Torque Wrench

I have been pricing some torque wrenches lately cause i am in the process of putting bike back together. well i want to get a decent torque wrench that is accurate the ones i seen at EBAY, SEARS, and some Auto Parts stores range from $50-$100+, well i was shoppng another autoparts store and found one for $20.00 , i was wondering should i go ahead and get that one or should i just go ahead and fork over the extra money??

Your opinions.

 

Well, my tool box is full of Snap-On torques wrenches. They were calibrated every year (mandatory). In 10 years outside of the initial out of the box tweak they never required adjustment. However they were $250+ each. Some fellas had Proto, Craftsman, Mac and so on. Calibrations are fairly inexpensive if you don't work somewhere that can do it. All mine are the "click" type. So much easier for tight spots than a dial. I have a 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" drives, they cover 30inch lbs up to 200ft lbs.

If your only going to use it here and there then an inexpensive one should be ok. Have it calibrated if your concerned.

 

I'd pass on a $20 torque wrench, even if it's beam and dial. That just sounds too good to be true. Torque specifications are too important to cheese on the tool and find you've got it wrong.
Buy something reputable and serviceable IMHO.

 

bought mine at sears, about 70 bucks if I remember right.

 

For the do it youselfer, Craftsman would be the cheapest I would go.

 

What he said ^ all thou I have had mine 20 plus years and there's still nothing wrong with em. I'd shy away from any $20 tool like that. you do get what you pay for when it comes to tools. Proto, Snap-on, Mac, Thorsen. then there's Craftsman ain't bad when you look at there no question warranty and they're all over the place..

 

Ive been a mechanic for over 20 wears and have one Snap-On that was worth every penny, not once did it give a problem. One I bought was a Craftsman, it lasted just past its short warranty (90 days), I wouldnt do that again. Now that I dont need it every day I went to Lowes and purchased a 3/8' and a 1/2" torque wrench under the Kobalt name for about $130.00 for both. I have been very pleased with these 2 since their purchase. No regrets, they have worked just fine for over 3 years.

 

I got lucky on eBay and bought a beautiful slightly used Snap-On (click type) torque wrench for $125 and I am very impressed by it's quality and ease of use.

 

My first torque wrenches were cheapo clicker-types. 20-150ft-lbs type of thing.

A couple years ago I bought 2 dial-type wrenches by Precision Instruments (click for link) that were about $160-200/ea. These have fine ranges on the order of 0-300in-lbs and 0-600in-lbs. These are a dream to use and definitely needed when it comes to low torque items and motor work. The dial-type has some unique benefits over clickers as well. Sears does carry a couple of PI models now.

I think that a decent Sears model is better than nothing at all. You can verify accuracy for just a few dollars and using them is better than guessing. My cheapo wrench is still OK after 10 years; just take good care of it.

 

cool, i will keep an eye out on ebay....if for a MAC or a SNAP ON. all else fails i will go to craftsman...

 

Facom are high end too, what the Ferrari teams and factory use, I used to buy all Craftsman, now switching over to Facom. They are expensive though. But for most of us, using it just a few times a year, the Craftsman is going to be more than enough. They are often on sale, and if you join their tool club, you will get an extra 10% off during one weekend a month. Another nice thing about the craftsman is the lifetime warranty. No many tool companies offer this, even the el cheapo brands. The difference is that with Craftsman, pretty much no matter where you live in the country, there is a Sears within short driving distance. You don't send anything off, you just go in the store, say this is broken and they give you a new one on the spot. You don't have to have the original receipt or any such crap. That is a serious benefit.

 

If your not using the tools everyday, there are some that you can buy a cheapo and make due. However, I don't recommend a torque wrench to be one of those you save your pennies on since their job is often critical. Like the other guys said, Craftsman click-type at least. Snap-On, Mac or other high quality tools are preferred.

 

It really doesn't matter what the name on the tool is, as long as it is accurate. Save the hype and save your money. If a $50.00 item is as functional and varifiably accurate as a $150.00 item, you're paying for the hype. Most torque wrenches are plus or minus 4% anyway. If you want perfect, ya aint gonna get it for even $200.00. Spend your money on something smart, unless you are into buying tools as jewelry........

 

Snap-on?:scared: I have 1/2in drive torqe wrench but I bought it back when I used it pretty much every day. 300 smackers if I remember right. Wouldn't suggest it though. Back then that was almost a weeks pay.

 

In my job at an OEM one of my functions was to calibrate all the pnuematic torque runners and all the mechanics torque wrenches each month.
The Sears, Snap-on, MAC and MATCO all were good, accurate wrenches in their midscale. And close at each end of the scale. They are ALL good quality tools so for a weekend wrench, the cost will be your only concern.
We also had some guys with Harbor freight China wrenches. They could be calibrated for a single value but would not hold within 5 ftlbs after resetting the torque value. I wouldn't certify them for use in the shop.
For real accuracy it's hard to beat a beam type wrench. Most people don't use a 'clicker' type wrench correctly and therefore overtorque most fastners.
Once it is to torque, if you click it a second time, you add 2-5 more ft/lbs to the fastener. If you are pulling too fast, you will overtorque.

 

I can attest to 100% of the above quote. We had so many issues with "unreliable" (not non accurate) torque wrenches that our calibration times were altered from Transport Canada/FAA guidelines to the manufacturer of the wrench. They all started out fine... but combine them with end scale use especially upper scale, along with being knocked about in tool boxes and so on, there were some that couldn't hold there value for 3 months.

We eventually realized by not going beyond 80% of the wrench's rating it's calibration would last much longer. Obviously if your torque wrench is off, an aircraft won't fall out of the sky. So maybe purchasing a super high end wrench isn't required.