Torque Wrench at Reasonable Price?

[Jim Ed]

I need help deciding on which torque wrench to buy.
It needs to be able to measure 22 ft. lbs. of torque.

I was thinking of trying Sears since they have Craftsman torque wrenches made in China on sale right now.


Help please - TIA!

[frankysfree]

Stay far far far away from harbor freight...

I have snap-on and matco torque wrenches since this is what i do for a living but for the home mechanic a sears torque wrench is probly more than adequate and alot cheaper(i paid between $300-$500 a piece for mine)

[SCOTTRODS]

Stay far far far away from harbor freight...

I have snap-on and matco torque wrenches since this is what i do for a living but for the home mechanic a sears torque wrench is probly more than adequate and alot cheaper(i paid between $300-$500 a piece for mine)

Agreed.... Cheap torque wrenches are best if you buy the one with the long pointer... click types and dial indicator ones should be good brand good quality if you want good torque values to be applied. I too am a Snap-On-Tools and Matco buyer.... And they're not cheap no matter how you get them.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I have had or worked with torque wrenches that have gone bad; people I know have had their expensive units take a dump on them; none are without problems. On a "click" type torque make sure that you unload the spring after use. Also, find an master torque wrench to check yours out... at least once a year.

Lee

[Bruce2]

It needs to be able to measure 22 ft. lbs. of torque.

Definitely do NOT buy a ½" drive torque wrench. It will not be accurate at that reading. 3/8" drive is the way to go.

[fusername]

for teh BIG wrenches, I got a 220 ftlb iirc on ebay for $15, brand new chinese junk. I already had an old craftsman pointer 3/8 for small stuff. I checked the Ebay cheapo against a snapon that had been calibrated a week before and they were perfect at the 2 or 3 torques I did, iirc 30 90 and 120. I use it for big stuff to get ball park, and usually go a lil tighter for saftey. gave me a feel for proper lug torque, and I use it on flywheel bolts.

BUT YOU NEEED A GOOD <35 ftlb wrench for doing important stuff, so dont think you can get away with ebay junk for everything.

[rubbachicken]

look on ebay and craigslist and in pawn stores, find a decent secondhand snap on, mac, matco torque wrench and get it recalibrated
it'll be a lot cheaper than buying a new one
i did this and now have snap on 3/8" 1/2" and 3/4" torque wrenches secondhand and calibrated, all for less than the price of a new snap on 1/2" torque wrench

[frankysfree]

I have had or worked with torque wrenches that have gone bad; people I know have had their expensive units take a dump on them; none are without problems. On a "click" type torque make sure that you unload the spring after use. Also, find an master torque wrench to check yours out... at least once a year.

Lee

I've had one of my torque wrenches for 12 yrs. It's a Matco and I've never had a problem with it even though I use it daily at my shop. If I did ever have a problem Matco comes every Monday like clockwork and will replace it no questions asked...

I do like the suggestion about finding a Snap-On, Matco, or other good brand at a pawn shop or craigslist. Good advice for sure.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I have had or worked with torque wrenches that have gone bad; people I know have had their expensive units take a dump on them; none are without problems. On a "click" type torque make sure that you unload the spring after use. Also, find an master torque wrench to check yours out... at least once a year.

Lee

I've had one of my torque wrenches for 12 yrs. It's a Matco and I've never had a problem with it even though I use it daily at my shop. If I did ever have a problem Matco comes every Monday like clockwork and will replace it no questions asked...

I do like the suggestion about finding a Snap-On, Matco, or other good brand at a pawn shop or craigslist. Good advice for sure.

My first beam torque wrench I got in the mid-50s (I think I still have two of them) and the last time I had it checked (several years ago now) it wasn't far enough off to worry about... I don’t use it anymore so I don’t know if I still have two or one! They just aren't as finite as fasteners are designed to be torqued to. More and more fasteners are measured by stretch and are limited to single use and I see the trend continuing on.

I have seen guys get lucky with pawn shops buys and I have seen poor luck with them (never trust any stories you are told). One never knows why a tool is pawned but some do it to get some money out of crap.

I got conned into lending my inch pound torque wrench to a neighbor’s friend and the rest of the guys had said they would watch to be sure he didn’t abuse it. When I picked it up I took it out of the casse and one of the guy,s who was supposed to have watched things for me, asked why; I unwound the spring and looked at him (smugly I must admit). His reply was: “that son-of-… “. None of us will lend him tools anymore.

You just don’t know how people take care of things so on measuring tools: I always buy new and have that checked out.

No advice, just a warning.


Lee

[Bruce2]

My first beam torque wrench I got in the mid-50s (I think I still have two of them) and the last time I had it checked (several years ago now) it wasn't far enough off to worry about...

There's one big advantage a bending beam torque wrench has over modern ones. They can't go out of calibration. As long as it points to zero at rest, it will be accurate.

[SCOTTRODS]

I always buy new and have that checked out.
Lee

Agreed, Lee..... and where I work now, they pay to calibrate them for me.... I WIN!!!!

That goes for any Measuring tool that requires calibration. Mics, Calipers, all of 'em. I've just had all 3 of my torque wrenches calibrated in the last few weeks. One is still out for cal..... I just sent it in last week.

I need to buy me a Smaller inch. lb. unit though. My smallest only goes down to 50 in. lbs. Some of the stuff we do at the shop requires as low as 31 ....


..... and Bruce.... That IS the ONLY advantage.... I love 'em for it, but hate trying to hold one steady enough to read it while I am torquing something heavy..... Generally speaking, if one of the beam types gets the pointer bent, you can always re-calibrate it manually yourself too.... They're worth the 10 bucks (or less) you can buy 'em for.

[helowrench]

Scott, even the good brands die.
check my desk in the morning for the snap off 3/8 that died.

[bradey bunch]

I was looking at wrenches for everyday use, and looked real hard at CDI, and Precision Instruments, one of which is Snap Ons industrial brand, and the other makes a few torque wrenches for Snap On. I settled on S-O on in the end because it was just easier to buy from a Canadian dealer instead of shipping across the boarder, but CDI and Precision are professional quality for less than a Snap On.

[aircooledtechguy]

For the casual user: Twin beam-style - super simple, nothing to really break, fairly accurate and cheap.

For the more serious user: clicking type, but be careful with it.

About 3 years ago I bought a digital torque wrench. They work using strain gauge technology that has been military proven on aircraft for almost 30 years. I'll NEVER go back to a clicker type. Mine is made by Gear Wrench. They make the digital ones for Sears, Mac tools and many others. I like not having to remember to un-load the spring after use (don't tell me that you have never forgotten cause we've ALL done it. . .) and it's accurate and repeatable. Most tool trucks have a torque wrench calibration checker right on board. Yeah it's not the same as going to have it professionally cal'd, but most of us don't work on aircraft or super critical components etc. that require that kind of precision. It's real easy to check it on the truck and know if it's AFU.

[rubbachicken]

i just bought another snap-on torqometer 0 to 250 ftlbs for $72 shipped, that seems pretty cheap to me, the guy on the truck told me for $65 he'd send it back to snap-on, they'd strip it fix everything even if it's not really broken, calibrate it, and return it, 2 weeks down time.
i'm not going to do it straight away, but sometime it'll happen