2seaoat wrote:I could NEVER get the torque wrench to "click."
Next time get a piece of steel pipe about three to four feet long and keep the same behind the seat in your truck. Slip the pipe over the end of the torque wrench and use leverage on the extension.....you can do something that I can do with the use of leverage.....if that was part of the job....and you were having problems.....I guarantee some of the men were having problems, but they probably were not going to tell you about the pipe extension. Many torque wrenches have a hole where you can drill a hole in your pipe and slip a pin through the pipe and catch the wrench which allows you to go wild women all over that leveraged torque wrench.
Excellent advice. My dad taught me the same years ago. The torque wrench was four foot long, and we would have put an extension on it had that been safe, but it wasn't, and safety is always first. The nuts we were torquing were above my head, so the method utilized then (they now use Hytorc machines) was to fit the wrench onto the head, grab hold above your head, then... well, not jump, exactly, but quickly lift your feet off the ground and utilize your body weight to get the wrench to click. There were 162 bolt, nut washer sets on each bearing face, and three bearings (486 all tolled)... it was a helluva workout for ANY man on that job. No one, not even the big guys could get the wrench to click without utilizing the above method. So, as you can imagine (if I have explained sufficiently so that you can imagine it in your mind), a pipe extension was out of the question in that particular situation, as we were working off the ground, overhead, at an angle which would have put anyone in danger of breaking a tailbone or something else when the angle of the torque wrench suddenly changed. Plus, that work station was right in front of the Safety Office, which had a huge picture window looking out onto the shop floor, our work station in particular. Ha ha.
I
did use pipe-extenders on a few of the other torque wrenches that I could actually DO, but they pushed my limit, and I used them FOR safety reasons, as insurance against injuring myself. Some of the guys with histories of back and shoulder injuries used them as well, so it was not a big deal at all... not that anyone cared or thought less of me. The guys on my team were the ones who asked me to consider using them. Aside from looking out for me in those ways (which came up very infrequently), they treated me exactly like one of the guys. After a long, rough day's work, I got a high-five and a pat on the ass just like everyone else did, and it was in no way sexual. I would not have had it any other way.
And you are correct, there were men of smaller stature... small, wiry guys, and one overweight fellow (that I know of at least), who also had difficulties for a while with that particular torque operation, but they were simply stronger and bigger than me at the end of the day, and were able to achieve success after some practice and coaching from the team. It really ate at me for a long time that I was not able to do that job function, but I finally remembered what I have always told other people:
We are all smart in different ways: academically, physically, mechanically, you name it. We are all different, and no one person is better than another because of their particular area of expertise. At least I tried, and I gave it everything I had.
I do keep pipe extenders in my pickup and always have, because I just don't have that much weight to utilize for leverage, particularly in small spaces. Great advice, SO. All girls should.
I also keep a big pipe extender in my pickup for my round-head shovel (I suppose it would work for my flat-head as well, but I have never had occasion to use it, and don't imagine I will). I spend as much time as I can on backroads, and often find myself in squirrley spots in the dirt, mud and snow (carry 4 tire chains and lots of burlap bags year-round as well). Years ago my partner and I in the forest Service witnessed so many of our colleagues have to call on the radio for either us (because they knew we were completely prepared and geared-up), a
dozer, and once after the DOZER even got stuck (how embarrassing would THAT be?? He was a rookie operator and he WAS in a REAL bad spot in the snow), a HELICOPTER come get them BOTH out, we defined that you are DELAYED if you become temporarily delayed and are able to get your own ass out without any outside assistance whatsoever. You are STUCK if you have to seek any outside assistance to get out.
Knock on wood, I have never been stuck. I have, however, been delayed on several occasions. But that's just part of the fun. And it is why I carry the pipe extender for my shovel... leverage for getting rid of rocks, log rounds and other bogies.
Good post, SO. Thank you, sir!
P.S. In review prior to posting I just caught what you said about utilizing a pin w/the pipe extender... Do you mean to say that once you position the torque wrench at the correct position inside the pipe extender that you can pin it securely into that position? Providing, of course, that that particular torque wrench has the hole of which you speak?
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