Torque Wrenches

[hawkeyefxr]

I kind of agree in principle as if you an engineer you get a 'feel' as to how tight a bolt it getting. BUT, someone new to bikes may well really swing on a 6mm bolt going into aluminium. They are not animals they just have not learnt to feel.

Another thing to consider is the amount of times a bolt has been removed when going into aluminium, the bolts will never wear out but the aluminium will.

[fastbob]

What it comes down to is did you get a Meccano set or an Xbox for Christmas when you were ten ?

[Pbassred]

More threads have been damaged and bolts stretched using torque wrenches than not using them.

Have you told the Aviation industry? they need to know! Seriously - you cannot damage a thread using the correct torque settings if you use the wrench correctly. Most wrenches these days are break-back. Once they click, that's it. Torque setting are calculated my the manufacturer to standards depending on thread size and material. There is usually loads of leeway too. Where I work we have a 10% tolerance. If it strips its because it was cross threaded, dirty going in, or corroded.

I bought a small one for my bicycle that goes up to 25Nm with a 1/4 drive and I have just bought a 3/8 on that is 8 - 110NM. My rear wheel nut is 80NM so its all covered. With a 10% tolerance it doesn't need to be super accurate either.

You just need to resist the temptation to give it a little more "for luck"