Does WHERE you hold a Torque Wrench matter?

[@bobfognozzle]

AHA! Excellent!…you are competing on a par with ‚engineering explained‘.. thanks 🤓👍

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Bob Fognozzle makes sense now 😁😎

[@roybatty2030]

Torque does not always result in rotation, of course. Many static torques exist for example, in the timbers of my house. Thankfully, there is no rotation!

[@tombacheller132]

Another top notch video, clear simple explanations. I would like to add a reminder that bolt torques are called out assuming clean dry thread conditions. Any lubricant on the threads can lead to over torquing. Also any time that the manual calls out replacing bolts it is usually because the bolt tension is close to the material yield point at the specified torque value. Therefore reusing a bolt may lead to a bolt failure.

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Tom Bacheller yes, great additional points. Thanks! 🍻

[@heronimousbrapson863]

John Cadogan, the Australian car expert, has a detailed video on this topic.

[@dkarate7]

Another great video as always. Thank you. I love learning and it's something I've never thought about.

[@HelpMeDIY]

+dkarate7 thanks so much! 🍻

[@charlieguenther5490]

To accurately tension a threaded fastener you must control both torque and friction. I've found that the friction factor is far more ambiguous and difficult to predict. Even cheap torque wrenches are very accurate to about 5% at the worst! A corroded and unlubricated fastener can require more than twice the torque to achieve proper tension. So why do I not see more videos about achieving proper tension rather than torque?

[@HelpMeDIY]

+@charlieguenther5490 very interesting. Hadn’t heard that before.

[@tenaciousjeebs]

Wouldn’t it work regardless of hand placement as long as you’re behind the bolt that connects the two pieces?

[@PlatypusPerspective]

It will _work_ in as much as it will deliver torque, but the measurement of the _amount_ of torque at the click becomes wrong if the force is applied away from the handgrip, and becomes progressively more wrong the further you get away from the correct position. It's a consequence of the click mechanism getting its input from a different length lever to the fastener drive. Other types of wrench where the measuring and the output use the same lever length (moment arm) can have any hand placement, it doesn't make a difference to them.

[@rodfreess6019]

So close, you explain that this style pivots outside of the axis of the bolt, and you even point to the pivot, but the diagram fails to include a pivot point. That distance really is simple math, if they'd only put the pivot at 1" or 2".

[@Swegen7]

For most applications, whether you grab in the center of the grabby area or the end, the difference will be negligible. Calibration is a different story because you're actually making an adjustment to the spring itself. Yes, there will be slight differences in flex and angle. But as long as you are south of that clutch, everything is peachy. The question becomes whether or not grabbing at 11 inches or 12 inches will translate into any significant difference. Are we torquing a 6 mil bolt on the space shuttle or are we torquing a lawn mower blade? (I almost wrote twerking). Please note I am not a physicist and am mostly talking out of my ass, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express. Meaning, don't let my speaking in absolutes make you think this is not actually a question.

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Lefty 2 😂 I hear you

[@MrJowee]

Since sin(ø) will never be >1, and force applied is adjustable, it doesn’t matter. If force were constant, sure, but force is only applied until the wrench clicks. If I’m pushing at an angle that results in less force, I push harder (applying more force). Flexion and the length of the wrench are all that matters. The length of a typical clicker wrench changes as it’s adjusted.

[@HelpMeDIY]

+@MrJowee watch it one more time

[@MrJowee]

I did. Im still right.

[@PlatypusPerspective]

@@MrJowee It's worth reconsidering. Everyone who uses and understands this design of torque wrench is (or should be) aware that the torque delivered when the wrench clicks will be different if you move the point of force application. A quick way to see this is to move the force loading point up to the location of the pivot of the outer tube (sadly not explicitly shown in the video). If it didn't matter where force is applied, the wrench would still click when sufficient force was applied here to deliver the torque setting. The fact that this isn't so alerts us to the fact that it does matter where the force is applied.

[@andyeverett1957]

For the type you explained I believe you are wrong. Simple test of your ideas, torque your cars lug nuts to their torque specs holding where "you are supposed to". Now get a pipe that will slip over your torque wench that will give you "more" leverage (careful not to damage your torque wrench). I think you will find that the lug nuts will not tighten any further and the torque wrench will click with no further tightening? I will do the test as soon as I can figure out what is wrong with my click type torque wrench. Thanks bringing up this important topic.

[@byugrad1024]

I am not going to believe a word anyone says on this topic until they do actual measurements with the wrench, using itself vs. an impartial observer (i.e. a calibrated torque nut device). I will keep my pre-conceived notions to myself, because in my head I know I am correct until someone proves me wrong.

[@PlatypusPerspective]

What is it that you expect to change? Nothing that _anyone_ says or thinks makes any difference to the torque wrenches, they just keep doing what the laws of physics says they will do. Various demonstrations already exist showing measurements of torque output, you can do the tests yourself using a number of available methods, I do a basic one using angle-of-the-nut here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5Cbp4N5h9GElbc It's important to remember that torque is rotational force applied over a distance, and only that - the sole purpose of a torque wrench is to report that in whatever unit is required (Nm etc). A test to identify whether a torque wrench has Length Dependent characteristics or not needs only to be repeatable. If moving the hand position always changes the torque using one wrench, and using a different wrench under the same conditions moving the hand position always delivers the same torque, the first wrench is Length Dependent, the second is not.

[@branchoffice1327]

well done

[@HelpMeDIY]

+BranchOffice thanks 🍻

[@petethewrist]

😂 got to 7.05. into you video and as with all other vudeos you fail to see that on e a torque is set on the tool. Right up untill the point where the clutch snaps over and one stop pushing on the tool. Right upmto that point the tool is basicaly no different than the first drawing you show. And as the force is aplied anywher along the outer handle the onlt thing that changes is the amount of force required. After the click you stop and the nut gets the torque that the tool was set for.

[@HelpMeDIY]

+pepersorte I can’t understand physics for you, I can only try to present it.

[@petethewrist]

@@HelpMeDIY first you need to understand science math and leverage yourself. But you don't so don't even try to teach other. You just don't know what you don't know. Lol

[@manxman8008]

negligable Nm change from flex

[@mattjones7767]

had a debate with my auto technician about this and he told me all torque wrenches were length dependent lying shithead!! there are some torque wrenches that are non-length dependent and they are known as cam-over torque wrenches so you best believe i will be purchasing one of those for school and using the most inconsistent hand positioning possible just to piss him off! This video is absolutely correct for most torque wrenches though

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Matt Jones some people are just too proud to admit they don’t know something and be willing to learn 🤷‍♂️

[@andrewscott8892]

Your drawing looks like a SK 3/4"Dr ratchet lol

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Andrew Scott I had to Google that, but you’re not wrong 😆