Who Sells A Good Torque Wrench?

Bought one of these "cheapies" to torque down wheel lugs. Seems pretty well made, and double checked it with a friends expensive wrench- within 1-2 ft/lb accuracy. Of course it's brand new and who knows how it wil last.

Site: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=2696

Now I need to torque down a ball hitch to 450 ft/lbs. How do I do that? A one foot long wrench would need 450 lbs. pressure (if i stood on it I wouldn't get there, I weigh 290). A 2 foot wrench would only need 225 lbs. still a hefty amount but then you start losing some torque due to flex of the wrench as you go longer. What's the best way to torque a bolt to 450 ft/lbs.?

 

Sorry, wrong link. That one was in inch/lbs. This one is in ft/lbs.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=239

 

I have an old style flex torque wrench and a click type that you set and don't have to read while you torque. I tend to believe in the flex type because unless it is overstressed, it should give reasonable results.

However, when it comes time to using the click type, I attach the wrenches together after setting the click type to what I want it to be set at. I then apply the torque to the other wrench and read its value when the click type clicks indicating the torque has been reached.

They are always quite close. I always set the click type back to zero when it is not in use - like the instructions prescribe.

Torque is highly dependent on the type of lubricant, technique, etc. I don't get too excited about extreme accuracy in torque wrenches. There are too many other variables.

 

Snap-On wrenches are not made by Snap-On. They are relabeled S&K. The price differential pays the salary of the guy in the Snap-On truck.

Find your local calibration/ repair shop & talk with the tech. Calibration is required for aircraft work. You'll find these shops near most any reasonably sized airport. They'll give you the straight scoop.

I'll take a calibrated Craftsman over an uncalibrated Snap-On any day of the week.

Rgds,
Vince
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That's what I do also, a calibration check of the two against each other a few times/year.

BTW, those S&K wrenches sure look an awful lot like the Craftsman ones I was looking at in Sears a couple of weeks ago. Wonder who Sears buys their private labled wrenches from?

Steven,
Didn't know you were setting up a full garage, so was making some miss-assumptions about the use you'd be giving a wrench. I'd say go for the S&K, they have been around for years & their tools have a good rep. Am surprised at how low those prices were for S&K!

 

All this talk about torque wrenches make me curious, so I went a checked all three of my Sears Torque wrenches.

1. Small 240 inch-lbs one, was 20% off (12 years old)
2. medium 75 ft-lbs was within 3% (5 years old)
3. large 150 ft-lbs was within 3% (10 years old)

For the small one, I put a short extension on the wrench, clamp one end in a bench vise and hang a 12.5 lbs weight on the handle. I was able to recalibrate it myself to be dead nuts on.

For the other bigger ones, I again put on an extension, clamp one end in a bench vise, and push down on the handle while standing on a digital bathroom scale. Both wrenches were within 3%. It is impossible for me to get more accurate than that considering the accuracy of the scale and the size of the handles.

Bottom line, I am very happy with the Sears torque wrenches. If they are off, I can calibrate them myself too.

 

Solly,

I hate buying Harbor Freight tools, because I often have to buy the same tool second time. I keep buying them anyways, just because they're so cheap!

I had similar torquing questions on the center-lug wheels on my 330. Those are supposed to be torqued to 275 to 325 ft-lbs. While the numbers are smaller, the wheels move under a lot less torque! (I didn't get much help then, so I don't have much advice to pass on.)

--Matt