My old foreman says tube rolling feel beats the torque wrench, and after 2 jobs I think he's right

Faith Schmidt · 2026-09-25T02:30:03.580282+00:00

I was helping my uncle roll tubes on a small firetube boiler in Gary, Indiana about a month ago, and he kept swatting my hand away from the torque wrench. He said he has rolled over 4,000 tubes in 30 years and can feel when a joint is right by how the roller bites, no numbers needed. I pushed back hard because our spec sheet lists an exact torque value and I figured that was the safe way to go. Then we hydro tested and two of my "by the book" joints seeped while all of his held dry at 150 psi. His point was that the wrench cant feel a tube that is slightly out of round or a hole that got burred, but your hands can. I am not saying toss the spec, but I am starting to think feel is a real skill and not just old guy talk. Any of you run into a job where the torque number let you down?

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My old foreman says tube rolling feel beats the torque wrench, and after 2 jobs I think he's right | Boilermakers - Pinecone Attack