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TIL I was torque-stripping my own fasteners for 5 years

So I was torquing down some bolts on a Cessna firewall last week and one of them just... spun loose. No click, no resistance. Pulled it out and the threads were all mashed flat. An old-timer walked over and asked if I was using my torque wrench past its range. I checked the sticker: 25-250 in-lbs and I was trying to do 12 in-lbs. I never even thought about the low end of the scale before that. Anyone else ever run into this with a beam-style wrench?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_wendy7d ago

Heard the same thing from @jessej23, makes total sense now why mine was off.

juliarodriguez7d ago

Wait, did your torque wrench feel way off too? I had the same issue with my 3/8" Precision Instruments model, it was clicking way too early on lug nuts. Sent it in for calibration and they told me the same thing about that 250 in-lbs limit, said the beam flexes weird below 20% of its range. After I got it back it was spot on, but I never would have guessed that was the problem.

jessej237d ago

Actually that 250 in-lbs max is more about the beam's strength than the low end accuracy.