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Caring for your wrench Torque wrenches are precision instruments and should be treated accordingly. Read the instructions for your torque wrench. If your torque wrench came in a carrying case, keep it in the case when you are not using it. Clicker torque wrenches should be stored with the adjuster set to minimum torque to avoid putting stress on the internal mechanism for prolonged periods of time. As mentioned earlier, torque wrenches should never be used as ratchets or breaker bars. Torque wrenches should only be used for the final tightening of fasteners. Don’t exceed the capacity of a torque wrench. For example, if needed to tighten a nut to 60 ft-lbs. of torque, I wouldn’t use a 3/8” drive wrench with its scale that only goes to 50 ft-lbs. I’d use my ½” drive wrench. Batteries should be removed from digital (electronic) torque wrenches when the wrench won’t be used for two days or more. The oldest torque wrench in my toolbox dates back to 1974. It still works because I’ve take good care of it. The people who throw their torque wrenches into a box along with rat-tail files, chisels, and old hacksaws are the same people who keep buying new tools. Care for your wrench like you care for your best Carbon fiber helmets. Torque Conversions Get ready for another arithmetic lesson. The metric system uses newton/meters when measuring torque. The English system 12 in-lbs. into 1 ft-lb. because 12” equals 1’. Divide in-lbs. by 12 to convert to ft-lbs. For example, 144 in-lbs. equals 12 ft-lbs. For example, 12 ft-lbs. equals 180 in-lbs. Working in the metric system involves decimal fractions when converting torque specifications. Multiply newton/meters by 0.7376 to convert to ft-lbs. Multiply newton/meters by 8.8508 to convert to in-lbs. If you are converting from the English system to the metric system, multiply ft-lbs by 1.3558 to convert to newton/meters. Multiply in-lbs by 0.113 to convert to newton/meters.—Jay Hirsch
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