Weakling needs tips for torque

[divad]

I have never been able to loosen a properly torqued retainer with the 1st stage held in my hand.

Neither have I. I've just used bolts in the lp ports clamped in any old POS vice. And yes, a cheap clamp-on vice should prevent the first stage from moving in the same direction you are pushing or pulling.

 

[Rhone Man]

Learned a few things trawling through this thread - I had no idea that there was a school of thought that suggested not using a vice. I had always treated that as SOP.

Next thing someone is going to tell me that when you get really frustrated with your reg whilst servicing it, you shouldn't shout "B@stard, b@stard, b@stard!" whilst repeatedly hitting it with a hammer...

 

[herman]

An alternative to bolting the vise to the bench is to bolt it to a board - 2x4 at least, 2x6 is better- then you can use 2 large "C" clamps to clamp it to a table or other suitable stand.

 

[divad]

Next thing someone is going to tell me that when you get really frustrated with your reg whilst servicing it, you shouldn't shout "B@stard, b@stard, b@stard!" whilst repeatedly hitting it with a hammer...

The shouting only weakens your resolve with the hammer. Hammer on dude hammer on.

 

[Quero]

Small update: The Zung boot-method has worked for getting the next yoke nut off.
Yay!

Now for the torque wrench part to get it tightened up properly....

 

[Zung]

Congrats!
For the record, DA Aquamaster first described the procedure on this board. I only illustrated it with a pic.
For tightening, reverse the direction of the reg and the (torque) wrench.
Do you ever sleep?

 

[Quero]

Didn't sleep much last night, but generally I get a good 6-7 hours. Remember my time zone is GMT +7, so it's mid-afternoon for me now....

 

[Couv]

Quero,

I'm happy to see you didn't give up and call in help.

If you only have one reg to service, the boot method is probably all you'll need. But if you have several a reg box is probably the way to go. Next would be the vice with padding. I find that screwing a bolt into one of the ports makes a convenient way to use a vice to hold a reg while working on it; but do not torque or loosening a part with 20+ foot pounds as you could damage the port threads. The attached file shows the use of a regulator box and a cheater bar being used with a pin spanner.

One more small detail. Try to pull rather than push when using a torque wrench-you'll have more control right at the clicking point.

Good luck and keep us posted,

Couv

 

[Quero]

Extremely helpful, couv! Now I just have to get my hands on a reg box. As you can tell, I'm not hugely DIY, so there's no way I'm going to construct one. I'll have to buy it and get it shipped, I guess. SP has a multi-function tool with the right pin-spanner angle, but the handle is short. Still, I haven't had any trouble getting the regs open from that end. It's just the yoke nut that gives me such trouble. I did manage to torque one shut last night, though. Had to put the whole contraption on the floor and push all my weight onto the torque wrench, sort of like one-handed CPR. Still not easy.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

It's just the yoke nut that gives me such trouble. I did manage to torque one shut last night, though. Had to put the whole contraption on the floor and push all my weight onto the torque wrench, sort of like one-handed CPR. Still not easy.

When was the last time you calibrated your torque wrench?