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Torque Wrench - Which to buy,

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vping

vping

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I'm hinting around I want a Torque wrench for the upcoming holiday season.

What are the pros & cons to the Beam type & the Click type?
 
I've got both...depends on what I'm doing which I use....but, Craftsman whatever!
 
I LOVE my Snap-On electronic torque wrench. Not cheap - got mine used for $200 on E-Bay, but well worth it.

Set the torque on the readout, and it buzzes and vibrates when you get there. Also the head can tilt up to 15 deg. Great for tight spots. This and my Fluke multimeter are the best tools I own!
 
The click type really need to be calibrated every so often. also you have to remember to return them to 0 when not in use or they go out of spec rather quickly. I have a click type which which came from a downsizing (and was given to me as a gift) otherwise I would buy a beam type, since the spring is only under tension when you are pulling, unless you really do something dumb, they will never go out of calibration.
 
Like Tony, I have both, beam and click type, 3/8 & 1/2 inch drives. I use the beam on stuff over 100 lbs tq and the clickers on anything less. It's a matter of choice, but for the home mechanic, I would recommend a clicker with a ratchet head. The accuracy of a clicker can be checked very easily if you have or know someone who has a beam type. With an adapter, you can put the two heads together and pull on the clicker till it clicks. Look at the beam and check one reading against the other. As said before, unless damaged, the beam type will stay in calibration for years.
 
That's what I heard so I wasn't sure I wanted a click type if I was going to have to send it out to be calibrated. That thought brings me to another question. How would you know if it needs to calibrated?
 
vping said:
That's what I heard so I wasn't sure I wanted a click type if I was going to have to send it out to be calibrated. That thought brings me to another question. How would you know if it needs to calibrated?
Click to expand...

Only by checking it against a known source, such as a beam type. Even if it was off a bit, I don't think it would be that critical. A pound or two one way or another isn't going to make that much of a difference unless your into inch pounds or newton meters.
 
That's wht I have both...& usually follow Paul's process....except, I check my clicker with my beam the first time I use it on each job....I've a friend who's in the calibration business with a local firm so he takes mine in every year.
 
Only Snap-On tool I own is a torque wrench. Wish I could afford more. Well, I could, but wanna eat sometimes.



Update on the Snap-On story I posted some time back.
Eccentric rich guy in our area had a workshop added onto his estate. Had the Snap-On guy follow him to his house one day to look at his tools. I reported that he had the salesman unload his truck (the large truck) 'cause he wanted one of everything he had. I was wrong. He had the Snap-On guy bring 3 truckloads of tools; he had three walls! Every Snap-On tool made, in triplicate. The eccentric rich guy is now in a nursing home, too much cocaine in his life. The Snap-On guy, last report, is somewhere in the Caribbean.
 
Snappy 1/2" drive for big stuff: 35~200 ft/lb
Proto 1/2" drive for: 5~75 ft/lb
Snappy 3/8" drive for: 30~200 inch/lb

All "clickers"

Snappy "Torquometer" 1/4" drive dial type for: 0~48 inch/oz.

...don't ask.
 
Sears has a sale this week on 3 different sizes.
 
Maybe I'm mistaken. I'll check again.
 
DrEntropy said:
Snappy 1/2" drive for big stuff: 35~200 ft/lb
Proto 1/2" drive for: 5~75 ft/lb
Snappy 3/8" drive for: 30~200 inch/lb

All "clickers"

Snappy "Torquometer" 1/4" drive dial type for: 0~48 inch/oz.

...don't ask.
Click to expand...

Gee, I wonder what the (...don't ask) means? By the names, ...$$$... or that not many people even knew there was such a thing as an oz tq wrench?
ashamed0003.gif
Use that to work on your time piece Doc?
happy0148.gif
 
Both, Paul. a 2% accuracy tolerance. Snappy no longer lists it, either. The thing was near impossible to find.

Yeah, me ol' Spitzgrummish Agamemnon has a VERY precise clock aboard. Servicin' it is a touchy operation. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif
 
PAUL161 said:
not many people even knew there was such a thing as an oz tq wrench?
Click to expand...

I had a REALLY nice torque screw driver until some coworker decided to use it as a regular screwdriver. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif Found it on my desk with the top half and bottom half no longer connected and a bit of broken spring sticking out.
 
70herald said:
The click type really need to be calibrated every so often. also you have to remember to return them to 0 when not in use or they go out of spec rather quickly. I have a click type which which came from a downsizing (and was given to me as a gift) otherwise I would buy a beam type, since the spring is only under tension when you are pulling, unless you really do something dumb, they will never go out of calibration.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't turn a click-type torque wrench to zero when you put it away. You should turn it to the low end of the range. Never put the setting below the lowest number or above the higheast number of the range; hurts the spring and therefore the calibration.

We kept the click types in the office instead of the tool cage. My Lab Aide guarded them like a Hawk. Students had to ask for the wrench and return it to my Aide. He always checked them upon return and woe betide any student who didn't turn it back in set to the lowest setting!
 
What about leaving it in a freezing cold garage over the winter?
 
vping said:
What about leaving it in a freezing cold garage over the winter?
Click to expand...

Don't know about a torque wrench,but I'd need re-calibrated after that. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif

I only have a "clicker" 1/2 drive,and I'm quite happy with that. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbsup.gif

Stuart. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cheers.gif
 
vping said:
What about leaving it in a freezing cold garage over the winter?
Click to expand...

Wouldn't think that would hurt it, but the accuracy would probably be off if you used it in temperature extremes. Calibration is done in a temperature-controlled room. One of the perks of working in the cal lab! Tools to be calibrated have to be left in the room for so long until they are at room temperature. Just to be on the safe side, you should sleep with your wrench under the covers.

I like the click-type because you can use it without having to see the dial. This enables it to be used in awkward positions. Snap-on used to say that you can use them in the dark. I have 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" drive Snap-on click-types. The ranges overlap. Tools are calibrated to be accurate in the middle of the range, and accuracy falls off as you reach the extremes of the range.

The FAA regs for Certificated Repair Stations usually require calibration annually, or if the wrench is dropped. You can ask for longer periods if you can show that the wrench didn't need adjustment at yearly intervals. But we're only messing with old cars, so it's left up to our best judgement, right?
 
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