But remember everyone that moments of inertia are in units of MASS*length^2 (e.g. kg-m^2), not weight*length^2. If you are using units of weight (e.g. lbs), the units of moment of inertia are weight*length*time^2 (e.g. lb-in-sec^2).
The reason you want to know moment of inertia is to be able to calculate the relationship between torque and angular acceleration: T = J * alpha.
In typical SI units, you get J(kg-m2)*alpha(sec^-2) =T(kg-m^2-sec^-2) = T (N-m), so no conversion factors are necessary.
In typical English units, you get J(lb-in-sec^2)*alpha(sec^-2) = T (lb-in), and again, no conversion factors are necessary.
But you must be really careful if you start using expressions for MOI like those above. You will need a conversion factor of 1/g (g=32.2 ft/sec^2) in the T=J*alpha equation if you use W*K^2 for moment of inertia. I've seen people get very wacky results if they leave that out.
People also often screw up if they use non-official units of "pounds-mass" or "kilograms-force" as they try to convert between SI and English. Again, they are usually off by a factor of "g" if they are not careful when they do this.
Curt Wilson
Delta Tau Data Systems