Torque wrench

[drcoastline]

What torque wrench do you guys prefer? I have several older Craftsman and Snap On. Do you guys feel older is better or is something new a better choice?

How often do you get them reclaibrated?

[A930Rocket]

I have three 30 year old Snap on 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 torque wrenches which have never been recalibrated. My thought was, since I don’t use them in a professional pasta use setting, then they did not need to be calibrated very often. But after 30 years, it wouldn’t hurt.

I also have a Kobalt 1/2 and a Harbor freight 3/8 digital torque wrench. The last two are two years and six months old respectively, so no recalibration.

I like the Snap On because they are the old style clicker, but I also like the digital torque wrench because it has a degrees setting.

[vash]

if i were to buy one today, i think i would go Middle of the Pack with an SK wrench.

[herr_oberst]

I have SK 1/2 and SK 3/8. Never had them calibrated. A measure of consistency is good enough for my needs.
Project Farm did a test a few weeks ago.

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

I have SK 1/2 and SK 3/8. Never had them calibrated. A measure of consistency is good enough for my needs.
Project Farm did a test a few weeks ago.

I just finished watching this video. Interesting results.

[vash]

when we were building a tunnel they had a torque wrench checker.

everyone brought in their tools to compare. the SK was damn dead nuts. there were three in the group.

my one friend bought his SK from HF when they must have gotten a few that fell off a truck. he paid $80. they were sold out by the time he let me know.

[Skytrooper]

As far as calibration goes, as long as you are not using them on aircaft, not too much to worry about.

REMEMBER... always wind them back down to zero when done using them. They use a spring to control when they "break away" upon reaching the torque setting. Leaving tension on the spring is the quickest, easiest way to turn them into a breaker bar.

When a torque wrench is calibrated, they adjust or replace the spring.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Skytrooper

REMEMBER... always wind them back down to zero when done using them.

I take this one step further and lift it ever-so-slightly off the zero stop. Just my OCD.

((it's stupid that I do this because I'm really not capable of doing very precise work, but I can't help myself)

[A930Rocket]

Maybe Higgins will chime in, but when I worked at Boeing I believe they said it had to be lowered to the bottom 20% capacity of the torque wrench or something similar.

Obviously, resting at zero for long periods of time would be better than a high torque setting.

[devodave]

When I worked in the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, only used dial (Snap-On) torque wrenches. They were verified upon check out from the tool crib and upon return (IIRC, you could keep them up to 7 days). If it was found out of calibration, had to go back and check all of the fasteners that it had been used on since checkout, as we documented each and every one. Only good to use between 25% and 87% of the scale. I still am reluctant to use a clicker type. Its amazing to see how others torque fasteners (sequence, completion, movement) after working in that environment!

That being said, undoing the spring seems like a great way to ensure there is no change in the internal mechanism while they sit in our tool chests. Unfortunately, mine just don't get used often enough.

[SCadaddle]

I picked one of these up at the local Harbor Freight just the other day. It's a neat little doo dad, good for torquing lug nuts with a breaker bar but getting into tight places it's probably not the ticket. Worthwhile having a digital method of checking your torque wrench for what that's worth. I consider it $30 well spent.

Warning: colorful language. Typical douchbaggery.

[TimT]

torque wrench checker

In our industry that's usually made by Skidmore/Wilhelm

And called a Skidmore....

Its easy to check a wrenches calibration

fix the drive in a vise. set the wrench to 10#.... hang a 10#weight 1' from center.. nudge the wrench it it clicks.. you're good.. you can do numerous iterations. 20# ... nd on..

use beam wrenches for critical things...

[Brian 162]

I bought a 1/2 inch ICON torque wrench from Harbor Freight in early December. So far so good. I mostly use it for when I do a tire changeover from summer to winter tires for my fleet of 2 vehicles.
For a change I read the directions. Before every use they want the wrench wound to max then to zero. Then set to what setting you want.

[Skytrooper]

Dont forget that if you use any offset adapter, it drastically changes your torque value. Straight on is ok.

[sc_rufctr]

I own 3 Snap On's. 2 were bought second hand and had them checked by the Snap On guy in our area.

The "Torqometer" (bottom photo) is for working on bicycles.
- You really need one for modern components because it's so easy to accidentally over tighten a fastener.

They would have to be some of the most used tools I have.

(Old photos)

[A930Rocket]

Originally Posted by Skytrooper

Dont forget that if you use any offset adapter, it drastically changes your torque value. Straight on is ok.

Straight down vertically is OK. Anything to the left or right horizontally less than 90° is OK. Using something like the attached picture.

Anything over 90° forward of the torque wrench is not OK.

At least that’s what I was taught.

[Rawknees'Turbo]

Any adapter that does not change the length of the torque wrench can be used and the indicated/set torque of the wrench is what is being applied to the bolt or nut, according the the operating manual that came with my Snap-on digital (Techwrench), which even has markings on the wrench indicating the length they are talking about. In other words, if one were to use an adapter (shorties, such as in the pic above, or ones much longer), it just needs to be positioned at a 90 degree angle to the torque wrench head (I think that is what Rocket is describing above)

[JackDidley]

In have a harbor freight one I use for wheels. I have 3/8 and 1/2" drive Snapons that I use for stuff that counts. 15 years old but not much use. I keep thinking I should sell them because I dont work on cars anymore. Then I find myself using them so i dont sell.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by vash

if i were to buy one today, i think i would go Middle of the Pack with an SK wrench.

Internet tool junkies are now wondering about the future of SK. It seems they have been bought out by the Chinese. So, what will happen quality wise?

That said, I have a snap on in 1/2" Drive, Craftsman in 3/8".

(edit) After watching project farm videos, one thing became clear to me. We both like the same ballpoint pen. That would be the Fisher Bullet space pen.

[Jeff Alton]

I have 4 Snap-On torque wrenches (1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4). All but the 3/4 are digital. The techs in my shop have another 10 Snap-On torque wrenches amongst them. I have mine calibrated yearly, they have all been fine.

When using a torque adapter, the Snap-On digital wrenches let you put the length in and adjust accordingly.

Cheers