Finally caught my stupid mistake with safety wire pliers after 5 years

I was twisting the wire the wrong direction this whole time - always going clockwise when it should have been counter-clockwise on certain bolts. My lead mechanic pointed out the wire was loosening during a routine inspection, and now I feel like an idiot but at least I know better. Anyone else have a basic habit they had to unlearn way later than they should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

jesse9882d ago

Respectfully, I see it a little different. Safety wire direction depends on the bolt and the torque, not just a universal rule. Clockwise is correct for most right hand threaded bolts because you want the wire to pull tight as the bolt tries to loosen. If you were going counter clockwise on standard bolts, that actually sounds like the wire would loosen up with vibration. Your lead might be right if you're dealing with left hand threads or some oddball application, but for 90% of what we do, clockwise is the way to go. What kind of bolts were you working on that needed counter clockwise wire?

ivan402d agoMost Upvoted

Heard a similar story from a buddy who works on custom race bikes. He had to rewire a set of bolts for a specialty camshaft adjuster that used reverse threads. Made me think twice about assuming clockwise is always the right call, what's the weirdest thread direction you ever had to deal with?