My torque wrench was lying to me for months found out by accident

I kept getting complaints about panel fasteners being either too tight or too loose on Cessna 172s. Checked my snap-on torque wrench against the calibration stand and it was off by 12 foot pounds. That thing cost me $400 and I trusted it like gospel. Turns out if you drop these things on a concrete hangar floor just once they can drift. I started checking every three months after that and found three other guys wrenches were off too. We now do a quick check on the first of every month with a beam style I picked up cheap. Anyone else ever catch a major error from a tool you thought was bulletproof?

2 comments

2 Comments

susanm561mo ago

Used to think expensive tools were basically perfect out of the box and would stay that way forever. This post changed my mind completely, especially the part about a single drop messing things up. Now I check my own torque wrench with a cheap beam type every few months, just to be safe. It's a pain, sure, but way better than chasing loose fasteners or cracking something expensive.

shane_fisher371mo ago

One time I dropped a brand new torque wrench on concrete right out of the case and never even checked it until I snapped a bolt on a buddy's engine block. Now I'm paranoid about everything, even my tape measures.