Well done!

And important wisdom imparted!

*smiles... ty ty ty

that means a lot Walt...

V.

Been there, done that.
Have all the tools to do this.

Bunners

me too, but most of my good stuff has been now donated to the younger bucks I deemed worthy...

V.

Have also been there, done that, and got the T-shirt.

Next story: Extracting one that's broken. :D

Oh now that's truly a pain in the buttocks...

V.

Oh, hells yeah.

so: bolt is already the correct length. Strongly grips it in a vice with hardened jaws, straight for the thread, tightening, unscrew and admire the result
- Now it will definitely break if you can tighten it, even with a torque!
no need to thank :)

*laughs... in a way this is a true story, as it happened to me at my first job in Miami... the apprentice stripped a whole bunch off holes installing an exhaust manifold...

V.

Been there, did that n' have the t-shirt and a few scars to prove it. That was a fun read and ending was a great twist.

*smiles very big... you are ever the yardstick on my aviation stories...

V.

Well thank you. And you are welcome dear heart.

Aluminum doesn't torque well...

V.

What's a "bold?" (page 3, paragraph 2)

Like the rest of the commentators, I've got more than my share of twisted off bolts and stripped holes with the appropriate scars. Can you spell helicoil? I haven't done any major mechanical work about 30 years. As my neighbor is fond of saying, "There's professionals for that!" LOL

My buddy used to say, 'Pay the man.'

let's see... a bold is a very spicy fastener...

V.

Don't forget the Vibro-tite ;)

Oh yes... I still have a bottle in my tool box...

V.

Twist ending, but a nice little story.

ty ty ty and a hug...

V.

Wish I'd gotten my dad's tap and die set, and punch set for that matter, but they were stolen shortly before he died. Tools he'd used on dune buggies and hot rods in the 50's and 60's.

Very nice story :)

Thanks so much Leasara... yes, tools are one thing that hold their value no matter what...

V.

As a guy who learned a lot about machines from his dad, this speaks loudly to me. I never had the skill level he does, but I'd have been much worse off without the meager skills I gained from his guidance. A very nice tale, V. Thank you for this.

*greasemonkey hugs*

*laughs... my father couldn't hammer a nail. I think I got my blue collar ways from my Grandfather.

*greasemonkey hugs back...

V.

Another nice little story, it reminds me of when I had to make customized I-bolts for shipping out aircraft. Thankfully, I wasn’t getting knocks on the head...

*laughs... I didn't really get any of those either - just verbally...

V.

I was hoping someone would use that version of die.
This proves exactly why a good mechanic is worth their
weight in gold, so never upset them. Plus a little bit of
Q from James Bond, for good measure.

*smiles... thank you Serath...

V.

We changed or shortened the tracks of our tank a couple of times when I was in the military. Leopard 2's track shoes are held together by links, which are fastened with short bolts of large diameter. A torque wrench was one of the standard tools in the tool kit of the tank. That thing was huge. It didn't fit into the tool box, so the handle was attachable. When it was fully assembled, it was somewhere around a meter and a half long, and to achieve the torque needed for those big bolts, two guys had to pull or push on the wrench. We had a couple of guys who could do it alone, but one of them grew up on a livestock farm, and the other had worked as a mover in a moving company.

I dunno. Practical mechanical stuff always tickles my memories I have from my service. And now I feel depressed. Universal conscription is such bullshit. If you don't fit in, they just bully you. Took me many years of denial to realize how much bullshit it was. Now I hate Finnish Defence Forces. They destroyed whatever I had left of my failing self-confidence.

Sorry for going off on a tangent. It is a lovely story. My preferences are my own personal issue.

Vent with me if you wish Panzer... I know you have a love hate relationship with your military past. There are things I don't go back to in my own as well...

Thank you for the positive comment...

V.

My father was like that too, a mechanic-type and now and again he would always be a bit spring-loaded in that way as well.

This story was simply sublime, and one which I can see being quite timeless in terms of its message.

well thank you so very much Hania... I'm glad you liked it...

V.