Two splice plates are cut from a piece of sheet steel that has an overall length of 17 1/4 in. the plates are 8 1/8 in. and 5 11/16 in. long. how much material remains from the original piece if each saw cut removes 1/16 in.?

The answer is 3 3/16 in.

17 1/4 = 17 + 1/4 = 68/4 + 1/4 = 69/4
8 1/8 = 8 + 1/8 = 64/8 + 1/8 = 65/8
5 11/16 = 5 + 11/16 = 80/16 + 11/16 = 91/16

There are two saw cuts for two plates. So 8 1/8, 5 11/16, and twice 1/16 should be subtracted from the overall length.
69/4 - (65/8 + 91/16 + 1/16 + 1/16) =
69/4 - (130/16 + 91/16 + 1/16 + 1/16) =
69/4 - 223/16 =
276/16 - 223/16 =
53/16 =
48/16 + 3/16 =
3 + 3/16 =