/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Use this thread to ask questions that don't warrant their own thread.


I have a question about torque:
I have a rifle scope that I'm trying to mount in a scope mount. The scope had a warning that said not to tighten the ring bolts past 18 in-lbs. Note that's inch-pounds, not foot-pounds. The scope rings also had a warning that specified 15 to 20 in-lbs.

I called the autozones near me asking if they had a torque screwdriver in their loan-a-tool program but they didn't. They said they can order one for me but it's $100. There are some cheap $30 ones online but I don't want to wait on it to ship, I'd like to do this today.

There are torque wrenches at Harbor Freight and Autozone that adjust down to 20 in-lbs. That is the lowest they will go. I'd be comfortable with 20 but I'm worried that those cheapo torque wrenches won't be reliable at the very low end of their adjustment range. Can I trust a Harbor Freight torque wrench that adjusts between 20-200 in-lbs at the low end, +/-1 in-lbs? Any advice, tips?