An Alternate Way to Think About Tightening a Nut

[Trojan Horse]

Thanks Rick, now that is a interesting idea. Not sure where but I am sure I will use it.

It is interesting to break free a nut.

I wonder if you had a frozen bolt say 3/4" if you drilled and taped the bolt for a 3/8" rod if you could tension the bolt and break it free with tension.

Thanks again.

Ralph

Hi Ralphxyz,
That is possible, depending of course upon the strength of your 3/8" rod and how tight the 3/4" bolt has been torqued. If the 3/4" bolt has been torqued way past the capabilities of the 3/8" rod, then you would never be able to stretch the 3/4" bolt enough to be able to loosen it. However, if the 3/4" bolt has been torqued within the capabilities of the 3/8" rod, then it should work.

Hi Rick, I have both seen and learned about fastener stretch many times over the years. I worked for over 26 years in a diesel/natural gas-fired power plant. While we never had to contend with something like the pressure vessel described in your article, we did have to work with many large fasteners from 3 1/4" stud nuts and down. We used nut runners and torque multipliers to speed up working with the large fasteners. One of our torque multipliers was capable of over 3000 ft lbs of torque using just the input from a 3/8" drive ratchet or breaker bar and a 2" diameter "reactor" bar. The reactor bar was used to prevent the torque multiplier from spinning and was usually braced against the nearest, strongest support we had in the immediate area. Example: When torquing down the 3 1/4" engine base stud nuts, we braced the reactor bar against the engine block.
Thanks for the article, it was interesting.