[devodave]

When I worked in the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, only used dial (Snap-On) torque wrenches. They were verified upon check out from the tool crib and upon return (IIRC, you could keep them up to 7 days). If it was found out of calibration, had to go back and check all of the fasteners that it had been used on since checkout, as we documented each and every one. Only good to use between 25% and 87% of the scale. I still am reluctant to use a clicker type. Its amazing to see how others torque fasteners (sequence, completion, movement) after working in that environment!

That being said, undoing the spring seems like a great way to ensure there is no change in the internal mechanism while they sit in our tool chests. Unfortunately, mine just don't get used often enough.