Well I wanted to share something with the average dupe guys "like me". All of you pros and more experienced ones can disregard this post as it will have no information you don't already know.

About few months ago I bought a couple of Torque wrenches on sale at a company that I have bought a lot of "usable" items over the years. I won't mention any names but will refer to the company as H.F. and again I have saved loads of money there compared to buying it elsewhere, on 90% of the stuff I bought there. But my own stupidity got me this time since I should have known better than to buy a precision item like a torque wrench there (or anywhere for less than $30).

However I do have some redeeming grace in that I check them with my needle bar wrench before using. Heck if it wasn't for upside down and sideways work I would always use a needle (rail) wrench. The little inch pounder H.F works pretty close to right, but today when I tried the ft lb one it wasn't clicking when I thought it should. So I have a 1/2" hex bolt installed on my workbench with metal plates on bottom and top where this bolt is. I set it 20 ft lbs with my needle wrench. The H.F. Wrench just kept on tightening the bolt and would not click when set to 20 ft. lbs. So I set it to 5 ft lbs and tried it on a welded bolt that doesn't move. I could not pull hard enough to get it to click. Obviously the wrench was broke. So I took it back to H.F. They wanted to give me another one and I said just give me a store credit, since I don't trust the wrench anymore.

I went to Sears and struck a happy medium with a $119.oo ft lb wrench. I know it's not a $250 SnapOn but it will do for me. I will never let my "cheap bargain eyes" get me on an item like this again.

Some things you must torque like the handlebar switch clamps, I have had these come loose with me while riding if I didn't torque them. Some things you can get by without torque like most pipe threads, just get um where they don't leak. But you have to part with some bucks to get a good reliable torque wrench. If I was a pro mechanic I would buy a $300 one. The calibration alone would cost twice what I paid for the piece of crap I took back.

Anyhow for anyone out there wanting to buy a cheap torque wrench, "don't".

 

Alot of guys on here swear by HF torques. I am just starting my own maintenance after purchasing the service manual. Was debating the cheaper torque wrenches as I had previously sworn to never buy cheap tools again after wasting my money and time.

I appreciate your feedback and will probably go with something more substantial, only problem is the Crafstman series don't come with a lifetime warranty on their torques.

 

I have used a $20 torque wrench ft/lbs for years i bought at advance auto...Works fine... i think you got a bad one....i just bought a in/lbs at HF and i will try it soon...for the type of torquing and the amount of times i wil,l use it it will be fine.

 

All torques need to be calibrated on a regular basis.

 

Where do you get yours tested?

 

I swear by the HF ones for my uses...Before I bought mine, I spoke to a guy that worked in calibration lab. He said they were as good or better than ones from places like Sears. The best part is the HF ones have a lifetime warranty, unlike a Craftsman, which has a limited warranty.

 

Just use a little common sense...Things like the rear axle need to be torqued to the "proper torque" as well as any "critical" fasteners. The rest you don't need anything but a feel for tightness and common sense. I use a lot of blue locktite (242). BTW... I have both H.F. and Craftsman torque wrenches and used Snap-on in my profession.

 

Not even Snap On torque wrenches have life time warranty on their torque values. As stated, even they need to be checked for calibration periodically. The local tool store here in town has a torque checker so that is where I go to see how mine are holding up once a year

 

I have a Sears torque wrench that I last used about 20 years ago. It was stored in a case set to zero. I called Sears and a couple places about having it calibrated. The best price I got was $100. Hell, I can buy a new Craftsman for $100. So I went to Sears and bought a new Craftsman. Took it home and checked it against my 20 year old wrench. The two were within 1 lb of each other so I returned the new one.

My H.F. inch lb wrench works great for $20.

 

That's awesome! I bet sears starts to see a pattern develope now that you let this out on the web.