Torque Wrenches, talk to me...?

[The Seer]

Never had one of these. Probably won't see every day usage, maybe once a week or once a month at best. Big price difference between Halfraud's Professional line and the likes of Sealy, Teng and Draper.

Recommendations if you please?

Thanks

[HustleRussell]

Any is better than none. Halfords pro stuff is generally pretty good.

Make sure it can do the torque you want, a wrench for wheel nuts might not do hub nuts or rocker cover bolts.

[carinaman]

When you've finished with it wind it back to zero before putting it away.

[8bit]

I have two Teng ones, one 3/8" and one 1/2". Both are solid bits of kit, would recommend without hesitation. I got the 3/8" one first and originally bought a Silverline 1/2" one which disintegrated messily after a few uses, so ditched and replaced it with the bigger Teng.

ETA

carinaman said:

When you've finished with it wind it back to zero before putting it away.

^This.

[battered]

Halfrauds Pro gear is pretty good. Guaranteed and they will still be around if it fails after a few years. Photocopy and keep the receipt.

If you are serious you will want 2, one a smaller 3/8 drive one that only covers low torques to greater accuracy. I only have 1, a half inch drive job that covers 20ft.lb to 150 ft.lb. I forget the brand but it was inexpensive and it's great. The better ones back off the torque once they have clicked, but if you are working carefully then this is at best a nice-to-have. Amateur mechanics can afford to take their time and use their arm to back off after the click.

Avoid the ones that just have a spring and a scale, unless you are prepared to work VERY slowly and cerefully.

YOu don't need to go beyond 150 lb.ft unless you are a pro and working on trucks. On the (thankfully rare) occasions when I've had to do up a hub nut to 300ft.lb or similar I've weighed myself, calculated the amount of breaker bar required to get there and stepped on the bar at the right point. No bouncing.

[thebraketester]

Halfords ones are great.

[nickfrog]

I have had the cheapo Draper one for years (£30) which is well built and seems to do the job. I just use it for wheels.

[DuraAce]

I've got two Halfords pro ones and they have been very good. Decent discount with the trade card. I checked them at work on our torque analyser and they were accurate.

[battered]

Judging by your user name you'll want a low range one for the bike. 1/4 drive, a selection of Allen bits and good accuracy between 1 and 10 Nm, especially if it's carbon.

[longshot]

I have 2 of the Halford ones and they are a very nice piece of it.

There are prettier torque wrenches and there are shinier torque wrenches but most importantly, as said above, they are accurate.

I've had mine quite a few years now and I bought them on the back of a bench test in one of the Car Mechanic magazines where they came out on top.

[Jakg]

You can get a Silverline one for less than £20 which gets good reviews.

The real problem is that you really need two - the ones above mentioned will generally have a minimum of 25nm.

For automotive use, I would think that below 25nm you can generally just use feel without any issue.

However, if your working on a motorcycle or bicycle, then you will want to tighten something to a torque less than 25nm. And thats a problem as those kind of torque wrenches (typically 3/8") are actually quite expensive (£50+).

[The Seer]

Seems like the Halfrauds item is the one to get then. I do like the idea of it's lifetime guarantee though

I dont own a motorcycle, I certainly won't be working on one. What wrench is advised for cars?

Thanks

[anonymous-user]

Have a Gedore one for small work ( starts about 5nm ) then a bigger Snap-On digital for heavier work. Had 10 years plus now and would never get rid of it. Works in nm and ftlb ( 25-250 ftlb range ).

Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 2nd January 12:10

[Mroad]

+1 for the Halfords Pro ones given reviews v cost. The trade card discount is the way to buy, I seem to remember the 3/8in one that is about £80-£90 normally drops to about £38!!

[tapkaJohnD]

For low torques, a "beam" type torque wrench is a very cheap and reliable alternative.

Not so easy to find, but here's one at only £15: http://www.agriemach.com/p641-beam-type-torque-wre...

Here's how it works:




John

[mickthemechanic]

Hi

A good quality used torque wrench off Fleabay may be worth a look.
Sykes Pickavant and I think Norbar which are the same under a different brand are pretty good.

I still use old britool torque wrenches that were old 30 years ago when I started and they still get a calibration pass every year.

Mick

[mickthemechanic]

HI MDMA

Had to laugh when I saw your top box with the pop up pallet great boxes. I have one but mine has been in and out of the back of a van probably a thousand plus times on breakdowns and doesn't quite look as good as yours but is still in one piece.

Mick

[dhutch]

What the thoughts on a 30+ yo Norbar wrench?

I now have three (keep getting given them) if I hang 5/10/15kg of the end to check the calibration, are they about safe?


Never owned one and to be honest, never really felt the need to date, however....



Daniel