Craftsman Digitork - Disassembly Help

[ihatemybike]

Anyone have any experience taking the Craftsman Digitork apart and adjusting it? Mine went goofy this weekend and I can't really change it's torque setting with any confidence anymore.

 

[1911]

I'm old and have been turning wrenches for a long time; used to make a living as a mechanic. I've bought quite a few torque wrenches over the years, including several Craftsman (still have one in one of my tool boxes I think). In my experience, Craftsman torque wrenches are disposable. They are inexpensive, work great for a while, but then almost always break sooner or later. Too many plastic parts for one thing. I've never tried to repair one; without having it re-calibrated I wouldn't trust it. So when they break, you can either go back to Sears and buy another one every few years (if you use them very much), or you can just pony up and pay three times the price for an all-metal Snap-on or similar quality instrument. That's where I finally got to - I'd rather make one expensive purchase of a quality tool than multiple purchases of cheaper tools that don't last. YMMV.

 

[4xdog]

My Dad, a schoolteacher raised during the Depression, used to say "we're not rich enough to afford cheap tools".

That being said, I've had a Craftsman Digitork torque wrench for almost 30 years that gets *very* light service and still seems to work OK. When it dies I'm not going to try to keep it going -- it doesn't owe me anything anymore.

Don

 

[ihatemybike]

Thinking it's a lost cause, I attacked it today. Mild-destruction, but I figured out how to take it apart, what was wrong and how to calibrate it. Lost a couple tiny nuts thanks to a spring loaded assembly, but once I replace those the wrench should still be usable.