Torque Wrench & Locktite

[Daniel S.]

Hey Guys-
Another couple random questions... I did not foresee myself needing a torque wrench so early in my build (my second assembly the HS). I thought I could hold off till my wing kit arrives. I techically could hold off longer but I want to 100% complete an assembly and move on.. When I get down to the end of my build, I can simply put the sub assembies together & call it done. This is simply my philosophy, I dont like little tasks haning over my head, That just me...

Here are my two questions of the day...

1) What is the best "reasonbly priced" torque wrench calebrated in inch lbs for all of the AN bolts on the RV? I would like something low maintenance. i.e not haveing to get it recalibrated every 6 months etc.

2) Has anyone considered locktiting all of the air frame AN bolts with green locktite? I know it's not required, but I love myself some locktight... I prettymuch use it on everything from the car to my RC helicopers. It keeps everything set in place until heated up for removal. Of course I'm going to use torque seal markings and all. I don't recall any such thing being mentioned during my A&P apprenticeship like 15 years ago. Just note that I, not thinking about this for any nutplate screws or anything, just the internal AN nuts & bolts that are torqued.

Thanks

[krw5927]

Two drawbacks I can think of:
1) tough as he** to disassemble anything
2) at an annual (or any other) inspection, you could put a torque wrench on a nut to VERIFY torque, but your locktite'd nut won't turn even if it's under-torqued. A completely loose and unsafe bolt/nut/whatever would show up as perfectly tight.

[Daniel S.]

Good thought... I was kind of thinking the lines of set and forget it like a rotisserie oven.. just kidding! I definitely agree with you, once that stuff is on, I'd NEVER be tabletop get proper torque readings! Dumb thought .. Any thoughts on a good torque wrench that's reasonable & good quality?

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

I've used Craftsman torque wrenches from Sears... one for inch pounds (most often used) and one for foot pounds (engine). I don't use Loctite.

So far, nothing has fallen off.

[johnny stick]

I am not sure if locktite is approved for airplane stuff. The classic airplane locking method has been safety wire, lock nuts and locking hardware. These methods are tried and true and provide adequate inspection methods at annuals. Not sure how you would inspect if a locktite'd bolt was still secure. But this is why they call it experimental. Wonder what the loctite rep would say. Anyone?? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone? (Sorry couldn't resist.)

[Av8torTom]

I like my Park tools beam style wrench - about 35 bucks and never needs to be calibrated. The beam style wrench also lets you determine the drag of the nyloc nut which you add to your final torque value.

[gear1]

Tom is right on! Forget the expensive clicker torque wrenches; buy two craftsman (or any other quality brand) bending beam torque wrenches. First for big stuff get a 1/2" drive calibrated in foot-pounds, and for the small stiff a 3/8" drive calibrated in inch-pounds.
The clicker type is always an unknown quantity, and can fail right after calibration. You won't know until the bolt strips!

[krw5927]

No such thing as a dumb thought, especially when you ask for advice. That's what this forum is for: to run ideas by those with more experience. I have absorbed way more from this board than I'll ever be able to contribute.

For torque wrenches, I do like my Park TW-1 as well. One of these would serve you well all throughout your build. There are places, however, where clickers definitely help. I've sometimes found myself upside-down, in some other crazy orientation, or in a confined space when tightening a nut, and a clicker really helps because it has a ratcheting feature, is much more compact and doesn't need your eyes on the scale - you can feel when it clicks.

My personal preference is to reach for a beam style first, and if I can't get by with that, then go to a clicker.