"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
Just picked up my newly sharpened blades from the mower place. The repair
guys said "Make damn sure you tighten the bolts right. There's no way to
get the required 40 ft/lb torque with a 3/8" drive. With a breaker bar,
yes, but not with a 3/8 torque wrench." I have a 3/8" drive Matco torque
wrench with adjustments from 10 to 100 ft lbs. It's 18" long, bigger than
any breaker bar I have.

What's this repair guy talking about?

Maybe he was thinking of a ratchet instead of the breaker bar ? As you have
a torque wrench you know how much force 40 ft lbs is. About 30 pounds of
force on the end of the 18 inch wrench. That is almost nothing. I don't
worry too much about the tightning of the blades. I use some Felpro
antiseize to make them easier to get off next time. Got chastised over here
for doing it, but I have never had a blade to come off while running in 30
years.

One thing, 40 ft lb with your wrench is just as much as with a much larger
wrench.