Weakling needs tips for torque

[gcarter]

I guess I'll throw out my improvised method for dealing with the yoke nut.

The boot method should work great, but I can't use it since I don't have a lick of carpet in my house. Instead I use a very large (24" maybe?) adjustable wrench with about 4 layers of old T-shirt for padding. Wrap the reg body in the cloth and then put it in the wrench jaws. Sitting down with the wrench flat in your lap the jaws should be clamping the body from the bottom end with the turret facing away from the jaws and yoke facing up. Squeeze the jaws together from the outside while tightening the adjuster. This should hold the reg body good and tight without being tight enough to damage the finish. If you are trying to break the nut loose place the adjustable wrench handle on your left side, and pull the breaker bar/ratchet handle toward you which should also be pointing to the left. To tighten the yoke nut the procedure is the same except everything is on your right. It helps if you hold the jaws and reg in your free hand to help steady the pivot point.

I've used this on MK5's and 10's.

Seriously, if you aren't using a vise or box you should use a strap wrench. There would never be any concern about damaging the finish and they are dirt cheap.

[Quero]

Wow, Collonge Bellerive! I can understand you miss it: it's a high class neighbourhood for celebrities such as Lord Byron, the Aga Khan and other oil chek's. Me I live in a quiet suburb called Carouge.

I obviously didn't meet Lord Byron, but I know where the Aga Khan's house is. I did love turning on the faucet in the kitchen sink and having Evian-type water pour out of it! Carouge is a sweet area, too, though. I used to go down to Bout du Monde for my kid's football tournaments sometimes (he played for Chenois in the youth travel team). Well, enough OT nostalgia, I guess.

[fjpatrum]

Preferably out of oak or other hard wood. Soft woods like pine are not well suited for the job. Old pallets are often times made of oak so they can be a source of otherwise expensive oak boards.

Just for reference, old pallets in Thailand generally aren't made of oak... but what they are made of should do the trick nicely.

[Quero]

Hey there everybody--just thought I'd give you an update. I can now get nut bolts off! I use the floor, put my knee on the first stage handle and loosen the nut with a socket wrench--no vise or box or anything! It's working great. Next, I've found out what I was doing ineffectively with the torque wrench. I need to keep it sideways (parallel to my body rather than at a right angle) in order to get enough oomph behind it. Now I can make it click on the first try. I've managed to service all my regs but one.... my latest challenge is that my second-hand ultrasonic machine stopped working while I was cleaning the parts for the last first stage. So I guess my vise fund is going to a new machine tomorrow

Thanks again to all who contributed to the thread. I enjoyed it greatly and learned a ton!

[Zung]

No need to rob a bank for an ultrasonic cleaner; I've got one of these cheapies for $30 and it's been working pretty good for a couple of years. The only catch is you need to flip some parts because it's a bit shallow.

See a short report here.

[Quero]

Yeah, I have to wait until I travel somewhere where I can get a machine cheaper. The retail price of the ones available here is over $800 USD, and while I have a colleague selling a used/rebuilt one, even he is asking $550 for it. Ouch! Instead, I just let the parts soak for a while in the acid bath and used a soft brush to clean them up. It worked fine. Obviously, with a lot of regs to service it would be time consuming to let them all soak, but for just this last one, it was okay. Now I've got some time to find a machine at a price I like and get it back here.

[SC_Hoaty]

Ultrasonic Cleaner - Save on Ultrasonic Cleaners at HFT

Maybe you can have NetDoc ship it to you. It is around $30 US

[Quero]

That's a nice thought, but I can't plug that one in here--it would fry within a couple of minutes due to voltage and cycle differences.

[Zung]

Or try it the lazy way and have them deliver to your door for a small premium:
Codyson CD-7810A Ultrasonic Cleaner Timer Jewelry Dental Watch DVD VCD 5 Cycles | eBay
This one may even take the whole reg without flipping:
New Ultrasonic Cleaner for Dental Jewellery Glass Cleaning 220V | eBay
It all depends on how tense the customs situation in Thailand is.
Another option is to ask a customer to bring you one.

[Quero]

Thanks for the links--they're exactly what I need. I'll figure something out. I've got a little time now until the next cycle of reg servicing.