Snapped a torque wrench on a 737 flap track at O'Hare last Tuesday

I was doing the final torque on a flap track bolt on a 737 and my Craftsman torque wrench just snapped right at the head. That thing was my go-to for like 8 years, never had an issue. Switched over to a Snap-on after that and the difference in feel is night and day. Any of you guys have a tool brand fail on you in the middle of a job?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles_baker282d ago

Honestly, a torque wrench snapping sounds dramatic but a lot of times it's just a defect in that one tool. I've had a ratchet let go on me after years of use, and it was annoying but not really a crisis. Ngl, switching brands because of one bad experience feels like a stretch unless you were already looking for an excuse.

green.noah2d ago

The real question nobody's asking is whether the torque wrench even needed to be that tight in the first place. Half the time people snap tools because they're cranking way past spec trying to "feel" the bolt seat right. A good torque wrench will click or break at its limit, but if the fastener was already borderline, that's the real weak link, not the tool itself. Brand loyalty is fine and all, but acting like one broken tool is a sign from the universe to switch teams is how you end up with a drawer full of mismatched stuff that doesn't work together.