My lead mechanic told me to stop using so much torque on panel screws and it saved my wrist

I used to crank down every screw on landing gear panels until my lead pulled me aside last month and said the spec is barely hand tight plus a quarter turn. He showed me how over-torquing can crack the composite panels on the 737s we work on at the hangar in Phoenix. Now I use a torque screwdriver set to 12 inch-pounds and my hand doesn't ache after a 10 hour shift. Has anyone else dealt with wrist pain from over-tightening fasteners?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_hugo2d ago

12 inch-pounds felt wrong at first but you're dead right about the wrist pain.

jamieh762d ago

Yeah, "12 inch-pounds felt wrong at first" is exactly how I felt too. I actually watched a video from a mechanic who builds race cars and he swears by using two torque wrenches - one for inch-pounds and one for foot-pounds - because the numbers get so small on inch-pound stuff you start second-guessing yourself. He said most people strip out small fasteners because they think the setting is wrong and keep cranking. I've got a tiny torque wrench that goes down to 10 inch-pounds and it's saved me a ton of hassle with fragile computer parts and small engine work. The wrist pain thing is real though, those inch-pound clicks feel barely noticeable compared to the big wrenches.