What came first? The torque wrench or the bolt torque?

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jiminbartow
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What came first? The torque wrench or the bolt torque?

Post by jiminbartow » Wed Dec 07, 2022 12:37 pm

I read that the patent for the first torque wrench was applied for in 1931 by J.H. Sharp. Were bolt torque values assigned to the various bolt sizes before, or after the torque wrench came about? Jim Patrick

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Re: What came first? The torque wrench or the bolt torque?

Post by TRDxB2 » Wed Dec 07, 2022 2:33 pm

Some internet searching
This link gives an extensive history & explanation of the various types of torque wrenches https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torque_wrench

This one just gives a bit of information about the Conrad Bahr - so the torque wrench and values were invented together by Bahr but before the torque wrench patented by Sharp https://hausoftools.com/blogs/news/hist ... rque-tools
A man named Conrad Bahr was working for the New York City water department and apparently found that most if, if not all, of the fasteners were either too tight or too loose and therefore caused leaks and probably other issues. How he figured out and designed the first torque wrench is a mystery, but it’s actually relatively easy to make one yourself, though with the effort involved you might as well just buy one. But if you can Macguyver your own together, you do get some great Red Green or Tim Taylor “manliness points” which no one can assign a real value to. However he did it, Bahr’s invention made it so that every worker was able to tighten the fasteners to the same exact setting every time no matter how strong or how weak they were. This level of consistency made it possible for better design of future projects and probably helped shape the modern world more than we can imagine.

Although the torque wrench was invented in 1918, it didn’t really spread until about 1938 when Chrysler developed the beam torque wrench and licensed it to a small company to manufacture. This company, now Sturtevant Richmont, was incorporated in 1940 and made huge innovations in the torque industry. The beam type torque wrench was perfected and was the primary torque wrench for a while, however as we have seen with many other tools like the hammer and screwdriver, the torque wrench has undergone many changes and many variations have come from that.
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Re: What came first? The torque wrench or the bolt torque?

Post by Mark Gregush » Wed Dec 07, 2022 10:30 pm

Bolt torque did.
I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas! :shock:

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Re: What came first? The torque wrench or the bolt torque?

Post by jab35 » Thu Dec 08, 2022 11:16 am

Interesting question, I agree with Mark. The same Wiki wrench article includes this note: 'The beam type torque wrench was developed in between late 1920s and early 1930s by Walter Percy Chrysler for the Chrysler Corporation and a company known as Micromatic Hone.' Seems to me the beam type torque wrench with essentially no moving parts would have predated all others on the evolutionary scale of development. fwiw jb

And Frank's excellent post and imbedded links pretty much covers the wrench side of the question.
Last edited by jab35 on Thu Dec 08, 2022 11:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: What came first? The torque wrench or the bolt torque?

Post by Mark Gregush » Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:13 am

To follow up a little. Generally, the length of the wrench when pulled will give you a given torque value when not going overboard pulling on it. For example, the head bolt/spark plug wrench when pulled by average person is used, it would give you about 45-50 foot pounds of torque. The mathematical wizards had that figured out a long time ago. Applied force and distance from center rotation thing.
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Re: What came first? The torque wrench or the bolt torque?

Post by Scott_Conger » Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:31 am

to augment what Mark posted above: for example, differential bolt wrenches are about 6" long...a TT rear axle nut wrench is about 20" long. Now figure how much "oomph" an exhausted 150# man still put into it at the end of a 100+ times day, and you have the amount of "tight" everything got.

Every FORD wrench had a specific length and that length was not by accident.

It's my understanding that early employees didn't last terribly long on the assembly line and were constantly being replaced. I'll bet that repetitive motion injuries were rampant (along with loss of eyes, fingers, and occasionally life).
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Re: What came first? The torque wrench or the bolt torque?

Post by TXGOAT2 » Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:45 am

A lot of the assembly line guys came off subsistence farms where they worked as hard or harder for a good deal less pay. I suspect a good many of them left West Virginia coal mines and Michigan lumber camps for the horrors of Mr. Ford's factories. Prior to 1913, a young man could make good money at Ford, and he owned his wages, if he had the good sense to stay out of debt and other entanglements. Many jobs in that day were tougher; working conditions were often tougher, and many jobs were even more boring and certainly more dangerous. You could spend your working life on a broom or heaving freight at Ford, or you could move up the ladder to better work at higher pay.


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Re: What came first? The torque wrench or the bolt torque?

Post by jab35 » Fri Dec 09, 2022 1:06 pm

A little follow on to Scott's post, not terribly off topic, I hope. The Ford Highland Park power plant is described in detail in the weekly Journal 'Power', 1914 Vol 40 pg 325+. It's online but tedious to search, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id= ... 1up&seq=14 is the index to "Ford" articles for one volume, something like 1000 pages for each year.

Among the 'technical' articles on many aspects of power generation and use are reports of boiler explosions, Corliss type stationary steam engine runaways and flywheel disintegration incidents, ammonia refrigeration explosions and electrical plant accidents, some with followup court cases. Virtually none of the accident survivors nor their families received any sort of company paid or court ordered compensation. In one example a worker was electrocuted while repairing an engine in a power station, but since he had posted a handwritten warning sign near the live buss bar where he was fried the court ruled it was his fault he died, he clearly knew better than to move his body in that direction. The Ford powerplant article is much more positive. jb

ps to Scott's post below, the incident I mentioned was not at Ford, but there were plenty of opportunities for injury there as well.
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Re: What came first? The torque wrench or the bolt torque?

Post by Scott_Conger » Fri Dec 09, 2022 1:27 pm

If any younger folks wonder what knife-switches are, or how that FORD employee got electrocuted, have a look here, especially at 4:24 into the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnO222giZzc
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Re: What came first? The torque wrench or the bolt torque?

Post by TRDxB2 » Fri Dec 09, 2022 2:34 pm

Did some more searching, reading and learning.
All depends what one is thinking the words "bolt torque" is in reference to.
If "bolt torque" is in reference to specific values in a chart for various bolt sizes then those values could be established without a torque wrench by applying the formula Γ=r×F. Where r is the distance from the pivot point to the point where force is applied and the force F being applied straight down. However then there needs to be a determination when enough is enough before breaking.
-
If "bolted torque" is in reference to "bolted joint" then its understanding would lead to establishing torque values for specific bolts.
Here is the theory and makes good reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolted_joint
"Typically, a bolt is tensioned (preloaded) by the application of a torque to either the bolt head or the nut. The applied torque causes the bolt to "climb" the thread causing a tensioning of the bolt and an equivalent compression in the components being fastened by the bolt. The preload developed in a bolt is due to the applied torque and is a function of the bolt diameter, the geometry of the threads, and the coefficients of friction that exist in the threads and under the torqued bolt head or nut. The stiffness of the components clamped by the bolt has no relation to the preload that is developed by the torque....."
--
Trying to be back in the day....
If "bolted torque" was fully understood would it have been necessary to use castellated nuts?
Its more likely that tool bends & length were designed for access to bolts & nuts in order to get the nut in position for insertion of a cotter pin.
--
Possible Conclusion?
"bolted torque" had to have been first to lead to "bolt torque" and a need to measure it with a tool, torque wrench.
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Re: What came first? The torque wrench or the bolt torque?

Post by Mark Gregush » Fri Dec 09, 2022 7:54 pm

"If "bolted torque" was fully understood would it have been necessary to use castellated nuts?" Lock washers were not in common usage, so yes, castellated nuts were needed.
I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas! :shock:

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Re: What came first? The torque wrench or the bolt torque?

Post by TXGOAT2 » Fri Dec 09, 2022 8:19 pm

Even properly torqued fasteners can loosen in normal service, especially in new assemblies. Some late model new vehicle literature advises retorquing certain items, such as dual wheel lug fasteners. Early car owner manuals often advised owners to perform an inspection and general "tightening up" of the vehicle frome time to time. As dealer networks developed, manuals would often encourage new owners to take their new vehicles back to the dealer for a free inspection and going over. Cotter pins and safety wire won't prevent fasteners coming loose, but they will limit how loose they can get.

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