Originally Posted by
Paul_P
I agree with everything you say, but it's probably better for people who haven't had years of experience to use one.... .
This goes to the heart of my comments.
Over the years I've seen more broken hardware using torque wrench than not. Of course there's plenty of selection bias, but even so, I'm leery of giving inexperienced mechanics the tool as a substitute for teaching and emphasizing skills.
When folks know their limitations they work cautiously. Having a torque wrench and painting by numbers, creates unfounded confidence rather than assuring good results.
Again, it's not about the tool itself, but more about it being presented as a substitute for skill.
BITD when I taught repair, I had threaded blocks and a stock of bolts and made people develop a feel for gauging appropriate torque. Yes, we broke many, but that was the point.