Torque Wrench Purchase!

[Artemus Gordon]

Wow. Great info !! Thanks. On way to Sears!

[rohrmann]

A couple of things about torque wrenches. I believe I read that the accuracy of a particular wrench is within say 20% and 80% of the range of the wrench. If you are checking the torque on your trailer, 120 lbs and also your TV, mine 140 lbs, then the wrench should be rated closer to 200 lbs to get accurate torque. Also, if I remember my high school physics, regardless of any twist on that extension, if you apply 120 lbs on one end, the same torque will be consistant the entire length. Just had to throw that out there.

[dieselguy]

Sadly once again I fear we're edging towards becoming obsessed by a given topic on the MOC. In this case ... accuracy not required by the task at hand. Set your $10 - $50 - or $100 clicker style torque wrench at say 80 ft lbs. Increase the setting by say 2 ft lbs at a time and see how far you can step it up until the lug nut moves before the clicker goes off. You'll surely catch my point about the task at hand.
This is one time I will say Rainer was profound in his closing sentence on his earlier reply.

[DQDick]

My old highschool football coach would have called that spending time separating fly poop from pepper I just buy a good reasonably priced wrench trust it and go on to the next job or more likely a refreshing beverage. Which, if I understood correctly, was your point.

[CORattler]

I still have my 3/8 inch Digitork torque wrench that I bought new at Sears over 30 years ago. Still meets original specs. I've always reset my torque wrenches to ZERO after each use. I have a Harbor Freight 1/2 inch "cheapie" for my wheel torquing and carry it in the Monty. Do be sure to get foot pounds if using for wheel & shackle torquing and DON'T use it as a ratchet.
Good advice in prior responses.

[dieselguy]

Now that's what I'm talking about when I'm talking about it. Let's worry about how much the cost of the next model years are going up or something.

[Sniperduce]

Our Ford wheel lugs require 165 ft. lbs.

[bncinwv]

quote:Originally posted by Sniperduce

Our Ford wheel lugs require 165 ft. lbs.

So put a 2 foot cheater bar over the handle of your Harbor Freight torque wrench and set it at 82.5 pounds! Be sure to apply the pressure exactly 2 feet away from the socket! (Sorry, had to break the mundaneness!) Is that a word?
Bingo

[Hooker]

quote:Originally posted by bncinwv

I opted for the Harbor Freight clicker type about 6 years ago and paid the outlandish price they had it on sale for at the time of $9.99. Came with a hard plastic case and has stayed in the rig(s) for all this time. I do set it back to zero, and it still looks like new.
Bingo

Same here, got mine in 2006...it's doing fine. If it craps out...I'll go get another one just like it.

[Irlpguy]

I just have to add to this already over thunk discussion on torque wrenches.

Mine is a 20 - 250 ft lb clicker, I have had it for several years and have used it a fair bit, no where in the original warranty sheet or user sheet does it even suggest returning the setting to 0. This does not mean it ain't a good idea however.

Mine claims to be within +-4% in the right hand direction (tighten) and +-6% in the left hand direction (loosen). This does not mean they are all built that way of course.

Watch this video, ask yourself if the U-bolts you checked were rusty at all, then give your self a slap on the back of the head and quit worrying about a torque wrench that might tighten your "nuts" to 5 or 7 lbs more or less than what is specified.

http://www.torquetools.com/news/torque-and-tension.html

I thought my pepper tasted strange tonight, must have been the fly poop I forgot to pick out when instead I was watching the ice melt in my medicinal pacifier. Guess I will have to switch to white pepper just to make my life and that job easier.

Artemus the Craftsman torque wrench is a good choice for your friend, I assume you will be giving it to him as a Thanksgiving present.

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by rohrmann

Also, if I remember my high school physics, regardless of any twist on that extension, if you apply 120 lbs on one end, the same torque will be consistant the entire length. Just had to throw that out there.

You need to brush up on your physics. Torque absorbed by the extension is the premise behind Torque Sticks. http://www.torquestick.com/

[dsprik]

I think the reason shops don't use regular rachet extensions is because most of the torque (99%+?) is transferred in standard extensions. These sticks are made to flex and absorb energy. I don't know what material these sticks are made of, but I believe they don't have the same material composition as a standard extension (nor the same pricing either). I don't believe that a 6 inch long 1/2 inch rachet extension would flex that much. There would be some though, however small, but not enough to affect torque specs.

[bncinwv]

I believe that Dave is correct with regards to a rigid extension. Sounds familiarly like something a Science teacher would say!
Bingo

[dsprik]

Shhhh.....

[jlb27537]

It is starting to look like too many guys have too much time on their hands.

My $9.99 HF on sale thingy is working for me.

Jim

[steelpony5555]

Don't think you'll lose a whole lot with the ext. but if you're really worried about it then get one of the impact wrench ones, you know those black ones......

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by dsprik

I think the reason shops don't use regular rachet extensions is because most of the torque (99%+?) is transferred in standard extensions. These sticks are made to flex and absorb energy. I don't know what material these sticks are made of, but I believe they don't have the same material composition as a standard extension (nor the same pricing either). I don't believe that a 6 inch long 1/2 inch rachet extension would flex that much. There would be some though, however small, but not enough to affect torque specs.

As someone who has built and rebuilt engines, and worked as a journeyman die maker for over 20 years, I can tell you that not all extensions, nor the material they are made of are the same. Some people believe steel is steel, and trust me, that is not the case. I've worked with leaded steel that seemed like you could cut it with a butter knife. I've also worked with Thompson Bar stock that is so hard that it burns up carbide cutters. Plus a whole range of steels in between the two spectrums. Good quality steel, designed with the characteristics of tool steel, isn't overly expensive, but there are a lot of cheaper steels out there (especially if they are made from recycled steel that you have no idea what the original steel composition was) that you will find in lower cost tools. Low cost tools are low cost for a reason. Don't discount the flex in an extension, especially at torques over 100 ft lbs.

[Irlpguy]

I don't even know why we are talking about TorqueSticks, they are designed for use with an impact gun and according to their website when they reach their torque value they flex in sync with the impact gun to limit the torque to the value of the colored Stick being used. They have nothing to do with torque wrenches and my tire shop always uses an actual torque wrench, and always tells everyone to return after 100 miles for a re-torque.

Because I had nothing better to do and time on my hands I contacted the Canadian Distributor of TorqueSticks and find the tools are made by Genius Tools and are manufactured in Taiwan.

I also contacted McCann Equipment the largest torque wrench tester and certification company in Canada and asked three questions.

1) How much does it cost to have a torque wrench tested and certified. Answer: Costs $65.00 and the wrench must be in their shop for a minimum of 24 hrs to become climatised before testing.

2) Will the use of a regular 4 to 6" extension affect the torque value on a 120 wheel nut. Answer: If it is held square the difference would not be measurable by most inexpensive torque wrenches.

3) Should you set the clicker style toque wrench back to "0" after use. Answer: It is good practice to set the torque wrench back to "It's lowest setting" but not beyond that. So if you have a 20 - 150 lb torque wrench do not turn the dial lower than the 20 lbs as it can affect the clicker mechanism and may put the wrench out of calibration.

So Artemus, tell your friend to use his Craftsman torque wrench in good health without worry about all this other "stuff". As to the rest of us, who is going to spend $65.00 to get their torque wrench certified just so we can check our wheel nuts and likely once in a lifetime torque the U-bolts on our axles.

Sure hope there is ice for happy hour, better go check on that...

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by Irlpguy

I don't even know why we are talking about TorqueSticks, they are designed for use with an impact gun and according to their website when they reach their torque value they flex in sync with the impact gun to limit the torque to the value of the colored Stick being used. They have nothing to do with torque wrenches and my tire shop always uses an actual torque wrench, and always tells everyone to return after 100 miles for a re-torque.

The purpose for talking about torque sticks was to show extensions do flex, nothing more. My torque sticks all appear to be made of the same material - what is different is the diameter of the shaft. If you don't care about it, don't worry about it.

[Irlpguy]

quote:Originally posted by Tom S.
The purpose for talking about torque sticks was to show extensions do flex, nothing more. My torque sticks all appear to be made of the same material - what is different is the diameter of the shaft. If you don't care about it, don't worry about it.

Did not say I did not care about it, however since they are specifically designed for use with an Impact gun and work because of the impact from the gun and not a steady applied pressure as in torque wrench, I think that referencing it unnecessarily complicates an uncomplicated topic. According to their website they are made from: Quote, "Made of ultra high quality Chrome Vanadium Steel" Unquote.

As others have suggested using a regular 1/2" extension along with our inexpensive torque wrenches in the situations that we will use them, will not make enough difference to worry about.