Estimating 25 ft lbs of torque by hand?

Question

I need to tighten bolts at 25ftlbs of torque. I don't have a torque wrench, how can I estimate how right it needs to be manually?

? · Accepted Answer

I've done this many times

Measure the length of your wrench from the center of the nut/bolt to the middle of where your hand will be pulling on it. 

Convert that length dimension to feet.

divide your desired torque (25 ft-lb) by the wrench length in feet found above. This will give you the pounds of pull needed to achieve that torque with the wrench chosen.

find a weight equal to the pounds of pull needed. A plastic bucket with water in it works well. water is about 8.34 lb per gallon.

Get a feel for how hard you have to pull on the pail of water to lift it and apply that same force to the wrench. 

With a little discernment, will give you a fairly close approximation to the correct torque.

Estimating 25 ft lbs of torque by hand?

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