Proto torque wrenches. Any good?

[Illini986]

Hey everyone, back again with a tool question, 

Local pawn shop has three Proto torque wrenches for, what I think, are a pretty fair price. Are they worth a second look? 

[mike newman]

..absolutely....I have  a half inch and a   three   eighths    one ..Both have worked for me  for many many years....and...most importantly....they have the legend  

..''.Made in   USA  ''  on them...that alone, my friend ,  is the very first reason to purchase them  ....

Mike

[oldtanker]

I don't have one of their tuque wrenches but i have a 3/8ths to 1 1/2ths combination wrench set I've use for the last 20 years. I'd rank they at the professional level. If you are worried about anything send em out and get em calibrated. Darn sure wouldn't be afraid of buying em.

 

Rick

[MTB98]

Proto is a top tier industrial tool brand. If the price is right they’re absolutely worth it. 

[jeeper61]

When the oil patch and pipe line building was shutdown a lot of tools showed up at pawn shops and on e-bay 

I got a 3/4 Proto torque wrench for 100 off e-bay

[New Englander]

Where to send torque wrenches for calibration? Up until recently I was able to slip mine in with our mechanics but sadly that's no longer an option. I sent them to one place only to have them all returned with a note "too old" even though they had recent calibration certs on them. I don't want to waste freight again.

[CIHTECH]

6 minutes ago, New Englander said:

Where to send torque wrenches for calibration?

Google, Angle Repair & Calibration.

They do mine (3) wrenches once a year. I've had good results using them, one time they replaced the head in my 1/2 drive with a coarse tooth drive. I complained and they sent a call tag and installed the correct fine tooth head. 

[jeeper61]

1 hour ago, New Englander said:

Where to send torque wrenches for calibration? Up until recently I was able to slip mine in with our mechanics but sadly that's no longer an option. I sent them to one place only to have them all returned with a note "too old" even though they had recent calibration certs on them. I don't want to waste freight again.

I'd look at the last 3 times they were certified and look at the "As Found" readings they may not even needed adjustment 

 

[vtfireman85]

1 hour ago, New Englander said:

Where to send torque wrenches for calibration? Up until recently I was able to slip mine in with our mechanics but sadly that's no longer an option. I sent them to one place only to have them all returned with a note "too old" even though they had recent calibration certs on them. I don't want to waste freight again.

Mine go out through our local NAPA, they actually lost my 30-150 ft/lb and replaced it with a Carlyle 30-250.was a little sad from a sentimental standpoint, but it was a real upgrade.

[acem]

I have a 1/4 3/8 and 1/2 proto torque wrench. They are top quality. Wish I had a 3/4 one...

[New Englander]

2 hours ago, vtfireman85 said:

Mine go out through our local NAPA, they actually lost my 30-150 ft/lb and replaced it with a Carlyle 30-250.was a little sad from a sentimental standpoint, but it was a real upgrade.

I never thought of giving them to NAPA. How was the price?

[vtfireman85]

1 hour ago, New Englander said:

I never thought of giving them to NAPA. How was the price?

I really don’t remember, don’t remember it being startling, and no freight.

[New Englander]

20 minutes ago, Art From Coleman said:

Since YOU have access to the mechanics shop at the aviation business you work at, have them either let the tool truck driver send it off, or throw it in with the shop's precision tools when they are sent off to be re-calibrated.

That's what I used to do but since the company went public we now have both private and commercial flights. The commercial is under FAR part 135 which applies to fewer than 20 seats while FAR 121 applies to 20 or more. Business jets no matter how big, other than converted airliners, are, with no exceptions that I know of, all certified for 19 seats or less as the rules change drastically at 20 or more. Converted airliners are operated under FAR 125 for private flights with similar rules as FAR 91. Privately owned and operated airliner types with few if any exceptions are all operated under FAR 125 as it would be prohibitively expensive to have them run under FAR 121. Large business jets like ours are quite comfortable. Get up, stroll around to a divan or conference table as the passengers are whisked around at 600 MPH.

Because we're now a commercial operator the surveillance is much stricter. Precision test equipment is all audited so no longer can I just slip my 3 wrenches into the batch.

The upside to the flights that are commercial is that because I'm over 65 I'm limited to the contiguous US as Alaska means Canada airspace and Hawaii is Class 2 navigation which comes under ICAO rules, complicated, I know. An example is I did a flight to Sardinia, Corsica, Paris, and London as PIC as private flights. From London to JFK it turned into a commercial flight per company internal billing so another guy took my place in London while I went home relaxed in first class on British Airways 😁

 

[Dasnake]

Ive been able to recalibrate my torque wrench myself for quite a while, pliers and a vice grip, move the pointer to 0, easy peasy.