Which Torque wrench?

[dilligaf76]

Can someone tell me the best torque wrench there is at an affordable price, mid range perhaps?

So far have come across Teng torque wrenches and Halfords professional. I need one for the odd occasion for home use on the occasional car and motorcycle.

[darreni]

Anything Norbar.

The Halfords one is made by Norbar (as is my Wera one & so are the Wurth ones).

Just ensure you get one (or more) with a torque range that you need.

[Cylon2007]

I have the Halfords professional ones, had em years work fine not stupidly expensive.

[thebraketester]

The Halfords range are brilliant for the money. The teng ones are nice and all metal design but I find the adjuster on them not so user friendly.

[jamesson]

Another vote for Halfords. Had mine for years, never any issues.

[BertBert]

How do people know that they work ok after years of use? Do people get them tested and calibrated regularly?

[gt40steve]

darreni said:

Anything Norbar.

The Halfords one is made by Norbar (as is my Wera one & so are the Wurth ones).

Just ensure you get one (or more) with a torque range that you need.

Norbar have a good reputation. Recommended to me by a calibration engineer.
I've had mine for ages, an 'American Pro' branded Norbar. I get it tested at work and it is still accurate.

[the cueball]

I use my old Draper Pro - had it for donkey years and had it calibrated twice in that time (I tend to get them done every 5 years).

Also have a couple from Norbar.. took them once and didn't need anything done to them, not tried again - was told they never need it done.

[dilligaf76]

Seems like Halfords are the winner then or though I saw this one from Teng that seemed a good price.

https://www.toolden.co.uk/hand-tools/torque-wrench...

[Cambs_Stuart]

Sealey also sell a decent unit that's been calibrated. After 2 years I checked it on the machines at work and it was still in spec.

[darreni]

dilligaf76 said:

Seems like Halfords are the winner then or though I saw this one from Teng that seemed a good price.

https://www.toolden.co.uk/hand-tools/torque-wrench...

I have the same in 3/8 drive, great for suspension components that need to be tightened to torque plus 90degrees etc.

[Timbo_S2]

I have three Teng Torque wrenches, which are good. Only issue is they can't torque up LH threads, so bought a Halford Pro one for that specific application. Which I actually prefer to use.

[thebraketester]

dilligaf76 said:

Seems like Halfords are the winner then or though I saw this one from Teng that seemed a good price.

https://www.toolden.co.uk/hand-tools/torque-wrench...

See my post.

[MDMA .]

BertBert said:

How do people know that they work ok after years of use? Do people get them tested and calibrated regularly?

We have 3 for work use. All have to be sent off for testing/calibration every 12 months. Whenever we have an inspection, the ISO auditor wants to see this.

Heavy use ones are 6 monthly.

Edited by MDMA . on Tuesday 16th January 12:06

[BertBert]

When you send them off, do you know if they are ever out and need adjusting? Just curious as to how much (if anything) they change over time?

[donkmeister]

darreni said:

Anything Norbar.

The Halfords one is made by Norbar (as is my Wera one & so are the Wurth ones).

Just ensure you get one (or more) with a torque range that you need.

I started off with a chunky torque 1/2" that my bro handed down to me, then as I've got more into spannering I've ended up with three in total as some smaller fasteners are only a few Nm. Just the other day I was tightening the rocker cover of an S2000 down and the screws need IIRC 12Nm so just a little pull on my 1/4". Big challenge on a tiny torque wrench is making sure you don't absent mindedly grab the head of the wrench when tightening up as it will not click then. I did that once but fortunately noticed before I stripped any threads or heads.

[MDMA .]

BertBert said:

When you send them off, do you know if they are ever out and need adjusting? Just curious as to how much (if anything) they change over time?

I’ve never asked! Will dig out the paperwork and see if there’s any notes. It’s got to the point now that I look for offers on them in the sales. Testing costs £47.50 per item (ex VAT). If they ever get to £50 each in the sales, I’ll stop the testing and buy new every year as they come with 12 months certifications. At that point, the fitters can have the old ones as and when they’re replaced, for their own personal use.
A good quality item shouldn’t really fail though and if they’re not dropped and abused, should last for your life.

[Composite Guru]

I have a couple of Halfords ones. As said above, they are made by Norbar so pretty good quality.

[Pica-Pica]

I had a Norbar for years, I have replaced with a Halfords simply because the torque settings on bigger cars is higher.