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Author Topic: Easy Tomcat Assembly?  (Read 7512 times)

Jonathan Kok

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Re: Easy Tomcat Assembly?
« Reply #10 on: December 31, 2013, 04:25:21 PM »

Tim you're spot on..

I do like the advice of having the nuts and bolts separated..we had ours together and that in itself added more time than what was necessary.  Going forward, I'll bring more than enough ratchets and sockets to go around.  I will certainly implement the assembly line approach..one guy finger tightens, the other guy torques down, and the other does a final check.  Also, better planning on the time needed will help make load-in time scheduling more realistic.
I'd say the 'planning' part is key.  All of our truss is 12" box bolt; our most frequent repeat show uses 240' of it on 10-12 points. Grid gets put together while the riggers are getting the motors up, and with the right quantity of tools and hands, it's usually ready to cable by the time the motors are hung. No power tools involved ;)

As far as power tools go...a 5/8" Grade 8 bolt has a torque spec of 240 ft-lbs. The only way you'll hit that by hand is with a 3' wrench. A cordless impact wrench might hit 200, if you hammer at it a while. Air guns, depends on the psi and gun, but typically 300-400 for the sort you'd be looking at. But if you were to go that way, you could invest in a torque stick at, say, 160 ft-lbs that'll prevent you from over-torque. Just thinking out loud.
« Last Edit: December 31, 2013, 04:29:47 PM by Jonathan Kok »
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Thomas Bishop

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Re: Easy Tomcat Assembly?
« Reply #11 on: January 13, 2014, 04:25:34 PM »

I keep my bolts/washers/nuts together as a set, I just don't turn the nut very far onto the bolt. 1-2 turns will do.  I've found this to be faster than having to dig out the separate pieces.  It also helps the untrained hand understand what components should be used.  I can grab four bolts (with washers and nut), throw them at a truss juncture, then repeat down the line.  Someone comes behind me and gets them hand tight, someone behind him with a pair of socket wrenches, then I go back and check bolts for tightness.  That's really about as good as it gets, in my opinion.
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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Easy Tomcat Assembly?
« Reply #11 on: January 13, 2014, 04:25:34 PM »


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