How many thou are in 1 chain?

One chain contains approximately 792,000 thou.

Is this conversion used?

Never. Precision machining and land surveying operate at different scales and eras.

Thou to Chains (thou to ch) Converter

Q: How many chains is 1 thou?

One thou equals approximately 1.263 x 10-6 chains.

1 thou = 0.000001 ch

1 Thou equals 0.000001 Chains (1 thou = 0.000001 ch). Convert Thou to Chains with formula, table, and examples.

One thou equals approximately 1.263 x 10^-6 chains. A chain (792,000 thou) contains about 792,000 thou. The thou measures engineering precision; the chain measures English land parcels.

How to Convert Thou to Chains

ch = thou ÷ 792,000

Divide the value in Thou by 792,000

Take your value in Thou
Divide by 792,000
Read the result in Chains

Common Thou to Chains Conversions

Thou (thou)	Chains (ch)	Status
1,000 thou	0.0013 ch
10,000 thou	0.0126 ch
100,000 thou	0.1263 ch
500,000 thou	0.6313 ch
792,000 thou	1 ch
1,000,000 thou	1.2626 ch
5,000,000 thou	6.3131 ch
10,000,000 thou	12.6263 ch

Good to Know About Thou to Chains Conversion

The thou and chain are the imperial system's precision extreme and area extreme. The thou measures the finest tolerances; the chain measures the largest land parcels. They share the inch as ancestor but serve different professions entirely.

Thou to Chains: What You Need to Know

A chain is 792,000 thou. A 1-thou gap is about one-millionth of a chain. These units never interact outside conversion tables.

What is a Thou? thou

One thousandth of an inch (0.0254 mm). Also called a mil in the US. Used in engineering, manufacturing, and for measuring thin materials like plastic film.

Imperial engineering plastic film thickness wire gauges

Learn more about Thou →

What is a Chain? ch

Exactly 66 feet or 4 rods (20.1168 m). Invented by Edmund Gunter for land surveying. 80 chains make one mile. Still used in US public land surveys.

Imperial land surveying US public land

Learn more about Chain →

Going the other way? Use our Chains to Thou converter.

Thou to Chains FAQ

One thou equals approximately 1.263 x 10^-6 chains.
One chain contains approximately 792,000 thou.
Never. Precision machining and land surveying operate at different scales and eras.

Non-Frequently Asked Questions About Thou to Chains

Questions nobody should ask - but someone did.

A farm fence post might be milled to 10 thou tolerance. A chain (66 feet) of fence has about 4 posts. Total machining tolerance: 40 thou over 792,000 thou of fence = 0.005% tolerance. Fencing is not precision engineering. Cows do not notice.
A typical 1-inch (1,000 thou) part fits 792 times into a chain. 792 precision parts end-to-end = 1 chain = 20.1 m. A production line 1 chain long produces a lot of parts.
A cricket pitch (1 chain = 792,000 thou) in thou would require 6 digits: 792,000 thou between wickets. Nobody wants to hear 'bowled from 792,000 thou.' Cricket commentary in thou would last forever.