Impact and Torque Wrenches

patrickg · Jul 14, 2001

But what about torque wreches? Since changing my dually Ram3500 to 19.5 rims I have carried my own torque wrench. It is amazing how few shops are equipped to torque my lugs to spec, 450 lb-ft. I have to loan most folks my tools to pay them to do something for me. Torque wrench goes to 600 lb-ft and I shamelessly use it instead of a breaker bar to change a trailer towing ball, rotate tires, or whatever gets close to the hernia envelope. It is over three feet long. Came in handy as an impact wrench substitute when changing a rear tractor tire in the field.

I would think that geting a modestly priced (never said cheap) import socket set with 3/4 inch drive, typically come with puny breaker bar, and adding a REAL breaker bar would be great for infrequent jobs that otherwise might be done with an impact wrench and compressor. If something comes up way out in the field I would opt for leverage and portability over sophistication, complication, and cost.

This is not to say that I don't have impact tools and use them, I do and I do. Great stuff but I don't see a HD engine driven (PTO driven?) portable compressor in my future. Maybe some rocket scientist will come up with a solid fuel rocket motor type technology optimized to produce its exhaust gasses in such a way as to permit using it to substitute for an air compressor safely and economically. Should be small, light, most portable, and profitable for the marketing genius/engineering entreprenure to capitalize on the idea. All I want for use of my idea is a large rootbeer float made with A&W rootbeer and real vanilla icecream. That is more than fair.

Patrick

Bird · Jul 15, 2001

Patrick, if you have a long enough breaker bar, and enough room to use it, and always have a way to keep the entire assembly from turning (like trying to loosen mower blade bolts), that should be good enough.

And while a PTO powered compressor might someday come on the market, what my real farmer neighbors do now is have a big 220 volt compressor in their shop, but a portable gasoline compressor they take to the field. Of course, they wouldn't want a PTO powered one because most of the time when they need a compressor in the field, they already have some big implement on the back of the tractor.

Bird

JOR_EL · Jul 15, 2001

PatrickG,

Could you share the make/,model/source/price of your 600# torque wrench with us?

Thanks, /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Larry

patrickg · Jul 15, 2001

Bird, Wasn't it Archimedes who said SOMETHING LIKE, "Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I can bend the lever."? Yeah, tractor is down hard somewhere out in a field so a PTO compressor would only be good for multiple tractor owners, not me. Besides in a big operation a P/U truck would be more economical to dispatch than taking yet another tractor out of service especially if the P/U has an engine driven compressor on it. A bit beyond my scale, I think.

Uh, don't rotary mower/brush hogs have a hole where you can stick a tool in from the top to back up the tool on the bottom? My heavy duty Cimaron does and of course you break wheel lugs loose prior to taking too much weight off wheel with the jack. On occasion I have had to resort to unusual lashups because I didn't have a portable compressor or even a manual hammer struck impact tool available. Sometimes it is just about impossible to get a nut off when it is on a freely moving shaft, especially if the assembly is light weight and has low inertia.

Patrick (takin' the rest of the week off, no more hard work until Monday)

Bird · Jul 15, 2001

don't rotary mower/brush hogs have a hole where you can stick a tool in from the top to back up the tool on the bottom?

Some do; some don't - like my cheap Howse doesn't./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif However, I can stick one end of my wrecking bar through the U-joint on the drive shaft and that'll hold it. The Bush Hog I had before had something even better than that; a hole in the deck to insert your socket onto the nut.

And I, too, do not think I have any need for a PTO powered compressor./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif If my little 7 gallon portable tank ain't enough, I have two neighbors who keep portable gasoline powered compressors in their pickups, so I know where I can borrow one anytime. And even better than borrowing one, either of them will just drive his pickup to wherever I need it.

Bird

patrickg · Jul 15, 2001

Larrry, et al,

Torque wrench, 600 lb-ft

make/model/source/price

Import, probably Chinese/600 lb-ft model/Harbour Freight/Don't recall but it was way cheap compared to much lighter duty stuff elsewhere. I did check cal on it and it is plenty good enough for my purposes. Should work fine and last long time if I don't forget to reset it to zero and leave the spring under tension. Ok so I am lazy, but not that lazy, truck is only parked 30 ft away and is in shade (inside shop). Wait here, I'll go look. Besides I have to go by it to get to big reefer full of sodas. Be right back... OK, If I rest it on my foot (don't like to scratch shiny things on cement floor) it comes up to my belly buton. I'm 6'2" (no shoes). Rule IS too far to go get and nothing to eat or drink over that way. Wow, you nearly got naimed in a law suit. when I unwrapped it (I keep it wrapped up cause its shiny) the 3/4 inch drive 1 5/16 impact socket (deep) nearly fell on my toe but missed and didn't chip the floor too much. Tool has ball retainer but the SK socket expects a pin through it and an o-ring around it. Anyway...

I found an inspection sticker that says made in Taiwan. It has two scales lb-ft and m-Kgs in case you have metric specs. English markings cover from 100 to 600 lb-ft, metric 17.3 to 79.6 M-Kgs. Setting is by vernier. It is the click type so while you are popping a blood vessel or a new hemerhoid pulling on it you don't have to try to read a dial. It is 3/4' reversable ratchet drive so is convenient to use in limited space as anything of this size and weight can be. Yes, I did name it. Usually things of beauty, grace, or speed are assumed to be of the feminine gender but this baby is named, for obvious reasons if you saw it pulled out and unwrapped, E X C A L I B E R.

I use it for a ratchet handle as well as a torque wrench and it holds calibration or at least it did (I moved away from easy access to similar tools to try it against). I recommend it if being within 10% is good enough for you (has always been well within 10%) I use it to rotate my P/U tires (19.5 inch Alcoa wheels with 450 lb-ft torque spec).

Attachment is a pic of topic. Note the 19.5's aren't exactly big looking on this truck. I think the 16's looked way small, especially as it is 4x4 and Dodge raises them a tad which makes wheel wells look funny.

Sorry I couldn't be more specific. If you have shopped at Harbor Freight you know why.

Patrick

patrickg · Jul 15, 2001

Larrry, et al,

Torque wrench, 600 lb-ft

make/model/source/price

Import, probably Chinese/600 lb-ft model/Harbour Freight/Don't recall but it was way cheap compared to much lighter duty stuff elsewhere. I did check cal on it and it is plenty good enough for my purposes. Should work fine and last long time if I don't forget to reset it to zero and leave the spring under tension. Ok so I am lazy, but not that lazy, truck is only parked 30 ft away and is in shade (inside shop). Wait here, I'll go look. Besides I have to go by it to get to big reefer full of sodas. Be right back... OK, If I rest it on my foot (don't like to scratch shiny things on cement floor) it comes up to my belly buton. I'm 6'2" (no shoes). Rule IS too far to go get and nothing to eat or drink over that way. Wow, you nearly got naimed in a law suit. when I unwrapped it (I keep it wrapped up cause its shiny) the 3/4 inch drive 1 5/16 impact socket (deep) nearly fell on my toe but missed and didn't chip the floor too much. Tool has ball retainer but the SK socket expects a pin through it and an o-ring around it. Anyway...

I found an inspection sticker that says made in Taiwan. It has two scales lb-ft and m-Kgs in case you have metric specs. English markings cover from 100 to 600 lb-ft, metric 17.3 to 79.6 M-Kgs. Setting is by vernier. It is the click type so while you are popping a blood vessel or a new hemerhoid pulling on it you don't have to try to read a dial. It is 3/4" reversable ratchet drive so is convenient to use in limited space as anything of this size and weight can be. Yes, I did name it. Usually things of beauty, grace, or speed are assumed to be of the feminine gender but this baby is named, for obvious reasons if you saw it pulled out and unwrapped, E X C A L I B E R.

I use it for a ratchet handle as well as a torque wrench and it holds calibration or at least it did (I moved away from easy access to similar tools to try it against). I recommend it if being within 10% is good enough for you (has always been well within 10%) I use it to rotate my P/U tires (19.5 inch Alcoa wheels with 450 lb-ft torque spec).

Attachment is a pic of topic. Note the 19.5's aren't exactly big looking on this truck. I think the 16's looked way small, especially as it is 4x4 and Dodge raises them a tad which makes wheel wells look funny.

Sorry I couldn't be more specific. If you have shopped at Harbor Freight you know why.

Patrick

patrickg · Jul 15, 2001

Yeah Bird, The Cimaron brush hog has about a 3 inch hole in top deck. Turned out it has a use besides watching the blade go by at low RPM. Got a few neighbors like yours, solid gold.

Went to St. Louis yesterday, St Louis, OK that is. Just wanted to see it. Did brief side trip to see Romulus, on way to St. Louis, as a trekie how could I pass it up. For the last few miles my wife and I were saying things like shields up and stand by the weapons array but don't power it up as it could be interpreted as a hostile action and on and on. We debated the merits of cloaking prior to entering the town limits.

Saw a neat sign at outskirts of St. Louis. Welcome to St Louis, population 179 (or whatever it was) 177 regular nice folks, one pyromaniac, and one old sorehead.

Patrick (Yes, there is a town of Remus as well, Roman history buffs)

hayden · Jul 15, 2001

Just get a breaker bar for you socket set and get a block of wood to block the blades while you're losening or tightening the nuts.

I've got a compressor and air tools from 30 years ago when I did professional auto repair and restoration, but I almost never use them now. In the past I used them almost exclusively to save time, and very occationally to get a stubborn bolt lose. Now I just use the breaker for almost everything, including getting mower blades off.

Phred · Jul 16, 2001

Glennmac,

You have got the wrong take on this whole issue.
The key is to convince the boss that you need these tools, therefore, it justifies the cost of the new toys... err tools....
It works best if its her car that needs to be fixed. Then you can explain how you need a new compressor, complete set of 3/4 sockets, torque wrench, etc../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

I suspect that I am not alone when I say that the toys.. I mean tools.... are half the fun.

But then again this may just be the engineer talking..

Phred

Edited by Phred on 07/16/01 00:25 AM (server time).