5 Most Common Impact Wrench Mistakes You Must Avoid
Last Updated on November 13, 2024
Have you ever tried loosening a large, rusty bolt or nut? If yes, then chances are that you’d probably know how unnerving and painful the task can get! Tight spaces and uncomfortable angles often leave you with no room to apply the required torque easily. Just in case you somehow manage to do it without exhausting yourself out, you’d still have wasted a lot of your precious time in the process!
If you are already well-acquainted with the wonders of an impact wrench, you are turning your bolts and nuts the smart way. For those of you who don’t know what an impact wrench is, they are pneumatic devices that are just adept at providing the required torque in the best possible manner. And, the good news is that there is a gamut of them available online. They range from air ratchet wrenches, pistol impact wrenches and straight impact wrenches to cordless impact wrenches!
List of Most Common Impact Wrench Mistakes You Must Avoid
However, whatever the impact wrench you decide to use, you must use them the right way in order not to damage the equipment you are assembling. Here are some of the most common mistakes which you can avoid when using an impact wrench.
#1) Over Tightening Fixings
This is the main issue for unpractised users who think little of the torque that an impact wrench is capable of delivering. In a bid to guarantee that the nut or screw is satisfactorily fixed, users usually end up stretching or stripping the wrench threads.
A lot of times components are over-tightened and secured beyond the manufacturers’ listed specifications. Even though this might work for certain components having a broader room for torque adjustments; for certain other components with not as much of a room for exceeding torque, this might do more harm than good.
All in all, the best way to prevent over-tightening is to use an impact wrench only specific purposes. This includes removing or loosening a fitting out; tightening your fasteners, make use of a torque wrench.
#2) Damaging Threads
If you use your impact wrench to tighten a nut or bolt that is cross-threaded, you’d end up damaging the threads further – irreparably so. The best way around avoiding this damage would be to manually thread the bolt or not in the required manner prior to using the impact wrench.
#3) Using mismatched sockets
One thing you must remember is that ordinary sockets are incompatible with impact wrenches. Use only dedicated impact wrench sockets with your wenches to ensure there are no slips and that the cyclic loads are tackled well.
#4) Purchasing the Wrong Wrench Size
Keep in mind the size of the fasteners and fittings you’d be working with. Doing so will definitely help you buy the right size. The torque rating of your impact wrench should be greater than the torque required by an application.
#5) Purchasing the Wrong Wrench Kind
There are different types of impact wrenches that you can choose from. Air impact wrenches have the best power to weight ratio; electric impact wrenches work best for domestic repair works et al.
If you haven’t already bought yourself an impact wrench, buy only from recognized brands. Some names include Yato, KOBE, Bosch, FACOM, and Ingco to name a few.
