luv2diy
Well-known member
What was used before the torque wrench was invented. I have already Googled it before someone makes a comment about being lazy 
. Wiki claims it was invented in 1918.
. Wiki claims it was invented in 1918.
Before the torque wrench was invented.
- Thread starter luv2diy
- Start date
Wrenches and other tools were specific to the fastener they were used on. Tool length, flex and things like that limited the amount of torque one could put on the fastener.
That's why a lot of the old tools you see is essentially a socket with a rod permanently attached. The rod length determined how much torque you could apply.
That's why a lot of the old tools you see is essentially a socket with a rod permanently attached. The rod length determined how much torque you could apply.
ez-duzit
Well-known member
The age of no torque wrenches brought us good stuff like EZ-outs and Heli-Coils. 
Thank you! You got the gears turning in my head! Since you posted I've being Googling none stop! I watched a show on Discovery channel about 10 years ago about constructing large building in New York or somewhere... not 100% sure, but anyways, they used this type of bolt/nut. http://www.google.com/patents/US3444775. I'm not sure how old this method is?
yossarian19
Well-known member
I would suspect angle torque was used. Clean the threads, tighten nut to "snug" & add angle till pre-load was achieved. Torque wrenches are easier, sure, but angle torque requires no special tool and is in fact more accurate as well.
Tommo3
Well-known member
The mechanics arm was used like it is all over the world even today before 1918 lots of autos had barely interchangeable parts let alone torque settings.
mike_dmt
Well-known member
My elbow clicks at 90# of torque. Does that count?
58Yeoman
Well-known member
When I was a kid, my older brother gave me a 58 Merc. I pulled the intake and heads off with a tire iron, and put it back together with same, and it ran and didn't leak. Lucky, I guess.
finn
Well-known member
Since there were no standards for bolts, tensile stress was all over the map. and a torque wrench would be of little use.
Most antique machinery I am familiar with isn't really designed in the modern sense. It is more like.... build it so it looks like it will work, then test it....
Ever notice that bolts in those days were relatively massive compared to todays designs?
Most antique machinery I am familiar with isn't really designed in the modern sense. It is more like.... build it so it looks like it will work, then test it....
Ever notice that bolts in those days were relatively massive compared to todays designs?
engineer2
Well-known member
They used what is called "feel".
PassnThru
Well-known member
A guy I used to work with:
Me - Did you torque that to the manufacturers specifications?
Him - My elbow clicked.
Alrighty then.
It was a running joke.
Me - Did you torque that to the manufacturers specifications?
Him - My elbow clicked.
Alrighty then.
It was a running joke.
Eriehunter
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Tighten it down 'till it strips then back off 1/4 turn. ;-)
short4stuff
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cross thread is better than no thread
gregtwojeeps
Well-known member
Common sense and high mechanical aptitudes.
yossarian19
Well-known member
A dude I was in class with would finish every mechanical description with "...torque to yield"
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Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk
LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
Once tools were made of stone. Then they invented the torque wrench. Then someone on GJ asked what type of lube to use on lug nuts...
Tommy
Tommy
For big bolts on turbines in the power plant we measure the length of the bolt/stud cold. By knowing the thread pitch you can then figure the amount the nut needs to turn to obtain a certain tension. we then heat the studs with induction rods and turn the nut to match the amount needed to get that bolt tension. Not sure how the engineers know what bolt tension is needed to seal a turbine shell
Here's an example of what I mentioned in my earlier post. The Ford "Z" tools that are often seen at swap meets.
http://www.fordgarage.com/pages/modelt5ztools.htm
http://www.fordgarage.com/pages/modelt5ztools.htm
ez-duzit
Well-known member
The Ford wrench is one of my favorites in the emergency roadside toolkit on my Harley.
41ratrod
Well-known member
We did that to a 52 Ford pickup 6 cyl.engine and never had a problem with it.
RustnGrease
Well-known member
"What's the torque spec on ***? and the reply was Flippin(expletive) Tight"
MadMechMaster
Well-known member
"Tight's tight, and too tight's broke"
padroo
Well-known member
On old radial aircraft the crankshaft was a two piece arrangement held in place with one critical bolt.
The bolt was referred to as a stretch bolt. To tighten it to spec by the book you used a micrometer and measured the length of the bolt. You installed the bolt and as you hand torqued it you kept measuring it until it stretched how ever many thousandths of an inch the book called for. This only worked on bolts where you could get to both ends.
The bolt was referred to as a stretch bolt. To tighten it to spec by the book you used a micrometer and measured the length of the bolt. You installed the bolt and as you hand torqued it you kept measuring it until it stretched how ever many thousandths of an inch the book called for. This only worked on bolts where you could get to both ends.
JKady
Well-known member
The Model T service manual I read through while working one in college listed many specs as "snug" or "Tighten firmly" etc... Old engines were a lot sloppier, had less parts and didn't run at any of the sort of temperatures and pressures we see today. I mean, T's for example didn't even have a water pump from the factory.
TheEquineFencer
Well-known member
There is always the weight & measure method.
If you apply 80Lbs to a wrench @ 12" from the fastener, you get 80 Lb-Ft.
Of course that only works with a wrench that is parallel with the ground, as the fastener has to be for that to work.
Some of the old Radial aircraft manuals called for that sort of thing when changing a prop in the field, as an example.
It was a "hang x weight guy off the bar Y inches from the hub" sort of thing.
I used to have a manual for a C46 Curtis Commando that had nice illustrations showing how.
As I recall, another mechanic was supposed to help hold the socket on while tapping it with a mallet (to make sure it didn't stop turning prematurely).
A third person (more as needed) was used to keep the prop from turning, but that was back when "labor was cheap."
If you apply 80Lbs to a wrench @ 12" from the fastener, you get 80 Lb-Ft.
Of course that only works with a wrench that is parallel with the ground, as the fastener has to be for that to work.
Some of the old Radial aircraft manuals called for that sort of thing when changing a prop in the field, as an example.
It was a "hang x weight guy off the bar Y inches from the hub" sort of thing.
I used to have a manual for a C46 Curtis Commando that had nice illustrations showing how.
As I recall, another mechanic was supposed to help hold the socket on while tapping it with a mallet (to make sure it didn't stop turning prematurely).
A third person (more as needed) was used to keep the prop from turning, but that was back when "labor was cheap."
bushmechanic
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There is always the weight & measure method.
If you apply 80Lbs to a wrench @ 12" from the fastener, you get 80 Lb-Ft.
Of course that only works with a wrench that is parallel with the ground, as the fastener has to be for that to work.
Works from any angle with pulleys.
TractorJeff
Well-known member
Manual described changing CAT Tractor sprockets in the field as "Put 6 feet cheater pipe on Spanner. One man hangs on Cheater while other guy uses a 16lb Sledge hammering on cheater to tighten until a quarter turn is achieved!"
Hydraulic torque spec for same Sprocket is 20 tons.
Hydraulic torque spec for same Sprocket is 20 tons.
maxpower_hd
Well-known member
My machinist/machine mechanic father used to always say "tighten it until it breaks then back off 1/4 turn". I guess that's essentially the same as torque to yield.
MackMan
Well-known member
The instructor for my SAE "Threaded Fastener Technology" class a few years ago (I was at the time the "threaded fastener guy" at work) said in all the studies they'd done a highly skilled mechanic torquing until it "felt right" was more accurate from a bolt load standpoint than "proper torque spec".
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Snug. Tight. Very tight. From my 1870 born grandfather who worked the railroad.
I have 3 perfectly good, almost new, 35 yo torque wrenches. Bought new. I use the long one when I need a longer breaker bar or something to discourage interlopers. As an actual torque wrench I use them rarely.
I have 3 perfectly good, almost new, 35 yo torque wrenches. Bought new. I use the long one when I need a longer breaker bar or something to discourage interlopers. As an actual torque wrench I use them rarely.
Lassen Forge
Well-known member
Structural A-325 bolts (from when I worked on bridges) were "full compression initial tight" + how ever many degrees depending on the size of the bolt - usually 1/4 to 7/8 of a turn, dependent on size. To achieve this obscure "initial tight" (No one had a definite definition of what that was) we used a modified (for size) 1/2" Ingersoll rand impact gun and huge sockets.
You also had to check things like thickness of washers used (if any), whether the threads were dry or lubed, etc.
Used to have spud wrenches, massive forged steel things with a short stubby handle designed to throw up to a 10+' cheater bar on. And sometimes... we needed that cheater bar. Once they were torqued they were done - if they had to come off, they were scrap, and we were taught to cut the head end off with a power chisel or torch. I tried to unbolt one once rather than cut it - 3 guys on a bar couldn't budge it.
You also had to check things like thickness of washers used (if any), whether the threads were dry or lubed, etc.
Used to have spud wrenches, massive forged steel things with a short stubby handle designed to throw up to a 10+' cheater bar on. And sometimes... we needed that cheater bar. Once they were torqued they were done - if they had to come off, they were scrap, and we were taught to cut the head end off with a power chisel or torch. I tried to unbolt one once rather than cut it - 3 guys on a bar couldn't budge it.
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LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
They WERE built by Dodge, afterall...
The T engines didn't originally have an oil pump, either. Ford went bankrupt twice and didn't really find success until the T engines, rear axle and other major parts were redesigned and built by the Dodge brothers...
Tommy
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finn
Well-known member
He either learned that from the Easter Bunny or read it on the internet.