On Sun, 02 Apr 2017 12:24:35 -0500, Tim Wescott
wrote:

On Sun, 02 Apr 2017 12:28:14 -0400, Phil Kangas wrote:

A friend stopped by and had a question about torquing a large nut left
hand thread to 185 ft lbs. His wrench only torques right hand threads.
It's a clicker type. I said I have one that'll do LH. He said no way,
there are no clickers available in LH. So I dug out mine and showed him
by clamping the square in the vice and sure enough it'll do LH. He'll
need an extension to do the job so just use his 'upside down' on the
extension.
That worked. Then the real question: can a clicker that only torques RH
be used to break loose a nut without damage to the wrench? Like auto lug
nuts for instance. If the nut is too tight, can the one way clicker be
used to break it loose then re-torque? These newer clickers ratchet both
ways LH and RH but only torque RH. My wrench is a 40+ year old Craftsman
clicker in good shape. I would never use mine to break a nut loose. What
do you think?
phil k.

(A) I always assumed that all torque wrenches worked both ways

I can't recall seeing one which didn't.


(B) I would never, ever, use a torque wrench to break a nut loose.

No, never.


(C) A flex handle is way cheaper than a torque wrench, as is a piece of
pipe to make it longer than whatever torque wrench you have.

Use a pipe only if you have a warranty on the wrench or ratchet.


Just my opinions, not a professional mechanic here.

I'll echo your sentiments, but I was trained as a mechanic.

--
The more you know, the less you need.
-- Aboriginal Saying