Where do you calibrate torque wrenches

[Sweaty_Doughnut]

I want to invest in torque wrench. I was thinking of Halfords advanced torque wrench which is around £70. I know that torque wrenches become less precise with time/use. Where do you calibrate them? If calibration costs the same as a new torque wrench I could take a cheaper one from Amazon, i.e £20 and buy a new one every year.

[WD Forte]

I suspect you're right
Calibration can often mean just a testing/checking of accuracy
rather than actual adjustment back to spec.
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[Rogerborg]

How often do you imagine that you'll actually use it?
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[DRZ4Hunned]

I didn't realise people actually bothered? I know companies do but that's only for compliance.
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FZS600

[stinkwheel]

You could do it at home with standard weights and a ruler.

If the end is clamped in a vice with the handle horizontal, a 10lb weight hung exactly 2ft along the handle will be 20ft/lb.
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[Confusion]

[MCN]

I do not think there is much perfection in using a tool that should be periodically tested and calibrated if it is ignored.

But.. mostly torque wrenches get out of calibration due to abuse by the clown who is pulling on the end.
Using them to break off fasteners etc. is not fair on the mechanism.

You could go Full anal and invest in a torque meter.
Or as Stinkers suggested clash something together in the shed.
A good quality spring balance would be handy but remember the calibration is only as reliable as the calibration methods and tools.

Send it to someone.

cNyPwGRynfFrwb9POlNGZmOn0DHrHi4aFwSNCV3vXQCMUUPcrfBoCh1EQAvD_BwE

Invest a wadge of beer money.

https://www.checkline.com/torque_testers

If you are not confident then send it off.

You may find the test company will critique the tool as cheap shite is prone to erratic operation.
The torque should be almost linear within the operating range but cheap springs shit construction makes for big errors.

Torque setting critical stuff is nice. For perfect performance and peace of mind but it is not deadly serious for most stuff.

It is a luxury to have time and resources to torque everything.

Live life on the Edge.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Hong Kong Phooey]

How clean or worn are the threads you're tightening? Wet torquing v dry will more than likely outweight any error in consumer grade tools.

Figures quoted are usually for brand new spotlessly clean fasteners.

If it comes loose, tighten it more next time, if it snaps, do it less.

I'm sure Teffers is writing something as we speak.
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[Teflon-Mike]

I bought a cheap torque wrench... ohh... maybe 30 years ago!?!
About ten years ago, I 'won' a fancy one, that came with all its certs of calibration.... I used it to check the accuracy of the old-cheapo one... they were within a ft-lb of each other when they 'clicked'.... make of that what you will.....

First up, what are you trying to torque up?
Is the torque wrench the right 'range'?
And is it actually needed?

An alwful lot of folk get hung up on tQ settings, cos they are quoted in the book... but, there's two main reasons for quoting tQ figures.

First, is for fastening critical flanges, like cylinder heads... now the actual tightness is not actually as important as the even-ness.... more critical when doing up a cylinder head to follow the setting pattern, top-bottom-left-right, to get them tight evenly accross the joint, and here, more, it's just as important to get them the same tigtness... so good form says you 'stage-set' the fasteners; doing them all up to perhaps 1/2 spec tQ, and going around the pattern once... then setting 2/3 specced tQ, and repeating all on the flange, THEN setting the final tQ from the book, and only doing up the last 1/6th, perhaps a/4 turn, to 'nip' to setting, and be pretty sure all are clamped down even, and to the 'same' tQ on the dial.... common mistakes are to try taking each fastener straight to final tQ in one go..... which putrs a high strain on a fastener one side, whilst there is still now't on t'other end; and/or to change tQ settings on the guage between bolts... where the 'setting error' means you are more likely to get an uneven clamping force accross the flange than not bothering!!

Second reason, is simply to avoid sheared threads. Use torque wrech not to get a critically high clamping force, like you may want on a cylinder head, but to stop you over-tightening and stripping the treads out.....

NOW!!!! Pay heed... a lot of folk get very enthusiastic when they get a torque wrench and try use it for EVERYTHING.... and will find the tQ specs for diddy little M5 bolts and the like in the book.... and try tightening them DIDDY little bolts with an effoff HUGE torqu-wrench intended for desiesil cylinder heads and land-rover steering boxes.... WORSE..... they find a number in the book, like perhaps 3ft-lb... and cant find anything that LOW on the torque wrencg, so set something just under 5Kg-m... a Kg-M is 10 Nm.. a ft-lb is about 1/3 of a Kg-m... so get the wrong units, and even if you get the number right, you are probably trying to over torque by near double, if not 10x what the bolt can take... and low... shit shears! More damage is done by a numptyt WITH a torque-wrench, than one without, I think!

Which brings us back t5o HAVE you selected a wrench in the right range?

For 99.99% of all motorcycle work.... I dont NEED a torque wrench.. in fact for 99.99% of all work I may do on any motor-vehicle I dont. On the Land-Rover's they come out for critical flanges like cylinder heads or diff-pans; on the bikes, they come out pa little more often... but when they do, the one I want is the diddy little 1/4 drive 'low-range' one, used to try avoiding stripping the threads in flakey aluminium castings..... Take heed....

NOW... when I get it out.... it's in its box... the setting dial is turned all the way to beneath zero, to remove strain from the setting spring... a-n-d... it gets is ONLY used for SETTING the critical torque on a fastener.... it is NOT used as a ratcheting breaker bar for undoing wheel-nuts, or stubborn engine mount-bolts.... it is used ONLY for what it is designed... as a MEASURING/Setting instrument... to DO UP a fastener, that 'last' n'th of tightening TO the setting in the book..... when done, setting dial is zero'd, wrench wiped, and put back in the box for another three years!!!!

IF you have a wrench in the right 'range' to start with; if you pay attention to setting the right 'units' on the scale; treat it for what it is, a measuring/setting instrument, not a fancy big ratchet, and store it peoperly; which means on the 'occasional' or 'specialist' tools shelf, NOT banging about in the bottom of the concertina box.... ABSOLUTELY no reason why even a 'cheap' torque wrench shouldn't give years of faithful service, and stay within calibration limits without having to get anal over checking it......

Calibration checks ONLY check that the setting on the dial is 'true' within a given tolerance..... means effall if you cant set the dial any-where near as accurately, cos using wrong units, or changing click-off between click-offs, and the tolerance on the book settings is HUGE, as it usually is for tighter critical flange fasteners like cylinder heads, any-way....

To wit... dont get bogged down in the numbers... whether thats in the buying, or the book... be bothered about the technique and discipline of use... NOT using as a big ratchet come breaker bar; NOT expecting to use it for every piffling bolt, and paying attention to the numbers in the book, and zeroing when you are done.

Certs-of-Cal are really no big deal... and I have NEVER bothered calibrating a torque-wrench, even when it was common practice for the facilities manager to ask if any-one wanted anything 'personal' done when he took the shop-floor tackle down to Avery for a certificate!!!!
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[recman]

I take mine to work.
We have torque meters.

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

I think the Halfords Advanced torque wrenches are made by Norbar. Their website blogs say the industry standard for re-calibration is 5000 uses. For the home mechanic who doesn't abuse the tool and stores it correctly (see blog) that'll be never. I'm happy with that.

https://www.norbar.com/en-gb/News-Events/Blog/entryid/396/torque-wrench-calibration

[Johnnythefox]

NOW... when I get it out.... it's in its box... the setting dial is turned all the way to beneath zero, to remove strain from the setting spring... a-n-d... it gets is ONLY used for SETTING the critical torque on a fastener.... it is NOT used as a ratcheting breaker bar for undoing wheel-nuts, or stubborn engine mount-bolts.... it is used ONLY for what it is designed... as a MEASURING/Setting instrument... to DO UP a fastener, that 'last' n'th of tightening TO the setting in the book..... when done, setting dial is zero'd, wrench wiped, and put back in the box for another three years!!!!


Good advice, which is why it's what I do, I 'enjoy' tefs posts, there is usually a fair bit of good advice, however the assumption that we are all numpties does grate.

[rhys99]

Depends on the brand you buy, have snap on ones at work which get calibrated annually by snap on. They come back with forms showing before and after figures and they are usually only out 1-3NM on the 3/8 and 1/2 ones.
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