Pat, I've been trying to get a good deal on a 37-degree tube flaring tool off of ebay for a few months now...I'll shoot you an email tonight.
I am also a big fan of Mr. Smith, his technical know-how, and his writing style. I'll check his Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook tonight, but I remember seeing stuff like bolt-stretch-being-more-important-than-torque-values rather than any sort of rules of thumb that a dummy like me could use. I've also seen some highly technical web sites for calculating torque of fasteners, but the inputs are many and pretty much above my head (requiring calculations of load, duty cycles, metallurgy, etc.).
[ April 29, 2003: Message edited by: Mark Worthington ]

I am also a big fan of Mr. Smith, his technical know-how, and his writing style. I'll check his Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook tonight, but I remember seeing stuff like bolt-stretch-being-more-important-than-torque-values rather than any sort of rules of thumb that a dummy like me could use. I've also seen some highly technical web sites for calculating torque of fasteners, but the inputs are many and pretty much above my head (requiring calculations of load, duty cycles, metallurgy, etc.).
[ April 29, 2003: Message edited by: Mark Worthington ]