Re: Craftsman Torque Wrenches, Others may be different

["masheen" <masheen@xxxxxxx>]

I have both of Craftsman's 3/8" (part #44594) and 1/2" (part #44595) drives
microtork torque wrenches which I purchased new in 2001 and 2000
respectively.  Under the care and maintenance sections of both owners
manuals, item 3 states as follows:

"When the wrench is not in use, keep it set below 25% of capacity.  If you
leave the wrench set at a reading over 50% of the wrench capacity for more
than a few hours, set the wrench at the lowest setting and leave it there
for a few minutes before using it again."

Based on the following ranges of each wrench:
3/8" drive 10-75   ft-lbs
1/2" drive 20-150 ft-lbs

The capacity of the 3/8" drive wrench is 65 ft-lbs while the 1/2" drive is
130 ft-lbs.

So, doing a little math here means to me that the 3/8" drive wrench should
be stored anywhere's between 10-16 ft-lbs.  I take the middle of that and
keep my 3/8" drive stored at 13 ft-lbs.
For the 1/2" drive, that figures out to be a setting of anywhere between
20-32 ft-lbs, which a happy medium for me means that I store my 1/2" drive
at 26 ft-lbs.

If either the 3/8" wrench is left on a setting of 42.5 ft-lbs+ or the 1/2"
wrench is left with its setting on 85 ft-lbs+ for more than a few hours, the
wrench should be set to its lowest setting and left for a few minutes before
using it again.

Unlike what Craftsman shoulda done, I labeled each wrench with its
respective storage setting so as not to forget.
Now it could be possible that Craftsman had different care and maintenance
instructions for torque wrenches prior to when mine were produced, but I'm
pretty certain I've followed their instructions to the number.

Respectfully,
Bob Rapp
NN,VA
70 Machine