Getting a little lost turned out to be a fortunate thing this time. I'm going to pay more attention to this from now on, as opposed to once a year. And I think it's reason enough to invest in a nice torque wrench instead of the old, slightly bent one I inherited years ago.

And come on Tagged... the "right way" to ask is simply showing you respect that a working man's tools are his livelihood, and that you really appreciate that. No payment will be necessary or probably accepted in that case.