Are They Interchangeable?
The short answer is no. They are each separate, distinct units of measure. However, as it turns out foot-pound and pound-foot can be converted between one another via complicated math, even though they measure two different things. First, we need to define what each unit is, and what it measures.
The “pound-foot” (lb-ft) is a unit of torque and a vector measurement that is created by one pound of force acting on a one foot lever. The formula for torque in the instance of tightening a fastener would be: Torque equals force times radius, or T=FR. When tightening a bolt, “R” would be the length of your wrench.
The “foot-pound” (or more accurately, “foot-pound-force”), on the other hand, is a measurement of work. Work is the measurement of force over a given distance. So one foot-pound-force (ft-lbf or just ft-lb) is the energy required to move a one pound object one foot of linear distance.
So while both measurements have a force component (pounds) and what is called a displacement component (feet), one is a scalar and one is a vector – which is a fancy way of saying they measure different things.