Calibrating Torque Wrench.

I've got an 7 yr old torque wrench. (Kasama kamasa - something like
that)

Am I right in assuming it *will* need regular recalibrating - or do
they stay in spec for ages?

Where can you get them calibrated? (Brighton area ATM) Is it pricey?

If (as I suspect) it's easier and cheaper to get a new one what's a
good torque wrench to buy ATM? I'd like accuracy over a big range - 0
-150ft lbs but I suspect that's not possible with just one torque
wrench.

 

Do you carry out work with the torque wrench that needs a high level
of accuracy when being assembled?

Do you carry out work with the torque wrench that you're being paid
for?

If you've answered yes to either of the two questions then you should
have had it calibrated annually so get on with it or buy a new one.

If you've answered no to both then just carry on with the same wrench.

Only you can know how much you've used the wrench and how badly
you've abused it and they're the factors that matter rather than age
when it comes to home use.

 

you need at least two for normal use, if you don't use them as breaker bars
etc they are likely to stay as accurate as is necessary indefinitely.

if you are worried then just rig up a weight system, grip the square drive
in a vice and see how much weight needs to be applied to get the torque
wrench to click. obviously you need to measure a set distance along the
handle and maybe work out a ratio or two. if you stick to foot lbs it is
quite easy.

 

Unless it's been abused or left to rust it should be fine for a lifetime.

When I work in the sircraft industry we had to have ours checked every year
but they never needed adjusting.

DIY is the best bet.

Use a socket on a bolt head in a vice
Attach a spring balance (from fishing tackle shop) to the end of the wrench
and pull.
The torque setting should agree with the distanceXforce, e.g ftlbs, kgm,
etc.

If in doubt (do fisherman ever lie?) check the spring balance with objects
if know weight e.g. the favourite "bags of sugar".

Any wrench that's marked from O has to be suspect.

Teng Tools do a good wrench @ £57.90 RRP
http://catalog.teamvise.co.uk/webspeed/katalog/kat_produkt.p?bid=T01&kat_bid=T01&dokid=12237
and they also do repair kits, if required.

 

Checking it isn't difficult. Recalibrating if wrong may well be - even
impossible.

What are you doing that requires such accuracy? Most automotive tasks
don't.

And you simply won't get one device for this range - the lower settings
need specialist and expensive tools.

 

I have had two Norbar wrenches (different ranges) for several years, and
they have never yet required recalibration.

Bill

 

co10 says...

I bought my Norbar one in 1979, I checked it on the test rig when I
worked at Millbrook Proving Ground in 1996 and it was bang on. I haven't
used it much and the tension is always wound off before it gets put
away. I don't think it'll eveer need recalibrating for the very little
use it gets.

--
Lozzo
Triumph Daytona 955i SE (Black with added black bits)
GSF600SW (broked)
'I do not object to people looking at their watches when I am speaking.
But I strongly object when they start shaking them to make certain they
are still going.' William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett, Oct 1960.

 

Lozzo tossed off:

I surveyed their works for aircon maintenance last month

--
Dan L

1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr

BOTAFOT #140 (KotL 2005/6)
X-FOT#000
DIAABTCOD #26
BOMB#18 (slow)
OMF#11

 

Dan L says...

You get some interesting vehicles in there, from all over the world.

--
Lozzo
Triumph Daytona 955i SE (Black with added black bits)
GSF600SW (broked)
'I do not object to people looking at their watches when I am speaking.
But I strongly object when they start shaking them to make certain they
are still going.' William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett, Oct 1960.

 

Lozzo tossed off:

Ahh, sorry, I wasn't at Milbrook, I was at Norbar in Banbury.

Their works are very small and somewhat unsophisticated for an
international company, but their products (from what I saw of them) are
top notch. I hope I win this one, although a mate currently has the
contract.

--
Dan L

1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr

BOTAFOT #140 (KotL 2005/6)
X-FOT#000
DIAABTCOD #26
BOMB#18 (slow)
OMF#11

 

That's not calibrated though, so you don't gain much.

 

But traceable to what?

 

I can't answer your question, but I know someone who can.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?A1FA2593E

 

I'm an RAF engineer. Our torque wrenches are calibrated every 3 months,
and the % error calculated. There is a tollerance beyond which they are
withdrawn ( around 3% I think ). Also we are supposed to check the
torque on a torque analyser ( meter ) before any task.

Of course I do this working on my car...............

Oh, and how many of us do actually back the wrench off totally after
use to avoid knackering the spring?

 

*Waves*

 

The Older Gentleman says...

<waves>

Every time it goes back in the box.

--
Lozzo
Triumph Daytona 955i SE (Black with added black bits)
GSF600SW (broked)
'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord does not refer to
blasphemy during ejaculation' Tori 2006

 

The Older Gentleman tossed off:

Waves here, too

--
Dan L

1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr

BOTAFOT #140 (KotL 2005/6)
X-FOT#000
DIAABTCOD #26
BOMB#18 (slow)
OMF#11

 

Religiously. Never once forgotten. Yet.

 

The message <>

Particles, here.

 

Every time, and also if I need to set it to a lower torque.