The lead mechanic at my old hangar told me torque wrenches are just a suggestion

He said he'd been torquing bolts by feel for 20 years and never had a failure. That was until a wheel bearing seized on a Cessna 172 last July and the FAA came knocking. Has anyone else dealt with old-timers who refuse to follow the manual?

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas2911mo ago

I had a guy like that at the place I used to work, swore up and down his calibrated elbow was good enough. What finally got through to him wasn't the manual or the boss yelling, it was watching me pull out a digital torque adapter and show him his "by feel" torque was off by almost 40 foot-pounds on a critical engine mount bolt. I didn't call him out, I just asked him to double-check my work as a favor, and he saw the numbers for himself. After that he started using the wrench on anything going back together, especially after I pointed out how cheap a used Snap-on beam type is compared to a new hub and tire assembly.

ramirez.sage1mo ago

Honestly, showing him the numbers did it for me too, no argument needed.