pat360•1d ago

Old School vs New School on tube rolling: which way works better?

Last month at the refinery in Baton Rouge, I had this HEATED debate with a guy who's been doing this for 30 years. He swears by the old method of using a torque wrench to set his tube expander exactly to spec every time. I told him I've been using the electronic torque control on my new Rigid model for the past 6 months, and it's been dead nuts accurate. But then he showed me a job from last week where his manual feel caught a dodgy tube that my fancy gadget probably would have missed. Now I'm second-guessing myself. Which side do you guys fall on for precision tube rolling, the old feel or the new tech?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan_torres341d ago

Hey, I still go by feel, but that might just be my excuse for not reading the manual!

barbaragarcia1d ago

There is something to be said for trusting your hands and eyes over a piece of paper, especially if you have been doing something long enough. Following the manual step by step can take all the joy out of figuring things out for yourself. At the same time, I have gotten myself into plenty of trouble by ignoring the instructions. Usually ends up with me watching a YouTube video at 11pm trying to undo my own work.