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Thread: Shiny Things We Do Not Need?

  1. #1
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    Shiny Things We Do Not Need?

    Interesting item in my junk email file today from Garret-Wade.

    Geared Lug Nut Wrench.jpg

    A geared lug nut wrench? Okay, back in the day we would just weigh ourselves and then measure out a mark on the wrench handle to calculate the torque.

    One person to whom this was forwarded mentioned it might come in handy. It seems the folks at the tire service center never listen when he asks them to not tighten the lugs beyond a reasonable torque. He takes out a lug wrench after they install a tire and asks the manager or the worker to try to get it off. They then bring out their air wrenches and do a reset.

    Another friend mentioned that it may be a good tool to pry dollars out of a wallet.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  2. #2
    When I was about 8 years old us and some of my old man's co-workers were headed up the 12% grade to Cedar Breaks for a week long camping trip, towing a 19' Aljo with a '61 Ford Fairlane 500-- and the left rear tire went flat... Dad bent his and all his buddy's lug wrenches in half trying to get the lug nuts off that wheel. Some guy who came by with a big 4 way- that ended up bent- saved us. My mom, sitting in the nearly straight-up car with a migraine, would've traded MY right arm for one of those things...

    We own a 40' Diesel pusher motorhome, and I have one of those in giant size so I can change my own tires if need be. I needed to once, those things work...

    just sayin ...
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
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  3. #3
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    I just use a long 1/2" breaker bar to break them loose.

  4. #4
    Luxurious overkill, you would have to wear a silk "smoking jacket " while using it! But lots of big men have had
    a tough time with the lousy original equipment wrenches, even the good 4 corner cross bar wrenches might not be useable by most women.

  5. #5
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    I haven't changed a tire in 20 years (haven't had to). Back in the day, though when it happened fairly often, I took precautions. If the guy at the service station used an impact wrench to get it 'good and tight', I got out the tire iron and made him re-tighten the lug nuts with it to insure that I would be able to loosen them. I can remember bouncing up and down on a tire iron once or twice. It's a scary thing to do.

  6. #6
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    I use torque multipliers frequently.

    When you’re looking at a 3 inch nut on an antenna with the torque specification for it, you either need a torque multiplier or a trained gorilla.

    Now, if your garage doesn’t use a torque wrench for wheel nuts, you should tell them it’s not 1956.......Rod

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rod Sheridan View Post
    I use torque multipliers frequently.
    When you’re looking at a 3 inch nut on an antenna with the torque specification for it, you either need a torque multiplier or a trained gorilla.
    I once had a job where I inspected welds and bolts on construction sites. A typical torque was 250 ft lbs or so, not too hard with a long enough torque wrench. The tricky part for skinny lightweight me was applying enough force while standing and balancing on a narrow steel beam 7 stories up on open steel framing. For some irrational reason the beams on the outside of the frame were scarier than those in the middle even though a fall would have been identical. Something to multiply the torque would have been wonderful.

    JKJ

  8. #8
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    After breaking off all the bolts that hold a front end loader on a tractor, I decided I needed to get large enough torque wrenches. I looked at torque multipliers, and was getting ready to buy one when a Snap On 1" drive torque wrench showed up on ebay for less than the multiplier cost. I bought it, and after it came I realized that it needed a special handle. Checking Snap On prices showed that either a 3', or a 5' handle cost more than I had paid for the wrench.

    I contacted the seller, to find out if he had the handle that came with it. He didn't know much about them, having bought them at an estate auction, but had a whole set of the wrenches, including a larger wrench that went up to 1500 lb., and the five foot handle that went with that one. I checked the model numbers on the Snap On site, and the handles fit both wrenches.

    Long story shortened some, he gave me a price on the whole set, and it was less than a new 3' handle from Snap On. I knew shipping would be a lot, since these are Large tools. Checking shipping zipcodes, it turned out that he was close to where my Wife was going to a seminar that weekend, and he agreed to meet her halfway, which was about a 15 minute drive for each of them.

    Here's the first one I bought, and another picture of the handle to show the condition they are in. Railroad spike for size comparison, and deck boards are 5-1/2" wide. This one reads up to 800 ft. lbs.

    I doubt I'll ever have any use for the 1500 lb one. All have a recent enough Snap On calibration sticker that they should be plenty good enough for my use.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Roger Feeley View Post
    I haven't changed a tire in 20 years (haven't had to). Back in the day, though when it happened fairly often, I took precautions. If the guy at the service station used an impact wrench to get it 'good and tight', I got out the tire iron and made him re-tighten the lug nuts with it to insure that I would be able to loosen them. I can remember bouncing up and down on a tire iron once or twice. It's a scary thing to do.
    I made a dealership replace all the lug bolts on one of my cars because they over torqued all the lug bolts and one broke. Now I insist on hand torquing. They can remove them with an impact driver but the have to hand torque them.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

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  10. #10
    For what it's worth, the 'geared lug wrench' in the OP's post is designed to remove nuts & bolts, not as a torque wrench to tighten them.

    Here's mine, large, heavy, 58:1 gear ratio, can crank over 3400 ft pounds-
    lugw.jpg

    -this pic I lifted from a webpage..
    lug2.jpg

    The hard part is lifting the heavy bugger up to the lug nut! But once you're there an 8 year old can remove lug nuts from a semi
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  11. #11
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    I tried to get the lug nuts off my wife’s odyssey when spring came,
    and even with a 1/2” breaker bar AND a 4’ extension, all I did was break the socket.
    We went to Costco here and they changed the mounted fires back to mounted summers, and used a torque wrench.
    Now I can change my own again.
    Young enough to remember doing it;
    Old enough to wish I could do it again.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aaron Rosenthal View Post
    I tried to get the lug nuts off my wife’s odyssey when spring came,
    and even with a 1/2” breaker bar AND a 4’ extension, all I did was break the socket.
    We went to Costco here and they changed the mounted fires back to mounted summers, and used a torque wrench.
    Now I can change my own again.
    I am fortunate to have a good pneumatic impact wrench just like the tire places use so I can always get the lug nuts loose. After having the "pros" mount wheels, I like to loosen and torque them properly. BTW, lubricating the threads can help a lot, not only for removing the lug nuts but for torquing correctly and to minimize bonding by corrosion. Some people are afraid to lubricate machine threads in fear it may let them work loose but that's been proven to be a myth. I lubricate every metal-to metal threaded connection on vehicles, farm equipment, etc. (For lug nuts, I also lube the contact countersink to prevent galling and wear.)

    BTW, My favorite lube for both threads and most moving things is Zep 2000 - grease in an aerosol can. It's a liquid at first for coverage and penetration until the volatile solvent dissipates and it turns into a high viscosity grease. After my first experience with the stuff I buy it by the case. I use it almost everywhere that doesn't call for dry lube, anti-seize compound, or high temperature lube.

    Zep-2000.jpg

    JKJ

  13. #13
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    Harbor freight sells a little ratchet wrench but instead of a square drive stud it has a drill chuck gear key. Two sizes of chuck key one on each side. if I bought one I am sure it would be too big and too small.

  14. #14
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    I didn't know there were many places that didn't use torque wrenches on lug nuts these days. Also most places use the torque limiting extensions on their impact so they aren't over tightened in the initial tightening. Kevin that's unlike any torque multiplier I ever used. Looks to specialized to be much use on anything but a wheel. That's a pretty short leg on it. What would you need 3400 ft lbs on. 3/4" wheel studs usually are torqued at 450 ft lbs. The ones I have used were 4:1 or 20:1. Power assembly bolts on a locomotive engine get torqued to 2400 ft lbs. 250 ft pounds is about the max you can pull or set it to on a 1/2" torque wrench. Then you jump to a 3/4" drive and a handle about 4 feet long.

  15. I bet that somewhere there is a forum of car enthusiasts talking about how ridiculous $350+ Lie-Nielsen planes are...


    Ok, maybe not. But I have made my point.

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