摘要 |
A tong assembly having a powered tong mounted over a backup tong is supported at its rear by a post with torque measuring means. The powered tong is supported at its front, near its throat, by one or more struts that extend downwardly to the backup tong. Such strut (s) provide support for the powered tong when the assembly is placed on a support surface for storage. The struts each have a joint with a retracted condition in which the joint is rigid when the tong is placed on a support surface, and an extended condition in which the joint allows a degree of lateral displacement when the tong assembly is applying torque to a pipe string. This maximizes the amount of torque passing through the rearward post, and therefore ensures a more accurate sensing of applied torque by the torque-measuring device. |