torgue wrenches

[Pat C]

I'm looking to purchase a tougue wrench, I was going to get one from Sears, but read the reviews and they all said it sucks. Some one recommended one from JC Whitney, I checked it out and the cost was great only $32.00, and it could be used as a 1/2" or 3/8" and it got good reviews. Just wondering if anybody has used this torgue wrench or could recommend one that won't break the bank? torgue wrench

 

[FJRay]

It depends on what you are going to do with it. I have had good luck with Craftsman tools and if I needed a pry bar I would buy the Whitney. In my tool box there are 7 torque wrenches from 1/4 drive inch pound all the way to 3/4 drive with a multiplyer. Probably have $1000.00 in torque wrenches. Hope this helps.

 

[jwhite518]

Probably have $1000.00 in torque wrenches. Hope this helps.

Showoff. :lol:

 

[El Toro]

I have an old Craftsman deflecting needle/beam type torque wrench for maybe 10 - 120 ft-lbs that I've had for at least 40 years. These are fool proof, and require no maintenance, but they're not particularly precise, and you have to get a proper swing area to use them correctly. Nevertheless, they're cheap, and if you're doing things like spark plugs, or relatively large bolts, they can be OK.

I also have a set of KD Tool rachet/dial/click type torque wrenches. These need to be calibrated once in a while, but they are very consistent, and I use them for most things. I have at least three of them, and they range from maybe something on the order of 30 inch-lbs on up to maybe 150 ft-lbs across the set.

I also have a small torque wrench that is in a screwdriver style, but with a ratchet/click/dial type mechanism, and it is for a few inch-pounds up to maybe 50 inch pounds. There's nothing really on a bike that needs this low range, but I have it for my gunsmithing work where some screw specs may be given in increments less than 30 inch pounds.

I think the minimum price of admission to do decent work on a bike is to cover the range from 60 inch pounds out to maybe 120 foot pounds. There's not usually much on a bike that's outside this range.

As with any mechanical measuring instrument, it costs some money to get decent accuracy and consistency. You can get a good needle/beam type wrench for less than $30. It would be hard to get a decent ratchet/dial/click type wrench for less than $100.

Extensions are important too, as are good sockets. If you're going to get a good torque reading from any wrench, you've got to use the wrench correctly, and this can become trickier when extensions are used... even though extensions are critical to a lot of torque measurements.

 

[MojaveFJR]

you get what you pay for. I got one from Harbor Freight, one of the Pittsburgh ones. EH, should of just invested in the craftsman and called it good. Money wasted.

 

[Bill]

Instead of replacing my another Craftsman, I bought a used Snap-On that was recently calibrated and in excellent condition. I paid about $125 for it but felt that it was an excellent value

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

Sears is having a sale on their torque wrenches as of last weekend.

 

[WBill]

Only problem I have with my old-school Craftsman swinging beam is when I turn it upside down to torque drain plugs. Then, the guage is not visible. I put a piece of masking tape around the back side of the guage at the right point to tell if I am in the right place. Kind of a drag, but (I guess) it works.

I wonder if the error of measurement of any garage-use torque wrench is enough to worry. Maybe "My Cousin Vinny's Ms. Vito" cold clear this up. Do we really need to be dead-on-balls-accurate? WBill

 

[El Toro]

Only problem I have with my old-school Craftsman swinging beam is when I turn it upside down to torque drain plugs. Then, the guage is not visible. I put a piece of masking tape around the back side of the guage at the right point to tell if I am in the right place. Kind of a drag, but (I guess) it works.
I wonder if the error of measurement of any garage-use torque wrench is enough to worry. Maybe "My Cousin Vinny's Ms. Vito" cold clear this up. Do we really need to be dead-on-balls-accurate? WBill

The torque specs are based on expected conditions in the male-female thread interface. The goal isn't the torque. The goal is the fastener elongation and the compression of the sandwich. There is no guarantee that a particular torque will lead to an exact target elongation, although the closer conditions are to those assumed, the better the result should be.

I don't think you have to be dead accurate in torquing most exterior stuff. Probably +/- 15% from the spec would be just fine for most stuff that sees a static load. Stuff loaded in fatigue would benefit from closer control. I think Yamaha is probably fairly thoughtful about their torque specs and the rationale behind them.

 

[tenex]

I have two Craftsman micrometer torque wrenches (3/8" drive and 1/2" drive). The only problem with them is that the locking ring that is used to lock the torque setting is plastic. It broke on both wrenches, in normal usage, and was not covered under warranty. Craftsman torque wrenches don't carry the same lifetime warranty as other Craftsman hand tools - they're only covered for a year. Having them repaired is cost prohibitive, and they'd just put a new plastic locking ring on, which would probably break again.

If you read the reviews on the Sears website, you'll see that this is a very common problem. The wrenches are still usable, but you have to be very careful that the torque setting doesn't change on you. Most of my hand tools are Craftsman, and I've been happy with them. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't buy Craftsman torque wrenches.

 

[El Toro]

I used to really like Craftsman tools. My grandfather gave me my first ratchet and socket set, and these were Craftsman. Craftsman tools felt good in the hand (nearly as good as Snap On). Craftsman tools had a lifetime no questions warranty (as good as Snap On). Craftsman tools were priced very modestly (much better than Snap On). SK Wayne was the third player, and they knurled the handle of their ratchet for better friction I suppose. I hated SK Wayne ratches because if you used the ratchet all day, the knurling was very hard on your hand.

After about 15 years, the ratchet my grandfather had given me failed. I took it to a Sears & Roebuck store where they handed me a new ratchet without any discussion and I was happy. Ten years later the replacement ratchet failed, and they gave me another one for free. Still happy, but noticed the quality of fit and finish had degenerated. Ten years later, replacement ratchet failed and they gave me another one for free. Less happy because of obvious quality difference in fit, finish, and feel between the ratchet being traded and the ratchet being given for free. And five years later when ratchet failed again, they gave me a rebuild kit and told me to rebuild it myself (which I did). My alternative was for them to take my failed ratchet and send it back for repair. I rarely use the rebuilt Craftsman ratchet. It works, but I like other ratchets better. In fact, over the last 20 years, the failure of the Craftsman ratchets reflects far less use than in the first 20 years. I do dramatically less wrenching, and it is no longer a joy to use the Craftsman ratchet.

Craftsman hand tools are OK, especially if they have no more than two moving parts, but they are no longer "nearly as good as Snap On." Tools have always been a source of Joy.... at least up until the Chinese figured out how to pack them in containers and seduce our MBA types into buying them for distribution at every outlet in the US.

 

[tenex]

My experience is the same. I have four or five Craftsman ratchets. The older ones that my dad gave me thirty years ago have a metal selector to change the ratcheting direction and very positive engagement. The newer ones have a plastic selector and are obviously not the same quality.

 

[Bandit12]

The torque specs are based on expected conditions in the male-female thread interface. The goal isn't the torque. The goal is the fastener elongation and the compression of the sandwich. There is no guarantee that a particular torque will lead to an exact target elongation, although the closer conditions are to those assumed, the better the result should be.
I don't think you have to be dead accurate in torquing most exterior stuff. Probably +/- 15% from the spec would be just fine for most stuff that sees a static load. Stuff loaded in fatigue would benefit from closer control. I think Yamaha is probably fairly thoughtful about their torque specs and the rationale behind them.

I remember when I was wrenching on jet engines in the air force, for really critical torque on specific internal engine parts, we had an elaborate procedure we needed to follow.

For example, the core compressor shaft torque we would have to apply an initial torque. Then we would have to remove the torque multiplier (sweeney wrench) and using a depth micrometer, take a drop measurement from the rear of the shaft to the rear disk. Then we'd have to re-install the sweeney and re-torque the shaft nut. Remove the sweeney again and take another drop measurement. Subtract the second measurement from the first to determine the "stretch" on the shaft. Then compare the stretch measurement to the specs in the T.O. to make sure we had the nut tight enough. If the stretch wasn't enough, we had to do it all again.

For something as large as the core compressor on a TF-39 engine that needs to spin at 10K RPM or more for hours on end, doesn't seem to be too involved. :blink:

 

[saread]

Only problem I have with my old-school Craftsman swinging beam is when I turn it upside down to torque drain plugs. Then, the guage is not visible. I put a piece of masking tape around the back side of the guage at the right point to tell if I am in the right place. Kind of a drag, but (I guess) it works.
I wonder if the error of measurement of any garage-use torque wrench is enough to worry. Maybe "My Cousin Vinny's Ms. Vito" cold clear this up. Do we really need to be dead-on-balls-accurate? WBill

The torque specs are based on expected conditions in the male-female thread interface. The goal isn't the torque. The goal is the fastener elongation and the compression of the sandwich. There is no guarantee that a particular torque will lead to an exact target elongation, although the closer conditions are to those assumed, the better the result should be.

I don't think you have to be dead accurate in torquing most exterior stuff. Probably +/- 15% from the spec would be just fine for most stuff that sees a static load. Stuff loaded in fatigue would benefit from closer control. I think Yamaha is probably fairly thoughtful about their torque specs and the rationale behind them.

True. A torque reading is an approximation. Stretching the fastener to obtain a desired tension is what we're after (steel is a wonderfully elastic material). But, in most applications we can't measure the amount of stretch we're getting, we approximate it with a force measurement. This would actually work in a perfect world where friction would be a constant. So, torque specs have some assumptions involved. Such as lubricated threads, fastener head size, tensile stress under the yield point of the material, etc. Blow any of the assumptions, and the torque reading is just a good guess. In fact, given the variation allowed in any of the assumptions, torque measurements are still just a good guess. Fortunately, for the vast majority of situations, we just need to be in the ballpark and decently consistent. As long as my torque wrench can do this, I'm not too worried. There's a lot more affecting the implied tension measurement than just the error in my wrench.

An interesting place to note where it is possible to measure bolt stretch and is commonly done is for rod bolts in racing engines. Rod bolts in this application are of extremely good quality and the stretch can be measured quite easily. But, because you're always trying to keep the reciprocating mass to a minimum, they tend to be small diameter and need to be stretched to near the yield point to get the required clamping force; so it's easy to over stretch one of them and ruin it.

 

[Bustanut joker]

Well I held off long enough.. Spelling and redundancy finally took a toll.

How's aboot this classic...

:jester:

How about Sears Craftsmen? More money, a Snap-On , MAC Tools, or Proto? They aren't real expensive. Everyone doing any vehicle maintenance should have a descent torque wrench.
Good luck.

....

 

[eg23232]

you get what you pay for. I got one from Harbor Freight, one of the Pittsburgh ones. EH, should of just invested in the craftsman and called it good. Money wasted.

I will not buy another tool from Harbor Frieght again. Ever. They're *****.

Bought a torque wrench from there and it broke the first time.

Went to Sears and got one of these on sale: https://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00947711000P

Nice. 3/8 drive covers most of the smaller stuff. I have a Craftsman 1/2 drive clicker that's dependable but I'm going to upgrade to electronic.

 

[Patriot]

you get what you pay for. I got one from Harbor Freight, one of the Pittsburgh ones. EH, should of just invested in the craftsman and called it good. Money wasted.

I will not buy another tool from Harbor Frieght again. Ever. They're *****.

Bought a torque wrench from there and it broke the first time.

Went to Sears and got one of these on sale: https://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00947711000P

Nice. 3/8 drive covers most of the smaller stuff. I have a Craftsman 1/2 drive clicker that's dependable but I'm going to upgrade to electronic.

Sorry gang, but I disagree strongly - have the advantage of a Harbor Freight store nearby and best friend riding partner who is the maintenance super big whig at the nearby Nuke Plant. We both have had good experiences with their tools carefully purchased to do a certain job with certain expectations. My lone torque wrenches are all HF - 1/4, 3/8, & 1/2 inch drives. The three work fine and are close enough for gov work. I do take good care of them and don't throw or drop them. Had 'em for years and use them for all three bikes including FJR and they do the job for me. Picked up all of them over time either on sale 33% off or using one of those coupons in the flyer at the local store. Less than $15 each as I recall.

Just my 1.5cents

Let's all ride safe and be careful out there,

Merry Christmas everyone,

Mike in Nawlins'