SRM Gearbox mainshaft nut and oil seal. Torque value?

[Butch (cb)]

Don't get the present facination with torqueing everything. What's the point - BSA didn't issue torque figures (at least not as far as I'm aware on older models) so it's all based on a guesswork anyway. Basically there's four settings: nipped up, tight, very tight and bloody tight.

I guess that for those of us who spent our formative years practising whilst we either stripped threads or parts just fell off along the wayside - 'just so' is now good enough.

When my daughter was doing her mechanics badge in the Scouts with me (we used her Mother's Bantam for the exercise), she asked me how hard to tighten up something, and I said something like - so it feels right. And I realised this was of course absolutely no help at all.

[RDfella]

I think some are missing the point - well, two points actually. Firstly, in the era machinery we're talking about, torque figures weren't supplied except for things like big ends - and then not in all cases - and so guessing a torque setting is no different to choosing how tight to do something 'by hand'. And secondly if one doesn't know how tight something should be then maybe working on old machinery is not for you?

[Triton Thrasher]

At the end of the day, there is no argument against torque wrenches and quoted figures.  Nobody had a torque wrench in the 1950s? So what!

I only use them on the cylinder head and the big ends, but others may use their clicky bar on the inner tube dust cap and the dipswitch, if they like.

[KeithJ]

I think some are missing the point - well, two points actually. Firstly, in the era machinery we're talking about, torque figures weren't supplied except for things like big ends - and then not in all cases - and so guessing a torque setting is no different to choosing how tight to do something 'by hand'. And secondly if one doesn't know how tight something should be then maybe working on old machinery is not for you?

Doesn't everyone start not knowing how "tight" something should be?  I know when I left school all I had experience of tightening was on a push bike.  I learn from there.  Everyone has to start somewhere.  I guess the advantage today is if unsure of tightness,  standard torque values would be a good guide.  Just my ha'porth.