Well, Scotty û

Now youÆve gone and gotten my curiosity engaged û not because I really want to know what formula is correct for front-end extensions on a torque wrench (I donÆt really care to know some things until I have a specific purpose) û but because I wondered how a guy on a bicycle could make a statement that multiple internet site references indicating how to do the calculations could be wrong and how he could be so certain his self-derived formula was right. But recognizing that Orville and Wilbur Wright were also bicycle folks û and pretty smart ones û I did want to be fair about it and withhold judgment until I could find out exactly where truth might lie.

So, I found a website from ôTorque Specialties Division, AKO, Inc.ö. They are in the business of building very expensive computerized torque wrench calibration machines as well as torque multiplier test and calibration systems, so I thought they might be a reliable source of factual information:

http://www.akotorque.com

There is indeed some useful information on their site. As an example, hereÆs the formula they put forth as the method for determining torque settings with adapter extensions. It appears to be another variation in nomenclature of the same formula found elsewhere on the internet:

TT = TA x IT / L

TT = Torque setting of wrench
TA = Torque exerted at extension
IA = Extension length (inches) measured from center of socket to center of drive square
IT = Wrench length (inches) measured from the middle of the handle to the center of the tang
L = IT + IA (for straight in-line extensions)

http://www.akotorque.com/usefull.htm

continued in next post