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Changed my mind about using a torque wrench on every single fastener
Honestly, for years I thought I was being the careful one. I'd pull out the torque wrench for every nut and bolt on a panel, even the little ones. It added like 20 minutes to every job. The thing that got me was a lead mechanic at the hangar in Mobile. He watched me for a minute and just said, 'You know, your calibrated elbow is good for anything under 50 inch-pounds on those.' I argued with him, but then he showed me the manual for the CRJ we were working on. Sure enough, it listed specific torque values for critical stuff, but had a note saying 'snug tight' for a bunch of the non-structural panel fasteners. I felt like an idiot. I was wasting so much time being 'perfect' on stuff that just needed to be secure. Now I only use the wrench where the book says to. Anyone else have a specific torque value they use as their cutoff for going by feel?
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the_laura15d ago
Yeah, that's a good point. I was the same way when I first started, thinking I had to measure everything. Now my rule is if it's not holding something heavy or under pressure, I just get it good and tight by hand.
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corap6115d ago
My shop in Dayton had a tech snap a valve cover bolt off that way. Hand tight is a guess, and guesses cost money. A torque wrench is cheap insurance.
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averyc9415d ago
My old foreman in Tulsa swore by 35 foot-pounds as his feel cutoff for engine mounts.
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