Stripped Final Drive Drain Threads

[Ray]

I ... keep thinking about a Park Tool wrench for the small stuff.

...and you have the bicycles to work on. 

My buddies with the money for carbon posts and thin, easily crushable alloy parts swear by small torque wrenches - are you one of those guys? (If you are, you'll be the first one I know from Iowa who is not racing.)

In the end, it's always kind of fun to occasionally check to see how close the recommended torque settings are to the amount of torque I apply by feel and the visual image of what i want the bolt to do. Can't say that there has ever been much difference - well with the exception of stems. 

The first big American cycling coach - Eddy B. - came from Poland and raced at a time when money was tight. He always advocated leaving the stem a little loose, so that in a crash, the bars would twist on the steering axis and not bend and demand replacement. As a guy who never had much money, I followed his advice.

OK - not much to do with an oil plug, but definitely a plug to trust our feel for small steel bolts more than we trust the torque wrenches.

[Boxerboy55]

Of course, with small fasteners an “uncalibrated wrist” can have the same result. I’d rather get a good small torque wrench if a torque is specified.

Hence the importance of developing a “feel” for using tools on smaller fasteners, in the absence of the Holy Grail known as “Torque Wrench”.

[Lee]

Of course, with small fasteners an “uncalibrated wrist” can have the same result. I’d rather get a good small torque wrench if a torque is specified.

Hence the importance of developing a “feel” for using tools on smaller fasteners, in the absence of the Holy Grail known as “Torque Wrench”.

Having a tool of proper length to give the correct about of leverage helps.
Long tool for big torque. Short tool for small torque numbers.

[Grumpy Goat]

Hence the importance of developing a “feel” for using tools on smaller fasteners, in the absence of the Holy Grail known as “Torque Wrench”.

This too is true. I sometimes use my calibrated wrist and also calibrated fingers, on tiny wrenches with tiny fasteners. Didn't help with one of my Speed Bleeders though ... but I will accept blame for that one ...