torque wrench on chipper blades

[carlos]

do people use them when doing up chipper blades? 

if so which ones are easy to read, its on a jensen 540 and i think the torque is 310nm.

thanks carl

[PeteB]

I use them, always have! We got a gadget that also tests them for correctness too! I've got a handful of different units from a couple of lbft upto serious grunt!

[Spruced]

Torque wrenches and rated torque settings are not very accurate unless used in clean, rust free and lubricated environments and usually with new bolts. The inside of a chipper is pretty much the opposite of all these.

 

Achieving 300nm should be easy enough with a half inch drive socket and normal sized handle. Just tighten as much as you can.

 

 

[PeteB]

I always thought that 310nm was a stretch with fine threaded bolts and no Nyloc!

[rapalaman]

I have the 3/4 inch Teng Tools for the bolts on my 530 and same in 1/2 inch for everything else - easier than some others to read 👍

[carlos]

cool thanks for the replies, ive always just used a longish extension handle and done them up pretty much as tight as i can , but i havent really a clue what torque they actually are, that said we have never had a problem.

on a side note the bolts used to tighten without the use of an allen key socket holding the bolt head but lately they just seem to slip, is this something to do with the serrated washers??.

il probably get the boss to get a torque wrench, at least it will be vaguely the right torque then.

thanks carl

[gdh]

I use one on our heizohack after having problems with loose blades. It's 1020nm so we also have a 5 to 1 multiplier which is useful. If I pull on a 4ft bar it's basically identical but it's nice to be sure.

 

You could borrow a torque wrench to check once. They're pretty expensive to buy.

Edited August 27, 2023 by gdh

[AHPP]

More expensive to not buy. 

[Brushcutter]

I have a teng one  which was about 140 quid it goes up to 350nm I think. It's one where you unlock it and turn it to the correct torque. If you spend more you can get digital read outs and beeps rather than clicks.

 

Cheaper than a blade through the side of the chipper. I've always used one I even get the thing calibrated which is 40 quid. 

[Dan Maynard]

I always use one on my own chipper, but there's a risk of overtightening my little blades.

 

I think you'd be especially mad not to use on one someone else's chipper, imagine the conversation which starts with "So, did you do the bolts up properly?"