Why we torque every cam lock by hand

Our cam locks are spec'd at 14 inch-pounds. Here's why that number matters, and why I still torque every one by hand instead of running them through a production line.

What the cam lock actually does

The cam lock's job is to grip the lower rod without crushing it. Too loose and the rod rotates under load (you lose coil alignment mid-swing). Too tight and you deform the carbon fiber, which — over hundreds of open/close cycles — causes the rod to develop flat spots that eventually leak.

Why 14 in-lb specifically

I pulled this number out of several hundred builds. At 12 in-lb the rod can slip under heavy coil load (18" coils, especially). At 16 in-lb the nylon cam starts deforming enough that the next user-adjustment feels mushy. 14 in-lb hits the sweet spot: zero slip, full cam engagement, no material fatigue.

Why by hand

A production line could hit 14 in-lb with a torque driver — it's not an inhuman number. But a torque driver doesn't tell you when a rod has a micro-flaw, when the threads feel off, when the ferrule needs a different amount of pressure than the spec for a specific build variation.

I torque by hand because my hand is a better sensor than the tool. If something feels wrong, I set it aside and open another rod. Every shaft that ships has passed through a build where I'd notice the difference between a clean torque and a compensating torque.

That's the provenance premium. If you don't care, buy CarbonPro. If you want to know the human who checked your shaft — you bought from me.