craftsman torque wrench warning

[100hp honda]

i was looking at the sears website over the weekend scouting for a new torque wrench. i read the reviews on the craftsman microtork model, nearly every review said it was a piece of shit, mainly the plastic handle malfunctions and renders the wrench useless. i have alot of craftsman tools and think theyre fairly good qaulity so i thought the reviews must be flawed some how. so tonight i bought the 1/2" drive microtork, brought it home and took it out of the case and inspected it. i was turning the handle and making sure it felt solid and was worthy of the $63 sale price. all of a sudden the handle lock started to go screwy, then the handle wasnt turning correct, then it got stuck and just turned freely without moving up or down the scale. i imediatly called the store and told them the problem and they said to bring it back. so i took iot back and the cashier said is was broke and gave me a refund. all the reviews were correct and this wrench is a pile of shit, i guess craftsman is slipping in qaulity atleast on the plastic torque wrenches. it will cost me $200-$300 probly but im going to look into a qaulity brand this time. anybody have experience with cornwell tools ?

[AlisoBob]

"Beam" styles are WAY cheaper and more accurate

[Exnav]

I have a MAC clicker that I have owned for years. Bob is right though, the beam style is better.

[~Trever]

you get what you pay for thats why I own 3 snap on tw's

[100hp honda]

ya you get what you pay for, thats why im not buying another cheap craftsman. their qaulitly went to shit. what is beam style? is that the kind you pull and it has a needle pointer on the end ?

[Travis]

Yeah the needle one is what I have. They work great until your idiot buddies grab it and use it as a Breaker Bar and spring the needle. Then it is more or less useless.

[Rosco-Peeko]

"Beam" styles are WAY cheaper and more accurate

Yep yep! Thats what I use.....they work well.

There is also something else that needs to be considered about torque wrenches (break away and dial type). They come calibrated and ready to roll from the factory. While they will never be 100% dead on, more like +/- 6 or the likes. They should be treated as a precision tool. Tossing it in the drawer with other loose tools knocks it further out of calibration.

I have seen people treat their torque wrenches like crap and expect them to perform like new. Dropping, twisting the handle past the lowest setting and dirt will kill the calibration of any torque wrench. Might as well use a speed-handle/socket setup and gut feeling.

The break away's and dial types should be "cycled" before torquing anything. This will help achieve the most accurate torque possible. What I mean by cycling is circulating the oil inside the torque wrench with the use of a break-away plate and twisting the handle to the highest and lowest torque settings six times.

I kinda take torque wrenches seriously....with my job there is no margin for error..

But for dirt bike/car stuff, get a beam style, simple and proven. Its also cheap as Bob said. I have 2 Craftsman Beam Styles. Both are kept in cases.

Interesting links:
http://www.jlwinstruments.com/torque-tips.htm

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/Article ... nance.aspx


I've seen these at work, some of the other jet troops will use them. I am not a fan of anything digital:
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp ... ir=catalog