recommend me a good torque wrench
- Thread starter nmwranglerx
- Start date
firecrew1
Member
I have had the cheap ones as well. but now i have a snap-on and havent had an issue with it. :thumb: however, you cant go wrong with craftsman either
i have a 3/8" drive and 1/2" drive craftsman that work great!
andrew -
andrew -
The Wandering Jeeper
Caught the Bug
I use Craftsman at home and for the trail I have Harbor Freight. I mean, $10 bucks and a lifetime guarantee for a trail tool. What's not to like. I carry the 3/8 one with me for beadlocks mainly. :twocents:
BBrown626
New member
For the bigger stuff the Kobalt from Lowes works very well and feels great.
Craftsman for the medium stuff, but I find they are not as consistent as the above or below wrenches.
For the small, delicate work is pays to spend more and get a nicer wrench that is accurate. You will avoid stripping parts or over torquing delicate parts like cam caps. I use an SK 1/4".
Craftsman for the medium stuff, but I find they are not as consistent as the above or below wrenches.
For the small, delicate work is pays to spend more and get a nicer wrench that is accurate. You will avoid stripping parts or over torquing delicate parts like cam caps. I use an SK 1/4".
GCM 2
New member
Snap-on, Mac Tools, etc. for garage use, and a digital one at that (very pricey, but extremely accurate). For the trail I use a home-depot "Husky" brand and keep it in the hard case it comes in (about $100). If it gets destroyed I'm not loosing much, but it's pretty decent quality.
piginajeep
The Original Smartass
I broke the handle craftsman recently, they won't warranty them after a year. I was careful with it and always kept it in it's case. So it wasn't from abuse.
I bought a new one and broke the ratchet head on the third bolt (80 ft).
Needless to say its returned and I'm looking at snap on
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nmwranglerx
Caught the Bug
Thanks for the feedback guys:thumb: looks like snap-on and craftsmen are well liked. GCM2, I'm curious about benefit of digital, more accurate, easier to read/set?
GCM 2
New member
As you stated; more accurate, easier to read/set, also typically doesn't need to be recalibrated as often. It may be overkill for you to purchase an electronic (digital) torque wrench if you will only use it a few times a month or even less. That level of tool purchase is best suited for a daily professional; aircraft industry, engine builders, etc.
Kind of a lengthy read, but this 200lbs brain of an author goes deeper than you may want to ever go on torque devices.
http://www.tomorrowstechnician.com/Article/621/getting_tight_with_torque_wrenches.aspx
nmwranglerx
Caught the Bug
informative read, thanks for sharing. Needless to say, electronic torque wrench won't be in my tool chest anytime soon though it's cool to know they're out there in case I ever change careers and go into aircraft industry...
nmwranglerx
Caught the Bug
ehhh, that doesn't sound too good
Marauder
New member
x2 Both great wrenches that I use regularly and I am not terribly gentle with them.
Damn bro thats not a cheap replacement for it to break. I may need to be more gentle. ;-)
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mudmobeeler
Caught the Bug
I have both a 3/8s and 1/2 inch digital from Snap-On. They were very expensive but worth their weight in gold when I was working at the stealership for a living. They do in-lbs, ft-lbs, newton meters, and degrees. A lot of the newer stuff says to torque to a certain in-lb or ft-lb and plus a degree. It made it a lot faster being able to use that one tool and when space was limited and you were doing the degrees you could ratchet it and it would remember how many degrees you had turned it.
I would NOT use them on a trail, however, and they rarely even make it out of my shop. I don't loan them to anybody, at all. Not even friends or family. If you come over, I will gladly use it for you and possibly show them to you and how they work. If your lucky I will even let you try them, just once though. After that you have to buy your own. Lol. They were very expensive and made me money when turning wrenches for a living, so in turn they were babied but still were used to complete jobs.
I would NOT use them on a trail, however, and they rarely even make it out of my shop. I don't loan them to anybody, at all. Not even friends or family. If you come over, I will gladly use it for you and possibly show them to you and how they work. If your lucky I will even let you try them, just once though. After that you have to buy your own. Lol. They were very expensive and made me money when turning wrenches for a living, so in turn they were babied but still were used to complete jobs.
GCM 2
New member
Some of the more commonly used Click type Snap-On;
- 20-100 ft/lbs, 3/8" drive $280.00
- 30-150 ft/lbs, 1/2" drive $310.00
- 50-250 ft/lbs, 1/2" drive $310.00
BlackKnight
Member
4x4 off road just did a comparison and believe it or not. The harbor freight was very close to the tolerances of both Sear's craftsman, and snap-on for significantly less. Take a minute to find the article and see which one you want.
GCM 2
New member
I wouldn't doubt it that they are close :thumb: And really for most of the guys here inquiring about them, the harbor freight, home depot, lowes, craftsmen brands will be exactly what they need for the occasional torqueing of steering components, lug nuts, diff covers, etc. Where these cheaper models can't compete with the Snap On, Mac Tools, Cornwell tools, etc. is in the realm of exact accuracy all day, everyday, over years. My Snap On digital was designed for things like engine building, where you are balancing and blue printing fine tolerance engines to exact specifications. It's like comparing the tools a framing carpenter uses, to what a cabinet maker would need; they look the same, but one works in 1/16th's of an inch and the other 1/32nd's of inch. More exact measurements need better tools.