+1You're not having a lot of luck with that torque wrench. If I were you I'd hide it at the back of the cupboard and only get it out for mission critical jobs like cylinder head bolts. It's very difficult to judge the optimum and even compression of the gasket by hand. But for most everyday bolts I tend to feel them. After a while you get a sense of when the bolt or stud is just stretching a little and holding the components together tightly.
I started the rebuild with a brand new torque wrench and full of determination to do things with micrometer precision. Snapped a few bolts/studs and was advised as above. Not by Brown, I don't think, but to the same effect. Never looked back.