Can we talk about how digital torque wrenches actually work now?

I was dead set against digital torque wrenches for years. Thought they were just gimmicks that would break on you. Then my buddy Tom let me borrow his Snap-on one last week to torque down some control rods on a 737 at LAX. It beeped right at 100 inch-pounds every single time, no guessing. I still prefer my old beam style for quick stuff, but I'm thinking of grabbing one for the finicky jobs. Any of you guys switch over and stick with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

willow_martin10d ago

Hold on, you torqued down control rods on a 737 and it's your buddy's Snap-on? That's wild, man. I thought you were just talking about working on your own car or something, not an airliner. That's the kind of job where if the beam style is off by a hair, you're looking at a really bad day. No kidding you want one for the finicky jobs, I'd want a robot doing it at that point (but a digital torque wrench is close enough, I guess).

leep8910d ago

You get to a point where you know the feel of a good click versus a bad one. The beam style is reliable but you have to use it right every single time. A digital wrench is nice because it takes the guesswork out of it, especially if you're working in tight spots where you can't see the beam. For something like flight controls, I wouldn't trust my hands alone on a beam without checking it against a known good tool first. That's just asking for a bad day.