Torque wrench for cutter

[coolhl7]

I believe my 5 ft medium duty Bush hog needs 500 ft/lbs for the blade bolts.
any suggestion of brand/type/size of torque wrench?

 

[RobS]

Five foot pipe with a 100 pound pull on the end (by your own estimate). You may need 3/4 inch tools to survive this. I wouldn't invest in a torque wrench just for these bolts. Is this installing or removing? Removing may take even more.

 

[coolhl7]

I just bought the cutter but I imagine that eventually I will need to make sure the bolts are fastened correctly and may need to remove the blades to sharpen/inspect etc. sounds like an ordeal already(LOL).

 

[RobS]

I had to pull my blade to replace the seal last year. It does make you get creative. I used a chain to keep the blade from turning and the breaker bar/pipe combo to get enough torque. It's not hard but you do need to use your head to avoid injury. Little bolts lead to skinned knuckles, I hate to think what these big things can bring if something slips.

 

[Bird]

There are so many brands of torque wrenches that it's hard to recommend a particular one. And one that will go that high is going to be expensive. You can use a smaller one with a torque multiplier, but you're still talking about more money than I'd want to spend, even if you go with one from Sears. Personally, I had an air impact wrench (1/2" drive) that was rated for 425 ft./lbs. and it removed the bolts easily enough, so I figured it would also get them as tight as they needed to be when I put them back on.

 

[m7040]

Use of an air wrench is the easy way to do this. Get one that will do 500 ftlbs

 

[RalphVa]

I bought an air wrench from TSC that takes only 5.5 SCFM air flow that goes up to 550 ft lb; think it's called "Farmhand" or some such. It loosened one of the bolts from my LX4 after a year's use. For the other bolt, I used a 6' pipe put on the end of my 3/4" drive.

Look up on the internet for torque wrenches or torque multipliers. Think you'll find them quite expensive.

I've thought about maybe putting a notch near the end of my piece of pipe and attached one of those old pull scales that go up to at least 100 lb.

When I put my blades back on, JD says to recheck them after 10 hours use. I did, but after another years' use, I took them off again. They weren't that tight. They came off quite easily with my 6' pipe "cheater". Bought new nuts from JD to put the blades back on but haven't done so yet. The type of nuts on it are the ones that go on tight from the beginning. Once removed, they tend to loosen up.

Still haven't solved my torque measurement problem either. Generally, I think you can kinda tell how hard you're pushing. A good push is close to 100#; I'd think. A big guy could bust the bolts by pushing too hard. I'm not that big. I tightened them tight enough such that they didn't seem to want to move any more. That wasn't enough before.

I'll be checking back herein to see if someone else gives you a better method. I'm interested.

 

[Highbeam]

I have had mine off a couple of times for replacement and sharpening. They need to be goon-n-tite. I retighten after the first days use in the field with a 2 foot breaker bar on the socket as tight as I can go with my 150 lbs. I know that I won't shear the bolt and so long as the nuts aren't so loose that the blade bolts wobble around or fall off then all is fine.

I only have to retighten once and then I check again after the next days use they stay tight after that. I reuse the old nuts and bolts.

You don't need a 500 lb torque wrench, just give her ****.

 

[Bird]

I retighten after the first days use in the field

You really should check things, but like a lot of folks, I haven't always done it. The first time I checked the bolts on my 4' Bush Hog rotary cutter was when I took them off with the impact wrench to sharpen them. They were tight, but the impact wrench did the job with no problem.

Then I got a 5' Howse rotary cutter and never checked the nuts and bolts until I decided to remove them. I found that they were a different size than the Bush Hog and I didn't have a socket that would fit; didn't have an open end or box end of the right size either. I thought I'd have to wait until I got the right sized wrench, but decided to give it a try anyway with a big adjustable wrench I had that would open wide enough. So I looked around for a piece of pipe big enough to use for a cheater and didn't have that either. Oh well, I decided I'd try it anyway. Wow, they turned so easily that I could have used a pair of pliers. Fortunately, they had not come off earlier.

 

[schmism]

your unlikely to find a torque wrench that goes that high.

instead you need a mulitiplyer that you put a standard torque wrench into.

something like this

it has a planitary gear set that mulitplys the input torque (decreases revolution speed)

 

[kossetx]

I would recomend a hft 3/4" drive socket set for 40.00. Use the breakerbar and a cheater to tighten the bolt as tight as you can go. Your not really concerned with over torque on bolts the size of these. I've always been under the impression that a lot of times a torque wrench is used to measure max tightness so as to not overtighten.

To me, impact wreches and old bolts have too many variables to count on them alone for torque.

Just my .02 MP

 

[em14]

your unlikely to find a torque wrench that goes that high.

instead you need a mulitiplyer that you put a standard torque wrench into.

something like this

it has a planitary gear set that mulitplys the input torque (decreases revolution speed)

schmism,
Do you own this mutliplier? What make, price and where did you get it? I'm in need as I'm getting tired of the 4 ft pipe!
Leo