Had to choose between a used torque wrench and a new one on a tight budget

I was working on a Cessna 172 last month and my old torque wrench started acting up. It was clicking way too early on a spark plug change. I had to decide between a used Snap-on from a buddy for $150 or a brand new Harbor Freight one for $80. I went with the used Snap-on because the guy I trust said it was barely used and recently calibrated. Turns out the calibration was off by 5 foot-pounds on the low end. I ended up borrowing a coworker's digital one to finish the job and had to eat the cost of sending the Snap-on out for recalibration. Has anyone else got burned by trusting a used tool that was supposed to be ready to go?

3 comments

3 Comments

caleb_stone28d agoProlific Poster

Always get a calibration sheet or test it yourself before trusting any used torque tool.

robertgreen12d agoMost Upvoted

Wait hold on... used torque tools? People actually sell those without recent cert papers?

jessicac2828d ago

Yeah agreed, even a cheap beam style tester is better than guessing if it's off.