Big boy toys

[Knightmare]

Today I had to take apart a big, heavy steel pipe, about 6" in diameter. There were 8 nuts and bolts holding it together. They were covered with paint and rust.
I broke out my pipe wrenches and went to work. 1 hour and 45 minutes later, I finally got the second bolt off. Yes.. 105 minutes for 2 bolts.

So I brought out the impact gun. Hahahahahaha!! That'll show those bolts who's the boss.

Guess what? That only slightly loosened them. Dammit. And it's hot, too! I'm covered in sweat, my muscles hurt from torquing on the wrenches, and I'm so over this.

I take a break and come back with....

The Giant Acetylene Torch of Death and Doom! Mwah ha hah aha hahahahahah!!!!!
Burn, bitches!

I fired that baby up and burned those damn bolts off from that pipe. Oh, steel bolts with their melty goodness. So ooey gooey. Your glow is brighter than the sun. You burn bright. But my torch is hotter. How did that feel, steel bolts? What was it like to feel 5400° F of hot, metal-melting death?

Okay, a bit over the top. But those bolts gave me a problem. My supervisor said that it should take me an hour, tops, to get those bolts off.
I wasn't going to spend 5 hours on a very hot and muggy day to take off 8 bolts.

[Soulstealer]

Have you been inhaling melty steel fumes?

[iradney]

I want an acetylene torch toooooooo! Only problem is, then my pyromaniac tendencies will come to the fore....

You had fun

[protege]

Damn...and I thought removing the bolts from the MG's rear bumper brackets was bad. As being in the cold garage wasn't bad enough, I had to deal with the added bonus of seized bolts...all the while lying under a dead car. After several hours of applying penetrating oil, the damn things still wouldn't come loose. I couldn't use heat, because I didn't want to set myself on fire--spilled fuel will do that! Only way around it was to use a big wrench and a hammer. Hitting the wrench served to "shock" the nuts free, and eventually loosened it enough.

[lordlundar]

The Giant Acetylene Torch of Death and Doom! Mwah ha hah aha hahahahahah!!!!!
Burn, bitches!

I fired that baby up and burned those damn bolts off from that pipe. Oh, steel bolts with their melty goodness. So ooey gooey. Your glow is brighter than the sun. You burn bright. But my torch is hotter. How did that feel, steel bolts? What was it like to feel 5400° F of hot, metal-melting death?

Umm, you know that you could simply heat them to orange glow and the impact wrench would be much more effective, right?

[Knightmare]

Umm, you know that you could simply heat them to orange glow and the impact wrench would be much more effective, right?

Why would I want to do that?? I got the torch out, might as well use it.
An impact wrench is fun, but fire is funner.



Yes, I said "funner." Deal with it.

[lordlundar]

kinda figured it was a pyro fantasy of yours.

[Emrld]

why does hearing Knightmare talk about real manual labor - having to use physical power, then power tools, then torch get me all hot and bothered????? (sorry if that was TMI - but I am in kind of a puddle state here)

[Knightmare]

why does hearing Knightmare talk about real manual labor - having to use physical power, then power tools, then torch get me all hot and bothered????? (sorry if that was TMI - but I am in kind of a puddle state here)

Well, if you're of the female persuasion, I have plenty of stories to tell you about.

I got hot and bothered yesterday.

It was hot outside while I had to dig a trench to find a water main, and I really got bothered because whomever did the landscaping decided to use giant rocks, which are a pain-in-the-ass to move with a shovel.

[Emrld]

I am very much of the female variety . . .born that way and everything (long story for another day)

[Spiffy McMoron]

I broke out my pipe wrenches and went to work. 1 hour and 45 minutes later, I finally got the second bolt off. Yes.. 105 minutes for 2 bolts.

Reminds me of a story from work.

At work we have about 12 guys on two different shifts whose sole job is to fix used cars for resale. Some of these are the mecchiest of mechanics, some couldn't find their ass with both hands and a flashlight.

This happened to one of the latter mechanics. He got in a 2005 Dodge Magnum R/T. Red, 18" chrome wheels, and yeah...it had a Hemi.

He's trying to take off the lug nuts to remove the tires so he can check the brakes. One comes off fine...two come off fine...three come off fine...four come off fine...five...hey, this last one is stuck!

He spends three hours trying to get this last lug nut off the car. He uses a torque wrench, heat, cold, and enough penetrating fluid to lubricate a Slip'n'Slide the size of a football field. Finally he gets a cutting torch and cuts away the wheel from the car, ruining the lug nut, wheel stud, and a $450 wheel in the process...

His boss was not amused.

[JustADude]

He's trying to take off the lug nuts to remove the tires so he can check the brakes. One comes off fine...two come off fine...three come off fine...four come off fine...five...hey, this last one is stuck!


(...a $450 wheel)

Think the 5th lug was a wheel-lock?

[Spiffy McMoron]

Think the 5th lug was a wheel-lock?

Nope. I'd clued into the story when he asked for 5 new lug nuts--4 to replace the lock nuts and a fifth to replace the last one. We're pretty sure that when the owner of the car last got his tire rotated, that lug nut was put on cross-threaded, then tightened with an impact gun.

[JustADude]

Nope. I'd clued into the story when he asked for 5 new lug nuts--4 to replace the lock nuts and a fifth to replace the last one. We're pretty sure that when the owner of the car last got his tire rotated, that lug nut was put on cross-threaded, then tightened with an impact gun.

*shudder* Yeash... honestly, if he used all the above-listed things for 3 HOURS before resorting to cutting, I'd have to say that... yeah... it ain't coming off without a dose of

If the wheel absolutely, positively had to come off, he did it the only way that it would work I know of.