The day a foreman showed me why my torque spec was off by 40 foot-pounds

I was working on a bridge repair in Portland last October when the foreman pulled me aside and said my torque wrench reading was useless because I didn't account for the rust on the bolts. He made me check three different bolts with a wire brush first and the readings dropped by almost half. Has anyone else had a supervisor call them out on a basic step like that and realized they'd been skipping it for years?

3 comments

3 Comments

anthonynelson5d ago

Man I felt that one in my gut. I spent like three years torquing bolts on a grain silo and never once thought about rust or grime until a grizzled old millwright grabbed my wrench and just pointed at the threads with a look that could kill. He made me clean them and the torque dropped by 30 pounds and I felt about two inches tall. Now I scrub every bolt like it's a precious family heirloom and I still cringe thinking about how many I probably left loose. Have you caught yourself doing that with other steps too, or just the torque thing?

young.ryan5d ago

Gotta admit I used to think torque specs were just numbers you hit no matter what. I'd crank away on rusty bolts and pat myself on the back when the wrench clicked. Then a buddy showed me his torque readings on a dry clean bolt versus a rusty one and it was like 45 pounds difference. I felt stupid for not thinking about it sooner, especially on stuff like engine mounts or suspension parts where a loose bolt can really screw things up. Now I hit every thread with a wire brush first and it's a habit that's saved me from a few mess ups for sure.

ericcraig5d ago

Ha, funny you say that @anthonelynelson but I've honestly never bothered cleaning a rusty bolt and never had an issue, so your mileage may vary big time on whether scrubbing makes a practical difference.

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