torque wrench

[ShadowBolt]

Kathy gave me a new Craftsman torque wrench about two years ago. It screwed up and now Sears says it is only a one year warranty. Any ideas on a good wrench for our racing duty? I read thet Snap-on used to build the Lowes units but now Craftsman does. My Snap-On lasted thirty years but they are $300.00 now! Looking for your thoughts.

JJ

[AllZWay]

One of the car magazines recently did a test of torque wrenches and showed that the cheap one from Harbor Freight was almost as accurate as a Snap-On.

I have been using the same cheap harbor freight unit now for 10 years or longer.

I couldn't find the actual test online...but here is some information about it.

http://blog.harborfreight.com/car-craft-reviews-torque-wrench/4328/


... I found the article....

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_1304_torque_wrench_testing/

[ShadowBolt]

One of the car magazines recently did a test of torque wrenches and showed that the cheap one from Harbor Freight was almost as accurate as a Snap-On.

I have been using the same cheap harbor freight unit now for 10 years or longer.

I couldn't find the actual test online...but here is some information about it.

http://blog.harborfreight.com/car-craft-reviews-torque-wrench/4328/


... I found the article....

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_1304_torque_wrench_testing/

Thanks James

[BryanL]

Kathy gave me a new Craftsman torque wrench about two years ago. It screwed up and now Sears says it is only a one year warranty. Any ideas on a good wrench for our racing duty? I read thet Snap-on used to build the Lowes units but now Craftsman does. My Snap-On lasted thirty years but they are $300.00 now! Looking for your thoughts.

JJ

How did you know it screwed up? Anyone have a tester like that to check? I know there are company's with trucks that run around testing torque wrenches and calibrate them but that is much higher end than "get it 2 grunts tight". I still havne't replaced my 1/2 inch electric impact so I'll be stealing someone's all weekend.

[ShadowBolt]

How did you know it screwed up? Anyone have a tester like that to check? I know there are company's with trucks that run around testing torque wrenches and calibrate them but that is much higher end than "get it 2 grunts tight". I still havne't replaced my 1/2 inch electric impact so I'll be stealing someone's all weekend.

I have two of the torque wrenches. I will bring them both. The torque wrench has a plastic handle that moved and I was putting way to much torque on the wheel studs. Used Michaels and it was way off. Really hard to see the numbers in the little plastic windows. Bad design. She tried but bought the wrong one.

JJ

[BlueFirePony]

The Pittsburg wrench I got from Harbor Freight 7 years ago still works fine - I have a couple other brands (can't recall what they are right now) that I use less often and they all seem right about the same. I know Kyri is a big fan of Snap-on for those sorts of tools (I am pretty sure he gets a discount).
A while back I posted I love *most* Craftsman tools...the precision stuff I don't - the warranty on those types of tools (multi-meters, torque wrenches etc.) is only 1 year of less and it's a limited warranty that does not include the *precision* components past 90 days (IIRC).
Further, I am not buying any new Craftsman tools because just about everything bought in the last 5 years is poor quality and they are breaking often enough that significant injury is a statistical probability. Seems since the 2004 lawsuit quality has dropped quite a bit...my oldest son just broke (another) shovel and in such a way that he could have been hurt. Yeah he can get another on warranty but if it breaks as quickly as this one did its not worth the time or risk.

Remember to *zero out* your wrenches btw periods of use per the tools instructions. Leaving the wrench at setting for wheels, for example, may impact the reliability and accuracy between events.

[David Love AI27]

Kathy gave me a new Craftsman torque wrench about two years ago. It screwed up and now Sears says it is only a one year warranty. Any ideas on a good wrench for our racing duty? I read thet Snap-on used to build the Lowes units but now Craftsman does. My Snap-On lasted thirty years but they are $300.00 now! Looking for your thoughts.

JJ

What is a torque wrench?