Shoutout to the guy who showed me his torque wrench calibration log

Honestly, I always just assumed my old click-type wrench was fine if it clicked. This guy at the shop keeps a notebook and showed me his before-and-after numbers from sending it out. After 18 months of daily use, it was off by almost 12 foot-pounds on the high end. He gets it calibrated every year now. Tbh, seeing that logbook made me order a calibration for my own set. Has anyone else started tracking their tool calibration like that, or is that overkill for a general repair shop?

4 comments

4 Comments

michaeld481mo ago

It's like @the_taylor said, we're all just guessing with most tools. You see it everywhere now, people trusting gear that's way out of spec because it feels fine. That logbook is the only thing turning a guess into a real number.

parkerbrown2mo ago

That "off by almost 12 foot-pounds" part is wild. A buddy of mine had a similar wake-up call when his click wrench failed on a lug nut job. The wheel nearly came off on the test drive. He treats that thing like a lab instrument now, logs and all. Makes you wonder what you've been trusting.

the_taylor2mo ago

Saw a forum post where a guy tested six torque wrenches from different brands. Only one was within spec after a year of normal garage use. The rest were off by at least 10%, some way more. It really is just guessing without a calibrator.

the_claire2mo agoMost Upvoted

Holy cow, 12 foot-pounds is a HUGE miss! That's not a tool, that's a liability.