Originally Posted by oboeguy
Heh.
I don't even know what a torque wrench (or wench!) looks like and I know that link was a silly. What is a torque wrench, anyway? Something that measure how hard you've screwed-on (err, torqued) on a part? How do you know "how much" is needed anyway?
Torque refersto the amount of force you are applying to the wrench. It'll vary depending on the length of the lever as well. A torque wrench is a fixed length and has some type (there are several) of means to indicate how much force you're applying in a standardized fashion. A 1/4 turn before breaking a bolt might be 1/40 of a turn on a 20" breaker versus a 2" stubby. With particularly soft or brittle materials (C.F. AL MG) this becomes quite important. On a cast iron water pump it probably won't matter a damn.