[mitthrowaway2]

When it comes to precision machining, even Americans seem to prefer to use "thous" (1/1,000") and "tenths" (1/10,000"). Isn't it strange that the preferred measurements aren't fractional: 1/1,728" and 1/20,736"? Why do you think that is?

What would a machine shop say if you called out a dimension as (5,081/20,736")?

I think they'd stare at it for a while, chuckle at your sense of humor, and then punch it into a calculator to work it out in decimals.