I want to get a quality 1/2" drive torque wrench. I already have a 1/4" and 3/8" Craftsman click type and they work but are not the most accurate ones out there. Which one should I be looking at? I was thinking Snap On? If I go in that direction, which one?

 

how do you know they arnt accurate? all torque wrenches need calibrated to be proven accurate. and never heard anything about craftsman not being accurate out of the box, but then again harbor freight torque wrenches test consistantly very high in the accuracy department.

 

i sure as hell wouldn't buy a Snap-On torque wrench..and i'm a mechanic. i haven't bought any snap on tools in a few yrs now. they are rediculous in price and our tool guy is a tool himself.. don't fall into the digi tech bells and whistles with torque wrenches. look for a cornwell dealer and buy a decent one from them. Blue Point brand comes to mind.

 

I just spit beer on my keyboard! I will look in to the Blue point stuff. Back in my past life, I installed stereos for a living. The Snap On guy sold BP stuff too. I remember it being really good quality.

 

Just had my two Craftsmans and a Proto calibrated.They got the stickers so I guess there good.

 

No problems w/my Craftsman & Kobalt torque wrenches...unless you plan on being a mech-head - why go overboard???

 

mine too, never had anyone complain about the accuracy on em before either

 

case in point.. mechanic A bought new tool box, Mech B bought A's trade in. Snap on guy charged B a $400 handling fee.. and never touched the box.. This happened before i started working there. when i found out about it and the story was confirmed, i paid my bill off and haven't bought anything from him since. Unfortunately mech B was a young kid and no one ever told him how things are supposed to work and what to watch for in tool guy deals.

 

Father in law is a Snap On seller/distributor/whatever. Anyway, the Bluepoint line of tools is the same stuff as the Snap On with just a different label. They did it so they could expand their market and sell to people unable/unwilling to pay for the Snap On name. Kinda like Ralph Lauren sells Chap brand clothes slightly cheaper.

Good to hear about the Harbor Freight torque wrenches testing well. I need to get one myself.

 

One home method of calibrating clicker torque wrenches is to connect it to an old fashioned beam type torque wrench, via combinations of socket and bolts or a lot of times just using the right size 12 point socket. I keep one beam type torque wrench just for this purpose.

A reasonable quality bean wrench (as long as it's cared for and not banged around) should be accurate for life - no calibrating required. Beam torque wrenches have "built in" accuracy - unless you severely over stress one to the point of changing the physical properties of the steel. You may need to zero the scale (make sure the pointer is on the zero point of the scale).

Set your clicker to the desired torque level, and slowly, gradually, apply torque while keeping a close eye on the pointer of the beam wrench. Note the value on the scale just before/as the clicker "clicks". Compare the actual value (from the beam wrench) to the set value (on the clicker), and you have an idea of the accuracy. Do this at various settings. Then either adjust your clicker wrench for accuracy (and test again), or make a calibration chart for future usage.

Remember to "back off" (or otherwise zero) the setting on the clicker to unload the spring, and it should remain accurate for a long time.

I have a couple of the cheap Harbor Freight clickers and test them using this method and they all test well throughout their range and hold their calibration good.