Hello fellow "Garage Rats", while doing some research on socket extensions; impact versus chrome, I came across an interesting product.
Brief description: The product is an impact extension which instead of being solid is a tube design. The inventer claims that it is the best impact extension available for breaking loose stuck fasteners. Unfortunately, the inventor has passed away and the tool is not being marketed.... I was wondering if any of you guys have heard about this tool or perhaps own a copy.
Less Twist, More Torque: American Torque Tool Introduces Patented TORQUE-TUBE Socket Extension
DILLINGHAM, AK - Dec. 10, 2002 -- For Joseph Valela, necessity was indeed the mother of invention. The former mechanic has just patented a new tubular socket extension tool, TORQUE-TUBE(TM) (U.S. patent #6035747, http://www.torque-tube.com), that delivers more torque than its solid counterparts. Valela hit upon the idea as a mechanic in bush Alaska when traditional socket extensions left him in the lurch.
"I had tried to prepare myself with the best tools I could find because there is no help in the Alaskan wilderness if something goes wrong. One day I was working on a '78 Ford 4x4 and a bellhousing bolt wouldn't come out," said Joseph Valela, TORQUE-TUBE creator and president of American Torque Tool. "I needed a long extension to reach the bolt, so I tried my MAC TOOL, SNAP-ON and Craftsman extensions. The bolt wouldn't budge. My extensions were twisting and not delivering enough impact or torque."
Those twisting extension shafts gave Valela an idea. Because solid socket extension tools twisted, absorbing torque themselves, torque to the bolt is diminished. It was impossible to turn the bolt hard enough to break it loose. But what if there were a socket extension that would absorb less torque and deliver more power?
"I took my Craftsman extension to the machine shop, chopped it to pieces and made a mini driveshaft out of it by machining the ends, installing them in a tubular shaft and welding," Valela explained. "I used the new tool on the stuck bolt in the Ford bellhousing. It came out so easily, I thought I had been wrong about it being stuck."
But Valela hadn't been wrong, and the TORQUE-TUBE was born. Built of a special alloy material and finished with black oxide coating, TORQUE-TUBE features male and female hardened end pieces precision welded to a special high-strength tubular shaft designed to stand up to the high torque sockets and impact wrenches of today. The tool is available in 12-, 18-, 24-, and 30-inch lengths of half-inch drive.
"This product gives professional mechanics a socket extension that actually delivers on the tough jobs," said Valela. "TORQUE-TUBE is all about less twist and more torque."
This comes from the website:
"Patented tubular design long length impact extensions for use with hand tools and impact wrenches were the invention of the owner and founder of American Torque Tool™, Mr. Joseph Valela of Dillingham, Alaska who passed away during 2007 and is dearly missed by those who knew and loved him. As a result of the loss of Mr. Valela, American Torque Tool™ is no longer in business. Those in the industry who knew Mr. Valela regarded him to be a good man, with a unique abilty to create innovative solutions. The contributions he made to the world of tools, and to the lives of those close to him will continue to live on. May he rest in God's grace."
http://www.torque-tube.com/
As a side note, I can't tell you how many times I've seen mechanics trying to break loose a stuck fastener with a chrome extension, (either with a ratchet / breaker bar or an impact gun). I would think that a chrome extension would act like a "torque stick", flexing and twisting, not transmitting the full rotational torque. Your thoughts gentlemen.
Brief description: The product is an impact extension which instead of being solid is a tube design. The inventer claims that it is the best impact extension available for breaking loose stuck fasteners. Unfortunately, the inventor has passed away and the tool is not being marketed.... I was wondering if any of you guys have heard about this tool or perhaps own a copy.
Less Twist, More Torque: American Torque Tool Introduces Patented TORQUE-TUBE Socket Extension
DILLINGHAM, AK - Dec. 10, 2002 -- For Joseph Valela, necessity was indeed the mother of invention. The former mechanic has just patented a new tubular socket extension tool, TORQUE-TUBE(TM) (U.S. patent #6035747, http://www.torque-tube.com), that delivers more torque than its solid counterparts. Valela hit upon the idea as a mechanic in bush Alaska when traditional socket extensions left him in the lurch.
"I had tried to prepare myself with the best tools I could find because there is no help in the Alaskan wilderness if something goes wrong. One day I was working on a '78 Ford 4x4 and a bellhousing bolt wouldn't come out," said Joseph Valela, TORQUE-TUBE creator and president of American Torque Tool. "I needed a long extension to reach the bolt, so I tried my MAC TOOL, SNAP-ON and Craftsman extensions. The bolt wouldn't budge. My extensions were twisting and not delivering enough impact or torque."
Those twisting extension shafts gave Valela an idea. Because solid socket extension tools twisted, absorbing torque themselves, torque to the bolt is diminished. It was impossible to turn the bolt hard enough to break it loose. But what if there were a socket extension that would absorb less torque and deliver more power?
"I took my Craftsman extension to the machine shop, chopped it to pieces and made a mini driveshaft out of it by machining the ends, installing them in a tubular shaft and welding," Valela explained. "I used the new tool on the stuck bolt in the Ford bellhousing. It came out so easily, I thought I had been wrong about it being stuck."
But Valela hadn't been wrong, and the TORQUE-TUBE was born. Built of a special alloy material and finished with black oxide coating, TORQUE-TUBE features male and female hardened end pieces precision welded to a special high-strength tubular shaft designed to stand up to the high torque sockets and impact wrenches of today. The tool is available in 12-, 18-, 24-, and 30-inch lengths of half-inch drive.
"This product gives professional mechanics a socket extension that actually delivers on the tough jobs," said Valela. "TORQUE-TUBE is all about less twist and more torque."
This comes from the website:
"Patented tubular design long length impact extensions for use with hand tools and impact wrenches were the invention of the owner and founder of American Torque Tool™, Mr. Joseph Valela of Dillingham, Alaska who passed away during 2007 and is dearly missed by those who knew and loved him. As a result of the loss of Mr. Valela, American Torque Tool™ is no longer in business. Those in the industry who knew Mr. Valela regarded him to be a good man, with a unique abilty to create innovative solutions. The contributions he made to the world of tools, and to the lives of those close to him will continue to live on. May he rest in God's grace."
http://www.torque-tube.com/
As a side note, I can't tell you how many times I've seen mechanics trying to break loose a stuck fastener with a chrome extension, (either with a ratchet / breaker bar or an impact gun). I would think that a chrome extension would act like a "torque stick", flexing and twisting, not transmitting the full rotational torque. Your thoughts gentlemen.
