PSA: Skip the digital torque wrenches for critical engine bolts

At my last inspection on a Cessna 172 at KDVT, I watched a guy use his fancy digital torque wrench on the cylinder hold-downs, and I had to bite my tongue. I still prefer my old beam-style Snap-on torque wrench that my mentor gave me 15 years ago. It never needs batteries, I can feel the needle hit the mark, and I know it's accurate because I calibrate it myself every 6 months. Who else still swears by the old analog stuff on critical fasteners?

3 comments

3 Comments

sam1720d ago

Digital wrenches are a joke for critical work. I've seen too many fail mid-job from a dead battery or a software glitch. My beam-style Craftsman has been dead nuts reliable for twenty years with no electronics to screw up. If you can't trust your tools to just work, you shouldn't be turning bolts on anything important.

elizabeth90020d ago

Watched a buddy's digital wrench die mid-torque on a prop bolt and he had to guess the final click.

reesemiller19d ago

Three planes I work on run digital torque wrenches and zero failures in four years.