Obvious Signs of an Amateur

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
I don't remember. I do remember they somehow pulled down on or near the top of the rail, not just an insert loaded from the bottom of the rail. I think they slid into a slot/pocket maybe. Is it something I could see from underneath if I take a bolt out?

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Depends on how well you can see up into the bolt hole.
 

fastone371

Certifiable
Silver Member
The next time any of you go have new tires installed, ask if the tire technician torques the lug nuts on the wheels!

Do table manufacturers actually list a torque value for rail bolts in the assembly instructions?? Without this figure a torque wrench does little good as far getting them adequately tight but making them evenly tight will not be a problem.

Most shops dont use torque wrenches on wheels. If they use anything they use a "torque stick" which is essentially a socket with a built on extension. The "extension" part comes in different diameters for different torque values.
I have been in auto repair (race cars too) business for over 30 years and the only thing I regularly use my $1500 worth of torque wrenches on are head bolts, intake bolts (plastic), and any engine rebuilding, other than that its just not necessary. I am not a hack and have fantastic job security in my field because I know just about any shop would hire me the same day if I left a previous job. I often get calls from other shops checking to see if I am interested in working for them, ........while I am already at work. :banghead::banghead::banghead:
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
Do table manufacturers actually list a torque value for rail bolts in the assembly instructions?? Without this figure a torque wrench does little good as far getting them adequately tight but making them evenly tight will not be a problem.

Most shops dont use torque wrenches on wheels. If they use anything they use a "torque stick" which is essentially a socket with a built on extension. The "extension" part comes in different diameters for different torque values.
I have been in auto repair (race cars too) business for over 30 years and the only thing I regularly use my $1500 worth of torque wrenches on are head bolts, intake bolts (plastic), and any engine rebuilding, other than that its just not necessary. I am not a hack and have fantastic job security in my field because I know just about any shop would hire me the same day if I left a previous job. I often get calls from other shops checking to see if I am interested in working for them, ........while I am already at work. :banghead::banghead::banghead:

Do lug nuts need to be torqued?

Lug nuts*must be*torqued*to the manufacturer's recommended values, and they must be re-torqued*to those values after driving approximately 50 to 100 miles on your new tires after the tire service. Both under and over tightening can be dangerous. ... To tighten*lug nuts*correctly, a torque wrench is required.Jun 19, 2018
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
Do table manufacturers actually list a torque value for rail bolts in the assembly instructions?? Without this figure a torque wrench does little good as far getting them adequately tight but making them evenly tight will not be a problem.

Most shops dont use torque wrenches on wheels. If they use anything they use a "torque stick" which is essentially a socket with a built on extension. The "extension" part comes in different diameters for different torque values.
I have been in auto repair (race cars too) business for over 30 years and the only thing I regularly use my $1500 worth of torque wrenches on are head bolts, intake bolts (plastic), and any engine rebuilding, other than that its just not necessary. I am not a hack and have fantastic job security in my field because I know just about any shop would hire me the same day if I left a previous job. I often get calls from other shops checking to see if I am interested in working for them, ........while I am already at work. :banghead::banghead::banghead:

How do brake rotors get warped?

Of the causes why*brake rotors*warp, having too much heat applied is the most common. This happens when too much friction is applied against the*brake. ... One common cause ofbrake*shudder caused by a*warped rotor*is over torqueing of the lug nuts. Lug nuts should be properly torqued using a torque wrench.Mar 29, 2017
 

fastone371

Certifiable
Silver Member
How do brake rotors get warped?

Of the causes why*brake rotors*warp, having too much heat applied is the most common. This happens when too much friction is applied against the*brake. ... One common cause ofbrake*shudder caused by a*warped rotor*is over torqueing of the lug nuts. Lug nuts should be properly torqued using a torque wrench.Mar 29, 2017

That is simply Chinese rotor manufacturers not wanting to stand behind their defective products. If the wheel torque really was causing the rotors to warp doesnt it make sense that it would also warp the bearing hub since the rotor is pinched between the wheel face and the bearing hub??? In over 35 years of doing this I have never had to replace a bearing hub due to warp. The real reason rotors warp is due to heat. Car manufacturers no longer build rotors with enough extra material to allow the rotors to be resurfaced at brake replacement time. It saves the manufacturer money and also reduces the weight of the car in 2 very important areas, unsprung and rotating weight.
 
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realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
That is simply Chinese rotor manufacturers not wanting to stand behind their defective products. If the wheel torque really was causing the rotors to warp doesnt it make sense that it would also warp the bearing hub since the rotor is pinched between the wheel face and the bearing hub??? In over 35 years of doing this I have never had to replace a bearing hub due to warp. The real reason rotors warp is due to heat. Car manufacturers no longer build rotors with enough extra material to allow the rotors to be resurfaced at brake replacement time. It saves the manufacturer money and also reduces the weight of the car in 2 very important areas, unsprung and rotating weight.

I've owned American cars built back in the 60's and newer, they didn't have Chinese made rotors on them, sorry, but I HAVE had warped rotors on my 84 Ford 1/2T cargo van. They were fine before I had new tires installed, and in less than a 100 miles started causing the steering wheel to shimmy when I applied the breaks, so....why the change after new tires were installed?? Replaced the rotors, steering wheel shimmy was gone!!
 

fastone371

Certifiable
Silver Member
I've owned American cars built back in the 60's and newer, they didn't have Chinese made rotors on them, sorry, but I HAVE had warped rotors on my 84 Ford 1/2T cargo van. They were fine before I had new tires installed, and in less than a 100 miles started causing the steering wheel to shimmy when I applied the breaks, so....why the change after new tires were installed?? Replaced the rotors, steering wheel shimmy was gone!!

That would be the first time in my 35 years in the industry that I have heard of lug nut torque causing a rotor to warp. More than likely being on a Ford 1/2 ton it was likely due to the brakes being notoriously undersized on those vehicles. We had a fleet of Ford 1/2 ton vans that we serviced for a bakery that rotated thru the shop for brakes constantly due to overheating the brakes, who would think bread weighs that much??
 

jtompilot

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just my take on torquing rail bolts. I'm also a mechanic (commercial aircraft) and I agree with you "fastone371". The torque wrench used for torquing rail bolts is more for the inexperienced, not for the good table mechanics. RKC, Geoff and Trent, just to name a few, don't really need a torque wrench for tightening table bolts, they do it all the time and can feel when it's right. Rail tightening is not critical torquing, like with aircraft engine mount bolts. This measurement in ft. lbs. is simply what Glenn's 35 or 40 years of experience says is a good amount of torque, and most importantly a safe amount that can be measured and applied periodically by anyone who has a decent torque wrench. Kudo's for the info Glenn! Everyone is now aware of the need to periodically retighten rail bolts, and most importantly, Trent and Geoff won't have to worry about being called out to a job because someone stripped out inserts, or even worse, snapped a slate.


Rex

I can’t believe an aircraft mechanic would write such crap. Of course many components can be tightened by feel but so many need a specific torque for bolt stretch in side an engine. How about those wheel bearings? I had to buy a 2 1/2 socket so I could torque ours. Do you torque spark plugs?

I was at Stiix Billiards playing on a red label table few months back and the balls seemed to come off one rail a little funny. I said to Jerry that a rail made a little noise and seemed to play a little funky. Jerry reached under the table and felt the bolts and said “well the bolts don’t feel loose”. Those must be some finely calibrated fingers:rolleyes: Anyways, the key is to know what bolts really need a specific torque and which ones don’t.

I believe rail bolt torque is important.
 

Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I can’t believe an aircraft mechanic would write such crap.

I'm sure he can defend himself, but i didn't quite take it the way you did. No doubt he is torquing fasteners (& spark plugs!) that are called out and normal practice. But there are an awful lot of bolts on an AC that might not be torqued to typical limits because doing so would affect the structure or such under it. One reason to have so many versions of anti-loosening nuts in so many places on AC, for one thing.

I'm pretty sure it was in one of the aviation rags (Light Plane Maintenance, maybe?) that reported a study (elsewhere) of skilled mechanics' sense of torque. Most were quite good at it and hit rather precise limits. Unfortunately, for good or bad, what most accurately sensed was the torque-to-yield regime, which is not always applicable, say in the other areas of an AC mentioned above.

Probably similar with pool tables. At max limit, you might sense when the slate gave or nut started to pull; bolt yield would be almost an order of magnitude higher. Then you would learn to never get that close again, and might under-strain the bolt for optimal table performance.

Torquing table bolts would never have occurred to me, but it makes perfect sense and seems the only prudent method for any well designed system. (one in which the components are uniform, repeat precisely in function, and are stressed to near the limit of one or more of the components)

Always worth having more info and another tool in the arsenals, metaphoric and practical. :)

smt
 
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Lawnboy77

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I can’t believe an aircraft mechanic would write such crap. Of course many components can be tightened by feel but so many need a specific torque for bolt stretch in side an engine. How about those wheel bearings? I had to buy a 2 1/2 socket so I could torque ours. Do you torque spark plugs?

I believe rail bolt torque is important.


Don't you think if the manufacturers wanted the techs to use torque wrenches on the rail bolts they would of specified a torque range? As for the hardware that I torque as an A/C mechanic it is strictly up to the manual, if the manufacturer's manual list a specific torque range it gets torqued with a certified torque wrench (Not a Harbor Freight product either).

I'm not faulting Glen for sharing his experience here, like I said before I think he is passing along good info for the guy who doesn't turn wrenches on table rails and may do damage to wooden rails by over tightening bolts if a measurement is not stated.
 
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Lawnboy77

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm sure he can defend himself, but i didn't quite take it the way you did. No doubt he is torquing fasteners (& spark plugs!) that are called out and normal practice. But there are an awful lot of bolts on an AC that might not be torqued to typical limits because doing so would affect the structure or such under it. One reason to have so many versions of anti-loosening nuts in so many places on AC, for one thing.

I'm pretty sure it was in one of the aviation rags (Light Plane Maintenance, maybe?) that reported a study (elsewhere) of skilled mechanics' sense of torque. Most were quite good at it and hit rather precise limits. Unfortunately, for good or bad, what most accurately sensed was the torque-to-yield regime, which is not always applicable, say in the other areas of an AC mentioned above.

Probably similar with pool tables. At max limit, you might sense when the slate gave or nut started to pull; bolt yield would be almost an order of magnitude higher. Then you would learn to never get that close again, and might under-strain the bolt for optimal table performance.

Torquing table bolts would never have occurred to me, but it makes perfect sense and seems the only prudent method for any well designed system. (one in which the components are uniform, repeat precisely in function, and are stressed to near the limit of one or more of the components)

Always worth having more info and another tool in the arsenals, metaphoric and practical. :)

smt

You are exactly right! There are many cases where torquing is not required, or intended by the manufacturer, and in that case there are good safety devices used to prevent loosening of the hardware. In many cases bolts are designed to be loaded in shear only, and putting a torque tension load will decrease the strength. The bottomline is...it is of the utmost importance to do exactly what the manufacturer states.
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
You are exactly right! There are many cases where torquing is not required, or intended by the manufacturer, and in that case there are good safety devices used to prevent loosening of the hardware. In many cases bolts are designed to be loaded in shear only, and putting a torque tension load will decrease the strength. The bottomline is...it is of the utmost importance to do exactly what the manufacturer states.

Well then, let's just call ALL pool table manufacturers stupid because.not one.calls for the rails bolts to be torqued, but flip side of that coin, they also don't specify how to install the cloth on their pool tables either, AND there's no factory instructions on how to level the slates!!

So does that mean its NOT a table mechanics fault if they strip or break off the rail bolts because they're using an impact driver drill?
 

jtompilot

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Don't you think if the manufacturers wanted the techs to use torque wrenches on the rail bolts they would of specified a torque range? As for the hardware that I torque as an A/C mechanic it is strictly up to the manual, if the manufacturer's manual list a specific torque range it gets torqued with a certified torque wrench (Not a Harbor Freight product either).

I'm not faulting Glen for sharing his experience here, like I said before I think he is passing along good info for the guy who doesn't turn wrenches on table rails and may do damage to wooden rails by over tightening bolts if a measurement is not stated.

Sorry, I might have been over the top a bit with a “I don’t need rail bolts torqued” attitude.
 
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