Overheard a fresh A&P say torque wrenches are just a suggestion

Was helping a buddy with an annual inspection at KMDH last Saturday and this new mechanic straight up said torque specs are just guidelines for lazy people. I almost dropped my coffee. Told him about the time I snapped a cylinder base stud on a Continental O-470 because I got casual with the torque wrench. Cost the shop $2,800 and a week of downtime. Has anyone else run into new guys thinking they can just feel the torque instead of actually using the tool?

3 comments

3 Comments

rubys8013d ago

...and I told that kid exactly this - had the same thing happen with a fresh IA back at KMAN a few years ago. Showed him a torque wrench calibration report that was off by 15% and asked if he'd trust his hands to feel that difference. He shut up real quick after we checked three fasteners and proved him wrong. The trick for me was pulling out the actual service manual and making him read the torque spec out loud, then watch me set the wrench. It clicked for him when he saw how much force 100 inch pounds actually takes - way more than his "feeling" guessed. Some people just need that concrete example before they get it.

norab2112d ago

Laughing my ass off at this whole thread, especially @rubys80's story about making the kid read the torque spec out loud. Bet that IA felt like a moron when he saw how wrong his "feel" was. I swear some of these fresh A&Ps think torque wrenches are just for show, like they're afraid the tool will bite em. Guess they haven't had the pleasure of snapping a bolt off in a $10k part yet.

lopez.jana12d ago

The part about the calibration report being off by 15% really got me! That's a crazy big margin to just rely on feel for. I bet that IA never thought about how sloppy a wrench can be before that moment. It's wild how a simple demo like reading the spec out loud can completely change someone's mind about something so basic. Wish more mechanics would get that kind of wakeup call before they mess up a multi-thousand dollar part.