Bought a cheap torque wrench for a Cessna 172 job and it cost me a whole day

I needed to do a wheel bearing job on a 172 and grabbed a new $60 torque wrench from the local tool store. It clicked fine on the test, but after I buttoned everything up, I had a bad feeling and re-checked with my old Snap-on. The new one was off by almost 15 foot-pounds on the axle nut. Had to tear it all apart and start over, which wasted about 8 hours of my Saturday. I should have just waited and used the good tool from the start. Anyone have a decent mid-range torque wrench brand they actually trust for airframe work?

4 comments

4 Comments

wyatt_mitchell262mo ago

Come on man, that's just bad luck, my cheap one has been fine for years. Sometimes you just get a dud tool.

elliot_gibson272mo ago

Hold up, are you saying your cheap tool lasted years? Wyatt_mitchell26, that's wild. I've never seen a budget one make it past a few big jobs without something breaking or stripping out. You must have gotten the one good unit they ever made (seriously, like a factory miracle). Most of them are built with such soft metal they're basically disposable.

emmaclark2mo ago

Yeah I used to believe that too, until I had three cheap ones fail in a row on the same job. It wasn't just a dud, it was a pattern. The gears were made of such soft junk they'd just turn to mush under any real load. I finally spent the money on a good brand and the difference is night and day. Now I see it as paying for the metal, not just the name.

kim.jake1mo ago

Man, that's rough. So when you tested it, did you check it at the actual torque setting you needed, or just somewhere in the middle? I've heard some of those cheaper ones can be okay at one spot on the scale but way off at the high or low end.