F.A.T. Wrench by Wheeler Engineering

Seems like folks who shoot don't have to shoot very long before they probably need to at least check or  tighten a screw or two on their firearm.  Even if you don't need to do that, you'll like need to loosen and tighten a few screws on your firearms for cleaning and maintenance.  If you're like me, you want those screws to be tight when you done and not loosen up, but often, as small as they are, you're hesitant to tighten them too much for fear of stripping out the threads, breaking them off, or chewin' up the slots.

 

Whether you're just doing basic disassembly, cleaning, and maintenance on your guns or if you want to do some real gunsmithing, you really need a good set of screwdrivers or at least a good interchangeable bit screw driver with a good selection of bits so you can make sure the thickness and width of the bit match your screw so you don't tear it all up.

Now you have to remember, you're not torquing down the head bolts on a Cummin diesel or a small block Chevy when you're working on guns.  So how do you keep them tight without twisting them off?  I recommend you consider a F.A.T. Wrench by Wheeler Engineering and some thread-locker.

The Firearm Accurizing Torque (F.A.T.) Wrench allows you to set the torque limit in inch-pounds and then the handle "breaks free" starts rotating without turning the bit when you've reached a particular torque setting so you can't over tighten a screw.  The wrench is easy to adjust and comes with several bits in a nice plastic case.

The F.A.T. Wrench comes with instructions that also provide recommended torque settings for some screw sizes you'll likely encounter on your guns.  It also works with 1/4" drive sockets and most common hexagonal bits.  So with the set of bits I already had, the ones the F.A.T. Wrench comes with, and some thread-locker... we don't have to worry much about over-tightened, broken, stripped, or loosening screws.

Another thing this nice little tool does is it helps you to not over-tighten screws holding rubber, wood, or plastic grips, grip-panels, stocks, or other gun furniture... 'cause the last thin you want is to split those nice wood grips in two on your 1911.

So, if you want some precision for tightening your gun screws, consider picking up one of these handy tools or asking your better half, if you've got a birthday coming up.  Just make sure that you country folks enuciate clearly... "Honey, I DID NOT say I wanted a fat wench!"  Ask her/him for a F.A.T. Wrench by Wheeler Engineering.