Torque wrench handle started buzzing on me mid run on an old 727

I mean, I've used this same Craftsman torque wrench for maybe 8 years now, pulling spinners off a 727 in Des Moines last Thursday. Mid pull, the handle starts vibrating like a phone on silent, just a low buzz. I stopped, checked the setting, checked the bolt, and it was still exactly where I left it. Turned out a loose retaining clip inside the grip was rattling against the housing, nothing to do with torque at all. Has anyone else had a tool start making weird noises that had nothing to do with the actual job? I'm half convinced it was just the cold weather messing with the plastic.

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aaron67725d ago

Man, that's wild! I had the same thing happen with an old ratchet a few years back, the handle started squeaking like a mouse while I was torquing down some lugs. Turns out a little piece of grit had gotten stuck in the grip and was rubbing on the inside whenever I put pressure on it. I took the whole handle apart, blew it out with air, and put a tiny dab of grease on the clip and it never made a sound again. What really got me was how it only happened when the metal was cold, so I know exactly what you mean about the weather playing tricks on you. You might want to just pop that clip out and re-seat it, that fixed my issue for good. Weird how our brains instantly go to "the tool is broken" when the simplest answer is usually just some little piece rattling around.