For almost 100 years, Wright has been forging tools and has a commitment to professional grade tools. With being experts in the field, we decided to answer some of the top questions our customers have when it comes to wrenches.
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1. If you borrow your buddy’s wrench and it breaks, is this proof that you did something wrong?
Answer: No. The wrench may already have had a small crack as a result of being overloaded in the past. It’s possible the wrench was badly worn or deformed from heavy use. Wrenches that are badly worn are weaker than new wrenches. It’s always a good idea to carefully inspect a wrench before using it—even your own.
2. What is the difference between a shear bolt and a tension bolt? Why is this important?
Answer: A tension bolt is a bolt that is loaded in such a way that it tends to stretch the fastener. A shear bolt is loaded with the load perpendicular to the fastener. A shear bolt only needs to be tightened enough so it does not work loose, or it may be secured with a cotter pin. A tension bolt must be tightened to the correct amount, neither too much nor too little, or it is liable to break. Some joints have a combination of perpendicular and lengthwise loading. These should always be considered tension bolts and carefully tightened.
3. Is it better to over-tighten or under-tighten a bolted joint?
Answer: Both over-tightening and under-tightening of bolts is bad. Most bolts have additional load put on them after they have been put in use. If they have been over-tightened, this additional load may cause the bolt to break. If it has been under-tightened, the addition of a varying load may be enough to cause a slight gap in the joint assembly. At this point in time, there is no load on the bolt. The tension oscillates from no load to substantially higher than the tightening load. This high percentage of cyclic loading can cause a “fatigue” failure after a number of cycles, which can be as few as two or three or as much as a million. The answer to the question is that bolts should be tightened to the specified tension or torque, no more and no less.
4. If I can’t turn a bolt by hand, would it be better to use a cheater bar, a slugging wrench, or an impact gun?
Answer: An impact gun is the safest and best way of removing a very tight bolt. Not only is it much safer than a cheater bar, but the pulses produced by an impact gun are more effective than a steady pull. If an impact gun or power to run a gun is not available, a slugging wrench is a good choice. They are particularly useful for large fasteners.
5. When do you need to know the grade of a fastener?
Answer: There is no need to know the grade of a fastener to remove it. If you need to replace it, you should replace it with a fastener of the same or higher grade. If you are installing it, it is best to have an engineered recommendation. If that is not available, you can look into a handbook for a recommendation. To do this, you need to know the grade of the bolt to avoid either under-tightening or over-tightening.
6. Is a worn wrench as strong as a new wrench?
Answer: A worn wrench is never as strong as a new wrench. A worn wrench on a worn fastener is even more likely to break. Also, a worn wrench is more likely to damage the corners of a fastener. When this happens, it may not be possible to remove the fastener with a brand new wrench.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of wrench manufacturer. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.
7. What fasteners should never be reused?
Answer: Fasteners in high-strength applications should never be reused even if they look to be in good shape. Fasteners not only get worn but accumulate internal microscopic damage as a result of cyclic fatigue. Therefore, fasteners used in transportation which could cause loss of life in their failure should never be reused.
When using a wrench there’s a million questions that can pop up but with this guide, Wright can help!
There are currently over a dozen companies involved in marketing hydraulic torque wrenches in the United States. Many of these companies claim to be the “oldest, or best” provider of hydraulic wrenches. Buyers need to be aware that not all hydraulic wrench companies are quality driven or focused on their individual needs and applications.
The two standards you should be looking for are ISO (Manufacture standard), and ISO (Calibration standard). Both of these are international standards the require a strict adherences to having an independently audited quality system in place. This ensures the buyer that they are dealing with a quality driven organization that is committed to producing a quality product. It’s important that the hydraulic torque wrench manufacture is accredited to both of these standards.
Companies that invest in their own manufacturing facility have true control over all of their processes. Manufacturing companies focus on building quality products and working with their customers closely. Outsourced companies more sales driven and provide flashy, gimmicky products, not focused on the customer.
We are in an international economy but realizing that you have the full support of a 100% US-based company should give the buyer extra assurance if any questions or issues arise.
Many companies today are conglomerates that are not laser focused on a few, specific products, rather they try to do everything for everyone. The term: “Jack of all Trades, Master of None” applies here. Find a company that and specializes in hydraulic torque wrenches, and knows how to build and design them.
Look at the company / individual who is representing the hydraulic wrench manufacture. Do they have experience? Are they a specialty representative or distributer who understands hydraulic torque wrench operation and applications? If you are dealing with a tool catalogue or general industrial distributer, most likely they will not be able to offer strong support.
Can they deliver product and parts quickly? Usually this ties into a few points as
stated above: a company being focused and products made in the US, and manufacturing in house, verses outsourced product.
Some hydraulic torque wrench companies don’t want their products to be repaired, rather they want to upsell the customer to new products. Parts drawings and breakdowns should be easily accessible along with obtaining the needed parts.
The bottom line is that you should ask a lot of questions when considering purchasing a hydraulic wrench system. Hydraulic torque wrenches are typically capital tool investments, so buying a quality wrench from a quality organization will pay off.
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