How to Calibrate Your Torque Wrench - EASY DIY Tutorial
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- čas přidán 20. 06. 2024
- Learn how to calibrate your torque wrench at home, so you can keep your car in good working order. I'll show you how by just using a scale, measuring tape, and a heavy object.Check out below for link to torque wrench and my previous Episodes:
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so simple and straight to the point unlike all the goddamn other videos that made this overly complicated and so much unnecessary filler.
facts
>socks and sandals at the same time
>engineer confirmed
>+5 credibility
No kidding. He speaks, we better listen if we want to learn. Unless he is giving lessons in fashion.
Ya know, for a home version of how to do this, that is an excellent idea. I always thought it would take some kind of fancy machine to calibrate one but no. Thanks for posting this
your scales are way off because mine read 205 Lbs. but
More like out of this world off. Watch this:
czcams.com/video/0f746pF1xc0/video.html
lol
Ha ha 😅
🤣🤣🤣
Thanks for teaching me something that I had no idea how to do.
its a very good method, thanks!
short/sweet/beautiful thank you!
The simplest way i saw , thanks
Wow this is cool and I am going to calibrate my torque wrench soon.
good idea, wow! thank you! so much
No problem. Cheers!
Very nice method
excellent video
Never knew this is how you can adjust it, but makes complete sense. Thanks.
+K1dPhresh1 thanks for watching!
Car Fanatic Why did you not simple measure the mass of the jack? lol
In case the scale is off, I'd guess. Maybe it doesn't read the first pound or so accurately -- so he's taken that away by standing on it, then holding the jack while standing on it.
I'm not an engineer though, so just guessing
Brilliant! I'm going to use a partially filled water jug to calibrate my inch pound clicker.
Make sure the water is cold so you can drink it afterward if you do it on a hot day.
If you are striving for accuracy you would also want to add the torque that the wrench itself is adding to the total torque. Find the center of mass distance from the axis of rotation by balancing the wrench on a knife edge and measuring that distance from the center of the drive square. Weigh the torque wrench and multiply that weight in pounds by the distance in feet. For example: if the wrench weighs 6 lbs and the measured distance is 8 inches then the additional torque contributed by the wrench is (⅔ foot)*6 lbs = 4 ft*lbs. Add this amount to the load torque to get the total torque, what the scale should be indicating on the handle.
A better technique would be to orient the wrench vertically on one of the lug nuts and use a digital hand luggage meter to measure the force you are applying horizontally to the wrench handle. Be sure to apply the force to the groove that is machined into the handle, since the wrench is calibrated for forces applied at that point.
Great ideas. I would add to not include the torque that the wrench itself is adding unless you only are using it to apply vertical torque, then you could apply a sticky label with a note of this value to the wrench to deduct this value from the setting when needed. Also, the home user doesn't even need a torque wrench maybe if they have a luggage scale and a long-arm socket handle with a mark on it for where to pull and their notes of what weight reading equates to what torque.
Thank you on the 2nd suggestion.
@@AWBuilder I'm not following what you mean. Don't add the torque that the weight of the wrench adds when calibrating it per the video method? Why not? That's a real torque, it's actually being applied to the bolt, so why not account for it?
@@Iratcliff1I mean, add this value when the wrench is horizontal, but not when vertical.
Very clever.
Just this video Fantastic! Without a vise.
cool idea
Sadly... I don't have a 911 to enable me to do this.. however it's as good an excuse as any to buy one.
I agree with you 100%!! About to go jump on carguru.com. It's complete unacceptable to have my two torque wrenches and not have them properly calibrated. And if that means buying a 911, so be it.
The bank probably owns it, if you want to get technical.
@@K1dPhresh1 Better video effects for your upcoming demo after you buy your Porsche is to leave the torque wrench on one of the wheel nuts with an extension bar and apply instant acceleration. You might get a million views in a few seconds.
For lighter loads I used an 18 lb cat. But she wriggled like a son of a gun.
thats one fat cat
You should try butterflies in cages
Nice bro
Very staight forward informatve. Clear and concise without excessive extraneous commentary. Might suggest using specific weight dumbells for the check-weight instead of a jack. Otherwise, great explanation/tutorial.
You'd still have to weigh yourself with the dumbbell as both dumbbells and weight plates have a certain margin depending on the quality of the product.
Some are ultra precise, within 0.2lbs for bumper plates, while others can be off by 3-5% which is very relevant when using it to calibrate something.
What does the click mean. Is it compressing around the bolt?
I may be wrong but, you set your sticky tape at 16'' from the drive, but then when you set the torque the twisting motion meant that the tape was no longer still at 16 inches. Or am I mistaken?
Ideally you need to have a torque wrench in a vice vertically so you don`t allow for the weight of the wrench , and use fish scale to pull on your given marked area on the torque wrench , Also test torque at three setting 20% 60% 100 % of its settings and then allow the percentage of -2+ -4+or -5+ either way given specs from manufacture,to that particular torque wrench,
The trouble setting a torque wrench is you need to do an overall value do not adjust to one setting as this will be quite off at the lower and higher settings,take the thing apart if an old one and replace the grease,old grease gets dryer or stops the mechanism from moving well,
My advice is get a digital torque tester from china about £60 pounds, and if your torque is off by about 15 ft lbs then either do your adjustments or set your torque wrench allowing the 15 ft pounds difference,
Hope this helps,
This is some solid advice imo
Nice Video. Very helpful. i was wondering if you could answer if you could help me out with something.... I have a 2010 toyota camry le, it has 20 inch rims on it... my owners manual says my wheels should be torque at 76ft lbs but i have them at 80ft lbs. should i have them at 100ft lbs?
No, go with your manual's recommendation.
Legit just found you....How do you have my dream car?
Subbed. All late
Better late than never! Thanks for the support!
Great idea. I would only change one thing. The wrench was adjusted after placing the 1 ft mark on the adjustment handle. I would think it would be better to adjust the handle before placing the mark on it.
Great point!
@@CarFanatic that is my doubt, which position did you set the handle before starting?
I did not catch that, very good point.
What? He placed a piece of tape at the 16" mark, not a foot.
The part I am confused about is how he came up with 16" for a 30-lb object to calibrate to 40 ft lbs. I would have calibrated to 30 ft-lbs and used the handle marking to ensure I started with the correct spot.
@@allmycarsisbroke you probably have a point. I didn't use his maths. I'm from a metric country. Calculating moments around a point is fairly straight forward. Force X distance in meters and kilograms.
I don't see how this method would work if the wrench were off in the other direction (i.e. too loose/weak). I suppose you could put your hands under the object and gradually let off the force to see if it clicks before you've let go.
Best video out there, but next time turn your wheels so you won't risk scratching car :)
That's why he placed the piece of board or carpet or whatever it was before he hung up the jack, I thought?
for sure thats what that little screw is for?
So I need to buy a Porsche to do this? Maybe I can find some adapters to fit Porsche wheels on my 2000 Explorer. But then how accurate would the calibration be? This is quite the conundrum.
lol
TheKing0fHalo yes. for accurate calibration you need a Porshe. Others can be used for in the ball park calibration. don't use a Ford... for obvious reasons hahahaha
lol ha ha ha
unfortunately i have no adjustment screw on my Mastercraft Maximum torque wrench, so since I just use it for wheel lug nuts I'm going to find out when it clicks for the ft-lb (using the weight like in the video) I use and just use that that number on the wrench even if it is 20 ft-lbs off.
I have a Park Tools wrench with no screw either. I know it can be calibrated as Park will do it for $20 + shipping both ways, but I'd rather do it.
You didn't take the weight of the wrench itself into account. I have that exact wrench (1/2" drive). Mine weighs 1.328 kg (2.928 lb). At 16" it exerts approximately, depending on the handle position, about 671g (1.5 lb force). So you're calibrating your wrench off by around 1.5 lb * 1.333 ft = 2 ft lbs, which isn't that big of a deal considering this wrench is only good for +/- 4% anyway.
Agree
The click type torque wrench will click louder to quieter, with the weight as shown in the video for several turns of the Allen screw, resulting in grossly inaccurate calibration. If you plan to use the weight, you MUST use the needle type torque wrench to LATER fine tune the click type torque wrench. Use the same lug nuts. It will take around 3 hours.
Or you can use the digital luggage scale ($5) and be done with it in about an hour. Cheers.
I don't have that screw on my torque wrench, just a metal curved seal.
How did you take into consideration the weight of the actual torque wrench?
Agreed. I would think the weight of it pulling down would throw this method off?
Good question. I did some back of the napkin math. Assume the torque wrench weighs five pounds and the length is 18". Using 16" as the fulcrum, I come up with 4.44 inch/pounds at the fulcrum. Divide by 12 and it's .37 foot/pounds. Enough to matter? Eh ...
Yeah, I did the math after my post three years ago and came to the same conclusion, that the weight of the torque wrench is not a major factor. If you want to compensate for it, the force exerted is actually at (or at least close to) the torque wrench's center of gravity which is at the balance point. The weight of the wrench isn't exactly at the center of gravity because of the weight that is at or beyond the fulcrum, but again, the difference is fairly insignificant. What I have done for calibration in the last three years is clamp the drive in a vise and then use a weight at the appropriate length. The clickers should be checked near the center of their torque range with the knowledge that the extremes will typically be off by a bit. I also use actual weights in order to remove the scale accuracy from the equation. All said and done, it is nice to know that a wrench is accurate.
Love the $40 torque wrench on the Porsche....
Otherwise solid methodology. You can also use a bench vise and bucket of water for more flexibility in your testing, different weights, etc.
Believe it or not, it does the job. I have a digital torque wrench adapter but I like the tactile feel of the clicker style.
@Car Fanatic I got a wera torque wrench and that thing is a beast. I love my torque wrench
I used a workout weight worked fine...
I will finally get to use the exercise weights I bought!
I have a torque wrench and its specs are 28 Nm-210 Nm, can i change the calibration of it to make it 8Nm- 190Nm ? Im not sure if it will damage torque wrench or if i should even do it can you please help me out?
You should not use the torque wrench beyond the specified torque range.
@@CarFanatic thank you for letting me know otherwise, i would have calibrated it incorrectly and damaged my wrench
Wouldn't all of this be contingent on the scale initially being used being in calibration? How would you make sure that it is? (I know electric scales are better but even they can be off)
You should only being doing measurement for torque wrench adjustments if you are adding length to the wrench, such as a crows foot adapter since this effectively increases the length of the wrench from the center line of the handle. If no adapters are used, then no adjustments of torque settings on the wrench are needed. This does not included 90 degree extensions. A torque wrench should only be used for its intended ranges and the upper and lower 10% ranges of the wrench should not be used. Find a smaller or larger torque wrench should you need those values. Finally, return the wrench to it minimal setting for storage. I am a certified A&P technician and spent my whole career using calibrated tools. True calibration should be done in a lab on a yearly basis or if the tool has been dropped.
This is why I used 2 gallons of water. That weight is always known.
How do you know that your jug is calibrated correctly? (Kidding!)
You take your bathroom scales to NIST and ask them pretty please if you can borrow their copy of the international kg.
@@tomlies506 Yes, and if I even knew where to find a lab to calibrate my $60 torque wrench I'm sure they would charge me more than the thing is worth to do it. This video clearly applies to home/DIY mechanics where we just want to be in the right ballpark. We're not F1 mechanics, aviation technicians, or critical safety engineers - or we wouldn't be doing this ourselves, would we? I very much appreciate my more expensive Mitutoyo measurement devices but for tightening a spark plug or drain bolt in my 20 year old car I just want to know it's roughly near right. This video helped me check my 10 year old click-style torque wrench was actually still very very close, which pleasantly surprised me.
the power of mathematics
155 lbs?! I want to weigh 155 lbs again!! Thanks for the info.
Lol i want to weigh 155 lbs too!
How is 16 inches 1.33? i have a smaller wrench
1.33 ft that is. Thanks for watching.
With this method you'd technically have to factor in the weight of the wrench itself as it pulls downwards as well (at the center of gravity).
Overall you need to take the "accuracy" of your method with a grain of salt, especially since that scale probably isn't calibrated to read 100% correct either.
It's a digital scale. It auto calibrates every time you turn it on.
@@reallyWyrd Amusing.
You need to set your torque wrench to the ft lbs you're testing before you messure the length as the wrench gets shorter as you set it.
You don't know for a fact that your digital scale is calibrated.
Just because it is zeroed before use does not means that it is calculating any applied weight correctly. It's kind of like "who's watching the watchers?"
doesn't matter if you subtract one weight from another - get a difference and the error is also subtracted out.
it's not the numbers read from 0 to an object. its the difference from one object's reading to another. the difference in readings from the same scale creates a controlled dataset, not the calibration.
yeah but if the scale is off, then the resulting difference might also be off, yeah? I tested my wrench with 60 pounds of dumbbells on a lugnut -- it's a $30 lugnut I got at Oreilly's about 5 years ago, and it tested maybe 5 pounds under. Another option is multiple gallons of water -- 1 gallon = 8 pounds.
Maybe just use a dumbell?
Weight of jack + weight of tool that's at the handle only. You have done this wrong if you don't add the weight of wrench pushing down at the rope. Maybe 2lbs off
Agreed, the approach is not very accurate.
That is not the calibration point. That is just the adjustment for how fine the click/break is. The calibration nut is at the back end of the wrench. I might suggest addendum this vid so people aren't messing up their tools.
The rest of your technique seems fine...
that nut at the end holds it together, the little nub locks it in place
That is the callibration point!
Hey guys, I thought it was chrisfix here :)
Lol
If your weight weighs 30 lbs why did you test it at 40 lbs? Thanks, great instructions
Torque is measured in pounds/foot. Since the weight was farther than 1 foot from the head (16") it was applying more than 30 lbft of torque to the bolt.
4" is 1/3 of a foot. 1/3 of 30lb is 10lb. 30lb+10lb=40lb
torque is measured in foot*pounds. In this video, 16 inches = 1.3333333 foot, so the torque = 30pounds * 1.3333333foot = 40foot*pounds.
Fun fact the 40ftlbs you calculated is moment. Moment=(Arm)(Weight)
Arm is just the distance the center of gravity of the added weight is from the datum point. In this case the datum is the center of the drive.
I mean, the luggage scale method is a lot easier.
I know the video’s purpose is to teach you how to calibrate your torque wrench, but it’s worth mentioning, you should probably verify your scale’s accuracy with dumbbells, before jumping to the conclusion your torque wrench is off.
How do you know your dumbbells are accurate?
I can smell this video…😢😮
I still don't understand why you weighed yourself XD
Why not just weigh the jack alone?
Because the jack doesn't fit on the scale lol
Shouldn’t you be using equal weight? Have a 40 pound weight and the torque to be set at 40 ft lb
No because the distance between the socket and where the weight applied is more than 1 foot. So you need to factor in the length. Longer the length, the more leverage you will gain.
@@CarFanatic No that is not correct. The torque wrench is designed with the wrench length in mind. If you added a 1-foot arm to the socket end, then you correct for the distance.
Actually, if the torque wrench wasn't put absolutely parallel to the ground, the "weight" would be less than 30 pounds. Also, you forgot to take the weight of the torque wrench into account. But... whatever, you have a 911 !!!
Actually, the weight is still 30 pounds, but the handle is shorter.
Lots of people are getting the position along the tools handel where to calibrate it at for a set pull mixed up with how the same torque is always applied at the nut with any given setting regardless as to the position the force is aplied on the tool. Not that this miss information will ever harm anyone but as with.. czcams.com/video/Fwfnf06dl84/video.htmlsi=PS9coWzBQ5TzG685. It is hard to believe people do not understand such basic principles.
Your scale weight was 30 pounds. ???? I do not understand
I am afraid I can't do this at home, I don't have a Porsche lying around
So now you've calibrated your torque wrench to your bathroom scale. When was your bathroom scale last calibrated, and is it traceable to NIST?
Wow, cool, too bad it's simply wrong. The adjustment screw you're using is there to adjust the clicking pronounciation. The right way to do it is quite different. You need to get a known weigth as you did alright, but then you need to adjust the screw in the handle to have the right reading on the scale :D. I'd take the video down, because if someone puts greater weigth on and does it your way, they might destroy their equipment.
In fact the screw you're using is for fine tuning the wrench response once it is calibrated already
You just set a 3 lb torque wrench to apply 42 ft-lbs of torque when set to 40 lmao.
Torque is measured from the center of the handle to the center of the square drive, so this test will be inaccurate.
Did he compensate for that by adding 10lb for the additional 4"?
why your socks like that sir??
Lol because I have bad taste
How to calibrate a $50 torque wrench using the lug nuts on a $200k car
This procedure is completely wrong and useless. The screw on the handle adjusts the strength of the click, not the calibration. The calibration is adjusted at the handle end, you have to partially disassemble the wrench to calibrate.
Wrong wrong wrong! This method is sound but for one significant error. The bathroom scales are not calibrated so the torque wrench is being adjusted to an unsubstantiated weight. Another observation is there's no need to determine the weight of the heavy object by deducting your body weight from the total measurement shown on the scales. If the scales are calibrated then simply weigh the object alone.
This method is inaccurate. First, it doesn't account for the weight of the wrench handle itself. A torque wrench can easily weigh a couple of pounds, but you can't easily compensate for that since the center of gravity won't be at your weight hang point. Second, you need to set the torque value first, since changing the setting changes the distance of the handle from the head.
bad method. weight of the jack is obscured by it's lean against the side of your car. you need a free-standing surface away from all objects.
Agreed the method isn't exact. I'd say it's close enough though. Thanks for watching.
not accurate way to calibrate. you never calculated the weight of the torque wrench.
I don’t think I’m smart enough to follow your instructions. 30 pounds is the weight of the hydraulic jack, but the hydraulic jack can lift a car?
I might do the follow up video of me taking the torque wrench I got to a calibration store. But then I would pay them money. Maybe it’s worth it though to pay the money to experts in making sure your precision mechanical instruments are not providing incorrect reading?
Those are some ugly ass socks!!! Hope they are at least comfortable~~
FUNNY! Your calibration method is so flawed that it’s more a joke than anything else. But to be fair you are not the only one. The vast majority of people showing others how to calibrate or test their wrenches lack the understanding of how a torque wrench works and how to test it correctly, and specially of the math and physics behind their design. This is a clear example of an instant where common sense is nothing but nonsense. Here is a video of someone who is on the right track.
“Most commonly than not people’s common sense is more nonsense than rational or logical sense. That’s because most people’s rational thinking is often based on irrational thinking, and their logical thinking is often based on illogical thinking. That leaves us with reasonable sense. Again, we run into the problem that most people’s reasonable thinking is often very unreasonable.” ~ Yahsnia Galiani
czcams.com/video/0f746pF1xc0/video.html
Great feedback!
Useless explanation!
so why didnt he just stand on the handle while the wrench was set to 150lbs
Genius lol I'm gonna do that
@@FusionKota its no big secret that just about anyone who has ever taken off a tire has,used the foot method..
😂... wouldn’t that be foot pounds?