## Flatwoodshunter (Feb 3, 2013)

A dollar bill is probably around .005 thick.


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## richf (Sep 16, 2008)

Paper is usually .002 or .003, two sheets and you have five or six thou. Or you could buy a feeler gauge and then have exact shims, depending on what you need to do.


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## whack n stack (Dec 23, 2007)

Tin foil is .001".


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

dsdhunts said:


> hair I think
> 
> .01 is the standard tolerance in car engines as a rule of thumb. simply from heat and metal expansion. f1 engines are around -0.02 cant start them without that giant wheeled thing and circulating hot oil and coolant.


You own a Ford, right?


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## 45er (Jan 18, 2009)

I just bought two .005" hex wrenches on EBay for my Carter Honey. I measured them with my micrometer. The closest thing to the same diameter I had laying around the house was a standard paperclip.


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## nuts&bolts (Mar 25, 2005)

sam4836 said:


> If a person doesn't have an instrument to measure .005 what in the common world could you compare it to, a piece of paper, toothpick, human hair?


Diet Coke soda can. The sheet aluminum is 0.003-inches thick.


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## sam4836 (Dec 16, 2005)

Was wondering because GT X Cutter pros are .001 and the regulars are .005. Im guessing the extra expense for the pros isn't really worth the extra money. And most shooters wouldn't notice either when they shoot them


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

For most hunters, if they buy .005 and cut an inch off both ends where the mandrels held them while being built, they will be all that's necessary to make accurate enough shots to kill a deer. If you make a living shooting a bow, many tournaments are won or lost by 1 point. In that case I would suggest shooting the best you can afford.


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## walks with a gi (Oct 1, 2002)

SonnyThomas said:


> You own a Ford, right?


 If it rattles when it's running and blue smoke is coming out the back there is probably .010" piston, rod and main clearance, perfect!


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## Ray Ray (Aug 1, 2005)

45er said:


> I just bought two .005" hex wrenches on EBay for my Carter Honey. I measured them with my micrometer. The closest thing to the same diameter I had laying around the house was a standard paperclip.


They are .05 hex wrenches


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## D.Short (Aug 5, 2010)

sam4836 said:


> Was wondering because GT X Cutter pros are .001 and the regulars are .005. Im guessing the extra expense for the pros isn't really worth the extra money. And most shooters wouldn't notice either when they shoot them


Is that thickness.......or straightness


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## 45er (Jan 18, 2009)

Ray Ray said:


> They are .05 hex wrenches


LOL! Yep, that's what I bought for sure! The OP asked what he might be able to relate .001" thickness to. I didn't figure he had a .005" hex laying around, but he might have a paperclip!

Regarding the purpose of his question - if he's concerned about the .001, .003, .006" etc. deflection on an arrow, IMHO, in a blind test (ie, shooting arrows they didn't know the deflection of) , 99+% of the archers couldn't tell the difference between .001 and .006 arrows if their life depended on it. We just aren't that good. However,* if it's in your head *that .001" is better than .006", then it will make a difference because we all know that 99% of archery is in your head once you have the fundamentals down!


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

put it this way,.... if could shoot good enough that you could tell the difference between an .005 arrow and an .001 arrow, you wouldn't be here on this forum, and you wouldn't be paying for your archery equipment !....
i'll bet 90% of the pros would not be able to tell the difference, if they were handed arrows with no specs stamped on them. I don't mean to say that the pros aren't any good, just that the difference is so little, that it is unnoticeable to almost everybody. it's one of those thing that allows our minds to think it's our equipment that is the reason we miss shots.


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## nestly (Apr 19, 2015)

45er said:


> Regarding the purpose of his question - if he's concerned about the .001, .003, .006" etc. deflection on an arrow, IMHO, in a blind test (ie, shooting arrows they didn't know the deflection of) , 99+% of the archers couldn't tell the difference between .001 and .006 arrows if their life depended on it. We just aren't that good. However,* if it's in your head *that .001" is better than .006", then it will make a difference because we all know that 99% of archery is in your head once you have the fundamentals down!


I agree. 
Plus, I've found that in the case of Gold Tip Pro's, many of the shafts aren't within the advertised tolerance(s) anyway.


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## sam4836 (Dec 16, 2005)

D.Short said:


> Is that thickness.......or straightness


Straightness, just tryi g to get an idea how much distance it really is. A paper clip or soda can thickness isn't much to worry about streched out over 28 inchs. Hope that makes sense


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## TNMAN (Oct 6, 2009)

In aluminum arrows, .005 is noticeable for any good shooter. Not so much with all carbon, although if the bend is far into the nock end it will generally show up in groups too. I can easily tell that much difference in straightness just spinning arrows on my fingers....don't even have to shoot them.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

aluminum pop and beer cans are .004 thick.


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## Bourbon Boy (Mar 18, 2013)

The .001 straightness is actually +/-.001 , meaning the shaft can run out .002 total, same with the others, +/- whatever, you have to double the runout tolerances. Even at these specs, you won't notice a difference, unless you are a Levi Morgan class shooter, and shooting very long distances, say 70 to 100 yards.--BB


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## nestly (Apr 19, 2015)

The consensus seems to be that +/-.001 isn't really necessary, but at what point does everyone think it "does matter"? +/-.003? +/-.006? only when you can "feeling" it spinning in your hand?

Also, how many actually check their straightness AFTER they shoot them? I generally check mine every time I'm going to shoot a scored round, and my experience with Gold Tips Pro series is that only about half will be within the advertised tolerance brand new, and NONE of them will be within tolerance after shooting a round. By contrast, Easton Lightspeeds 3D's are dimensionally identical to GT UL Pro's and I've shot them for months and many are still within advertised tolerance, and on average, remain much straighter than the GT alternative.


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