Torque Wrench

Folks,

I am considering buying a digitorque wrench and was wondering if there
are any opinions about this tool. I just looked at one of these for
work on my Honda. Craftsman is the only one I know that makes this
type of torque wrench. Anyway, I wasn't too sure about the build of
this tool since the bottom cap which has to be pulled out to set the
torque is knid of flimsy looking plastic. The older model craftsman
torque wrenches seem to be better built but are propably not as easy
to set however they [are] less expensive. I am more interested in
durability than convenience since craftsman does not offer lifetime
warranty on torque wrenches.

Any feedback would greatly apprecaied.

TIA
muze

 

I considered the Sears Craftstman Digitorque earlier this year but
felt it would be too hard and just generally too cumbersome to get
into a lot of places and work with where I needed it.

I ultimately settled on a Husky click torque wrench (10 ft-lbs to 100
ft-lbs) from Home Depot, as it looked about as good as the Craftsman
click torque wrench equivalent and was about $20 cheaper. (Last year
it was $60.) I use it a lot.

A few months later I bought a Harbor Freight Pittsburgh torque wrench
for inch-pound applications, 20 inch-pounds to something like 200
inch-pounds. It's flimsy and will not last long but was on sale for
$20. I couldn't resist. I've been pleased with it. Once, I compared it
to the Husky (set at the lower ranges), and they seemed dead-on. I use
it a lot, too.

I do think one gets what one pays for when it comes to click torque
wrenches, but for the DIYer (shucks, even the paid auto tech., who I
really doubt bothers with a torque wrench except for maybe head
bolts), I think the above are just fine.

If you have the time, I'd say visit Home Depot, Harbor Freight, and
Sears, and get a close up look at all their torque wrench offerings,
then decide.

All three have good online sites (photos, descriptions, prices), too,
BTW.

 

Those are awfully expensive. Sears won't offer the same warranty on
those torque wrenches because they will need to be recalibrated, and
it would be way out of line with their unconditional warranty. A
beam type torque wrench almost never needs to be calibrated, and
do carry the lifetime warranty.

I bought the following (the original URL was way too long):

<http://tinyurl.com/6bhdr>

It's made in Taiwan, but is almost all metal, with a 10-150 ft-lbs
range. I actually got it to share the shipping costs of a T-70
Torx bit I bought from the same retailer.

 

I am under the impression (from a lot of research on the sujbect last
year) that the beam types do not hold calibration well at all, and
that any warranty for them certainly does not cover loss of
calibration.

But let's see what others say.

 

i'd save the money and reapply it to some good measuring calipers or
something like that.

regarding clicking torque wrenches, i know a lot of folks "like" them,
but the facts are, they are not as reliable and therefore not as
accurate as the cheap bending beam variety of torque wrench. commercial
operators that use clickers have them constantly recalibrated, which is
not something the average joe can do at home. i can't see a
"digitorque" on the sears website, and have no clue how the digitorque
works, but i'd be surprised if it offers a cost effective improvement
over the ugly but extroardinarily effective bending beam.

 

There's almost nothing to go wrong with a beam-type torque wrench,
short of catastrophic failure. Sometimes the pointer beam goes
out of alignment, but it's as simple as moving it back to zero;
this part doesn't move at all in normal use. There really is
nothing to calibrate. The torque measurement is solely a result
of how much the beam bends, as opposed to the oodles of delicate
parts in a micrometer click-type torque wrench.

 

You're right: It's just a spring being deflected in a beam-type, and
there are more parts that can fail in the click-type.

On further reflection I think the reason I rejected the beam type
torque wrench is that it's cumbersome to read while applying torque,
particularly in the somewhat tight spaces under the hood or in the
wheel wells.

 

Stick with a plain old beam type torque wrench. The digitorque models will
require recalibration on a regular basis.

 

I have an older Craftsman 'clicker' torque wrench (range starts at 20
Ft.lbs. and goes above 100) and it has served me well or over 10 years.

Where would one go to have this tool recalibrated? -

Not that calibration is 'all that'.... As long as it is consistant...
Because aren't all you are doing is to 'equally' tighten the fasteners. For
example, I'll use mine to tighten the lug nuts on my Civic. Set the wrench
to 80 ft. lbs. and go to town. Even if it is not actually 80, all nuts are
tightened to the same torque. No?

Rick

 

Check the Craftsman area on Sears Web site. I just had a 30 year old
Snap-On torque wrench refurbished & calibrated by Snap-On. IIRC it was
difficult to figure out where it was actually done, so I had to email them.

 

Team Torque is a torque wrench calibration lab.
701-223-4552 www.teamtorque.com
FYI

them.

 

my 34 year old Craftsman clicker style torque, passed onto me when my dad
passed away eight years ago, tested by Snap-on driver to be more accurate
that their new ones!!!!!!!

And I leave it set on 90 ft/lbs for my rims!!!!!!!

 

Doesn't the manual say 80 ft/lbs? I started paying attention after putting
on some slotted rotors...