Torque wrenches for rest of us

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This is only for guys who do not need impress others by their tools. Please don't read this any further if you are one them.

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/additional-how-to/ccrp-1304-torque-wrench-testing/

Here is the conclusion:-
"We tested a variety of torque wrenches on Cornerstone’s digital bench unit and were impressed with the accuracy of the Harbor Freight tools. We tested torque accuracy mainly at 70 lb-ft but also at 20 and 120 lb-ft."
 
For people in Canada, NAPA carries excellent cheap torque wrenches.

I have the 3/8" drive and 1/2" drive Napa and am considering 1/4" (in-lbs) for spark plugs.

BUT, I only plan on doing my plugs once at the 5 year mark, then it may be a super long time before I use it again.

Always wanted a Snap-On torque wrench but the prices are insane.
 
Originally Posted By: Falken
For people in Canada, NAPA carries excellent cheap torque wrenches.

I have the 3/8" drive and 1/2" drive Napa and am considering 1/4" (in-lbs) for spark plugs.

BUT, I only plan on doing my plugs once at the 5 year mark, then it may be a super long time before I use it again.

Always wanted a Snap-On torque wrench but the prices are insane.


The 3/8" should be perfectly fine for flat seated spark plugs, unless it has an abnormally high capacity. My 3/8" that I use for spark plugs goes from 2-20 ft./lbs., while the one I use for drain plugs goes from 10-100 ft./lbs. 1/4" would be too tiny to fiddle with in my opinion. On your Fit the plugs should be torqued to 18-21 ft./lbs. I torque new flat seated plugs with dry threads to 19.5 on aluminum heads.

Chances are your Napa wrenches were made by Snap-On. Largest torque wrench manufacturer, just made to the re-seller's quality standard, not to the Snap-On brand's.
 
So this article verifies what I have always heard, but was not sure.....
You should always put the torque back to zero and take the pressure off the springs to keep its accuracy. Agree?
 
where is the rest of the results? is this just a harbor freight hit job? i always look to hotrod.com because everything hot rod needs to be measured to .0001
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I calibrate torque wrenches for a living. Do yourself a favor and get the Craftsman click type. They have a distinct click action, are easy to set to the desired torque, are long enough to give you a good leverage, and are reasonably priced.

The Harbor Freight wrenches are short and don't give a very good leverage on the high end, the "click" on them is often hard to detect, the markings on the barrel often don't line up properly and they are generally crude. They fail calibration a lot!
 
The need to return to zero and inevitable drift over time is one reason I still use an old-school beam torque wrench. Its not as convenient in that you have to watch the pointer rather than just listen for a click- but as long as you don't heat it, beat on it, or otherwise change the crystillaine makeup of the beam, it will be accurate.
 
One thing to note-

That article is from a while ago. It's been posted and discussed on Garage Journal quite a bit. The HF torque wrenches were made in Taiwan for a long time, and that's what the article used. Now, they seem to be transitioning to Chinese wrenches. It's not clear the new Chinese ones are as good as the Taiwanese version.

I own both high-quality USA-made torque wrenches (Armstrong and CDI) and the HF torque wrench. The quality torque wrenches are better, but the HF torque wrench works quite well. Mine is now about 6 or 7 years old and it still checks out as more than accurate enough for my needs.

I will add, the torque adapter they tested in the article is a very interesting tool that I've used a lot more than I thought I would. I pretty much only use it for testing torque wrenches, but to me it's well worth the price for that use alone.

Originally Posted By: Chris142
I looked at the 5 on the shelf @ HF and all were already broken. I found a USA made one on clearance @sears


How did you determine they were broken?

Originally Posted By: redbone3
I calibrate torque wrenches for a living. Do yourself a favor and get the Craftsman click type. They have a distinct click action, are easy to set to the desired torque, are long enough to give you a good leverage, and are reasonably priced.

The Harbor Freight wrenches are short and don't give a very good leverage on the high end, the "click" on them is often hard to detect, the markings on the barrel often don't line up properly and they are generally crude. They fail calibration a lot!


Which Craftsman torque wrenches are you referring to, the older USA-made ones (which are now gone) or the new Chinese ones?

My experience with the USA-made Craftsman wrench and the HF wrench do not mirror what you're saying. My Craftsman wrench didn't really click at all. It made pretty much no audible sound, you just had to feel for when it "gave."

The HF torque wrench I own clicks audibly. As I already noted, my HF wrench has been properly stored and is still plenty accurate after more than 5 years of use.
 
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
is this just a harbor freight hit job?


They would never do that, of course its a good as Snap-on. Its on the same page as the rickety garden green house. LOL
 
Originally Posted By: Falken
For people in Canada, NAPA carries excellent cheap torque wrenches.

I have the 3/8" drive and 1/2" drive Napa and am considering 1/4" (in-lbs) for spark plugs.

BUT, I only plan on doing my plugs once at the 5 year mark, then it may be a super long time before I use it again.

Always wanted a Snap-On torque wrench but the prices are insane.


We unfortunately don't have a lot of choice.

I have Tekton 1/4" 1.6-16 ft/lb (for low-torque applications such as cylinder head cover bolts or valve adjustment), and Tekton 3/8" 10-80 ft/lb, both are reasonably priced and readily available at amazon.ca . I paid $88 CDN (tax included) for both and I'd highly recommend them.

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00C5ZL2...ailpage_o00_s00

I also have Powerfist (princess-auto brand) 1/2" 20-150 ft/lb. It's also cheap ($24 cdn on sale). Tektons are better than this but it's just for the lug nuts.
 
Originally Posted By: Falken
Always wanted a Snap-On torque wrench but the prices are insane.


How about $140 for a brand new 1/4 drive?

Good deals on ebay if you're patient.
 
This article verifies only one thing: its authors are quite illiterate when it comes to mechanical metrology.
 
Originally Posted By: Y_K
This article verifies only one thing: its authors are quite illiterate when it comes to mechanical metrology.


How so? They did use a Cornerstone’s digital bench unit, did they not?
 
Originally Posted By: jcwit
How so? They did use a Cornerstone’s digital bench unit, did they not?


Methodology is more important than equipment. Too many issues to elaborate.

[e.g. number of actuations vs time, metrological variance up and down the range, the notion of spring deviation is so XIX Century, etc] Give a Stradivarius to a monkey..

Defined by Standards! Who sponsored the "artice"? Horror Scheisse.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: Falken
Always wanted a Snap-On torque wrench but the prices are insane.


How about $140 for a brand new 1/4 drive?

Good deals on ebay if you're patient.


I like the Precision Instrument split beam torque wrenches. They used to make them for Snap-On. You don't have to set it to 0 when you are done. About $115 for a 20-100lbs 3/8 drive. Made in USA.
Precision%20Instruments%20Split%20Beam%20Click%20Type%20Torque%20Wrench.jpg
 
+1 on the Precision Instruments. I bought a used Snap-On one, and really like the way you smoothly pull, it gives an audible snap but the snap doesn't really apply a bump of torque to the fastener like a traditional clicker does.
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
The need to return to zero and inevitable drift over time is one reason I still use an old-school beam torque wrench. Its not as convenient in that you have to watch the pointer rather than just listen for a click- but as long as you don't heat it, beat on it, or otherwise change the crystillaine makeup of the beam, it will be accurate.


This. You also have to make sure the pointer doesn't hang up on the scale because you're flexing the beam off axis- no big deal.

Beam wrenches give you more information, like oscillating torque values as you rotate. If you follow the clicker you'll finish on a local maxima every time. You might be better off moving on through the next minima- or cleaning the threads and starting over. Clickers won't give you this information, and allow you to live in blissful ignorance.
 
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