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torque wrenches

greencobra

greencobra

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are all torque wrenches equal when it comes to price? i'm looking to pick one up but the prices are all over the place, from cheapies at harbor freight to pretty damn expensive from snap on. the range of torque measurement seems to be the only visible difference with these. since i'm not a mechanic that would use this every day can i get away with a cheapo? i guess what i really want to ask is will the torque readings be accurate no matter the price range? i only want it to install barrel nuts and castle nuts, nothing heavy duty.
 
Good Harbor Freight advice I got awhile ago was to avoid buying "precision" equipment there....yes I'm sure there are plenty of stories out there of people being completely in love with their $20 torque wrench.

You are buying a torque wrench because you are looking for a degree of accuracy beyond what most home mechanics(or gunsmiths) would normally use...spend a little more. Doesn't need to be Snap-On, but there lots of options in between. I've got a Craftsman that works quite well that was under $100.
 
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greencobra said:
are all torque wrenches equal when it comes to price? i'm looking to pick one up but the prices are all over the place, from cheapies at harbor freight to pretty damn expensive from snap on. the range of torque measurement seems to be the only visible difference with these. since i'm not a mechanic that would use this every day can i get away with a cheapo? i guess what i really want to ask is will the torque readings be accurate no matter the price range? i only want it to install barrel nuts and castle nuts, nothing heavy duty.
Click to expand...

Working in the auto repair for 25 years now I have seen just about every level of quality in torque wrenches.
I personally own snap on and have had them all for 25plus years. We also have some German made preset torque screwdrivers that are very nice. For valve stem and toms work.
For most gun work a decent manual click style craftsman should be fine. Harbor Friwght are sketchy and would not really trust them.. for light torque application I have the wheeler engineering torque screwdriver and it's not bad for the money. I tested it against my snappy 1/4 Dr wrench and it seems to be as close as it can be with the not so precise test.
It's never been "looser" than the setting and at 2lbs more it will move. So it's with in 2lbs/setting of my snappy.
We have another brand at work and they make TWs for snap on I will get the name. They often have factory direct sales.

we have a few of these as general shop use wrenches. they are well built
and have or at least have made them for snap on. I think ADI makes wrenches for snap on also.
http://www.torqwrench.com/tools/genPage.php?type=M&drive=2
 
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Cheapest one I would buy is a craftsman other than that snap on. You do get what you pay for and remember to back off the torque adjustment when you go to store your torque wrench.
 
I bought one from Home Depot (one of their Husky branded tools) for right around $100 to put barrels on ARs. It came with a printed calibration slip that showed expected and actual results for three different torque levels (call them low, medium, and high based on the range of the wrench) - all were well within spec. It has worked well for me so far.
 
CDI is a snap-on brand. They are excellent wrenches. That said, I tend to think the Home depot or even Harbor freight wrenches would be accurate enough for general use. Probably just not as durable for hard everyday usage. Also, the big thing to remember with clicker type wrenches is to ALWAYS return the return the torque setting to its lowest value before putting it away. Any brand wrench can quickly lose accuracy if stored under tension for long periods.
 
Dakar652 said:
Do you NEED to buy one. rent one from autozone or come use/borrow mine if you'd like. I have a 3/8" and a 1/2" drive.
Click to expand...

To be honest if the application is calling for a torque wrench I wouldn't dare rent one from the auto parts stores. These things need to be calibrated every year if I remember correctly. Plus you don't know if the yahoo before you used it as a breaker bar or if it's been abused. I have a kobalt ft/lb 3/8 and a craftsman in/lb one and both work fine. I much prefer kobalt tools over husky and craftsmans lines.
 
Agree with all the above.
If something really has to be torqued, don't go to harbor freight.
Sears/Home Depot suits most needs.
Snap on, if your life or your job depends on it often.
 
I second the craftsman torque wrench clicky. The ones that are dials are of higher accuracy but they're also very hard to use. I believe to use a dial torque wrench properly you need two people. One to operate the wrench the other to monitor the dial. I don't think you need a dial. As others have said a craftsman clicky will work for you.
 
i think you guys are a little paranoid...we're not working on space shuttles or airplanes here. if the torque wrench is within range of being accurate, it'll get the job done.

fyi...most snap on trucks have a mounted dial gauge inside that they will allow you to use to check the calibration of your torque wrenches...go on the truck somewhere and ask if you can use it...worst they can say is no, right?

i torque my barrel nuts, don't get me wrong (along with most fasteners on my motorcycles)...but I wouldn't worry about a few ft/lbs in one direction or another for anything. just my $.02...i'll stand by for the skewering from keyboard commandos ;)
 
Have a kobalt, it's as accurate as I needs for the work I do, probably more so. Got it for a good price a couple years back and haven't had any problems with it. Good quality I must say.
 
One thing a lot of people will learn after using a TW is they have been over tightening by a good amount.
Also with torque you find things out like just how touchy your action screws can be.

I found my sweet spot on my 10/22 to be 15-18 Inch lbs.
I have been over tightening that screw for years.
Figure a half decent wrench is in the 3% range.
I think my snappy cirt for my 1/2" reads 3.5%
Clicker type...
 
Dakar652 said:
i torque my barrel nuts, don't get me wrong (along with most fasteners on my motorcycles)...but I wouldn't worry about a few ft/lbs in one direction or another for anything. just my $.02...i'll stand by for the skewering from keyboard commandos ;)
Click to expand...

this guy knows how to torque his nuts. AR barrel nut range is like 35 to 80 ft-lb maybe? Precise it is not. if you're anywhere near those boundaries just back it off and do over. it'll happen eventually.

Chet0729 said:
Get a beam style, they are accurate and not prone to issues
Click to expand...

that's what i have, an old craftsman beam. the catch is you have to be moving when you read it so it's a little tricky. i made a jig once with some pipe and my vice and hung some weights off the 1 ft. mark and it was dam close.

funny story: was using it to torque the valve covers on my old car back in the day and I was so in tune to watching the dial get to 15 I didn't notice how close I was to the battery and nearly crapped myself when it touched the positive terminal.

for car tires torque sticks are where it's at these days.
 
I wouldn't screw around with a torque wrench. I own a Snap On and it has served me for 15 + years. I was a former mechanic and you shouldn't screw around with tools like that.
 
All of my tools are Snap-on. I have a half inch Drive torque wrench that I would be willing to part with but it is not cheap. Working in the industrial world I hardly have ever used it but it came in a set
 
I bought a Harbor Freight torque wrench to work on my motorcycle. It never clicked and I sheared off the first bolt. Fortunately I could get it out with an extractor but I'll never use it again.

This summer I got a set of preset wrenches for working on my bicycles and they're amazing. Just grab the one you need for that torque rating and the right bit and away you go. They're all I use now. They aren't enough for automotive work but perfect for smaller stuff like bicycles and some car/motorcycle stuff.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Another_David said:
this guy knows how to torque his nuts. AR barrel nut range is like 35 to 80 ft-lb maybe? Precise it is not. if you're anywhere near those boundaries just back it off and do over. it'll happen eventually.



that's what i have, an old craftsman beam. the catch is you have to be moving when you read it so it's a little tricky. i made a jig once with some pipe and my vice and hung some weights off the 1 ft. mark and it was dam close.

funny story: was using it to torque the valve covers on my old car back in the day and I was so in tune to watching the dial get to 15 I didn't notice how close I was to the battery and nearly crapped myself when it touched the positive terminal.

for car tires torque sticks are where it's at these days.
Click to expand...

The torque sticks can be dangerous.
How much air being delivered to the air gun can have a big influence on the on the end result. Even the sticks with the drive end for sockets can be influenced by the socket used.
What I like about the sticks is it makes it a little harder to over torque. Still doesn't keep tech from running them down un even. I still want every one in our shop to check wheel torque with wrench.
 

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