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Heads up on those cheap torque wrenches from Harbor Freight
I bought one for a quick job on a Cessna 172's landing gear last month, cost me about $25. The click felt off, so I checked it against the shop's calibrated wrench. It was off by almost 15 foot-pounds at the setting I needed. Had to re-torque every single bolt, which wasted a good two hours of my shift. Anyone have a go-to brand for a reliable but not crazy expensive 3/8 drive?
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noahjenkins6mo ago
Wow, that's a huge difference and a real safety issue on a plane. @claire_hayes35 has a good point about checking often, but shouldn't a basic tool at least start close to correct? Makes you wonder how they even leave the factory like that.
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sam_wood604mo ago
My old Bosch drill was off by almost 30 degrees once, totally useless for anything precise. @claire_hayes35 is spot on about checking after big jobs, but man, you'd think a factory calibration would at least get you in the ballpark. I've had a tape measure that was off by a 1/4 inch right out of the plastic wrap, drove me nuts on a framing job. Makes me wonder if they even test these things before shipping them out, or if they just assume nobody will notice.
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