Rant: I was the guy who over-tightened everything for 5 years

I built PCs for a local shop in Austin for half a decade and always cranked down motherboard screws until they wouldnt budge. Thought that was the right way to get a solid connection. Then a customer brought back a board that had micro cracks around every mounting hole. The shop owner had me look at the damaged board under a magnifier and I saw the cracks were from too much pressure. That was the moment it clicked. Now I snug them up just enough and stop. Has anyone else dealt with a habit that turned out to be doing more harm than good?

3 comments

3 Comments

richard_young8016d ago

Broke a spark plug socket cranking it down on my buddy's work van back in 2012.

marybutler16d agoTop Commenter

Oh man, I feel that. Did the same thing on a Ford van back in '09. The trick is to use a wobble extension instead of forcing the socket straight on. Those deepwells can snap real easy if the angle is off even a little. I switched to swivel sockets after that and never looked back. Might save your buddy from buying another socket down the road.

wendy_henderson2116d ago

Oh man, swivel sockets are a total game changer for sure!