Originally Posted by
ScottCommutes
Also, turning tools are a particular length for a reason - the manufacturer is trying to help the less skilled achieve good torque.
I was going to mention British Standard Whitworth as an example of an unnecessary wrench size and length/thread dimensions/bolt diameter/torque specification. (Working in a Raleigh dealership in the mid-'70's, I thought that Raleigh forcing their dealers to use these weird Whitworth parts and tools when there were already perfectly good metric and SAE parts and tools was ridiculous.)
Then I looked up
British Standard Whitworth on Wikipedia and got schooled in a hurry. Whitworth was there first.