wrench

[GEuser]

Q

[nctnico]

In have a few of these torque wrenches. Don't expect high quality or long lasting service. I wouldn't lubricate the mechanism. It will collect dirt inside the mechanism.

[SeanB]

Good for wanting to have a check for the setting, as there are going to either drift slightly with time or bind as they wear. I checked my simple beam type with a torque wrench calibrator a few years ago. It was within 1 division up and down the scale.

[nctnico]

The inner mechanism contains some grease but I wouldn't put oil on the adjustment knob on the outside. Like I wrote earlier: it will collect dirt and give you dirty hands everytime you use it.

[Monkeh]

I've just picked one of these up in the UK. Have also ordered a set of scales to check it out and make sure it's reasonably accurate. There's no tolerances specified on it at all..

[Kjelt]

I bought one two years ago for around €75 and lasted about 30 nuts before the end thread wear out.
Now I bought a different design a brand for €225 , guess what is a better value? 

[Monkeh]

I bought one two years ago for around €75 and lasted about 30 nuts before the end thread wear out.
Now I bought a different design a brand for €225 , guess what is a better value? 

The one you can spare the money to buy!

[Macbeth]

I have the Aldi Torque wrench from quite a few years ago - 1/2" drive. I keep it in it's plastic case fully unwound and only use it for doing wheel nuts and cylinder heads on the family and friends cars.

I also have a smaller ebay torque wrench 1/4" drive, also kept in it's plastic box fully unwound and used for stuff like timing belt changes and the like.

I'm not sure how accurate they are, but the main thing is they will give even torque all round on things like cylinder heads or timing covers, oil sumps, etc.

For the price as a DIY device used a couple of times a year, nothing wrong with them.

I normally use the old "hand-tight and half a turn" for fasteners anyway 

[ron]

I normally use the old "hand-tight and half a turn" for fasteners anyway 

How about "strip two and back off one"? 

[Macbeth]

I normally use the old "hand-tight and half a turn" for fasteners anyway 

How about "strip two and back off one"? 

I guess that's another method 

Anyway, make the topic about electronics, I would love a fancy-shmancy Snap On Electronic Vibrating Torque Wrench

[ozwolf]

Macbeth is correct about the careful storage and unwind.

I'm an ex-bus & truck mechanic, and have a Sears Craftsman torgue wrench (10 to 100 ftlb) that I paid $75 for about 30 years ago.  A lot of money back then.  I've always kept it in the original box, and in an unwound state at the 10 ftlb mark as stated in the attached manual.  It's still as good as the day I bought it.

If someone borrows it, they get a speech about the correct handling of the torgue wrench.

[nctnico]

I bought one two years ago for around €75 and lasted about 30 nuts before the end thread wear out.

I paid less than 50 euro for mine (similar model) over 10 years ago and it has survived working on 2 cars so far. Like Macbeth I also unwind it after use and keep it in it's plastic case. But I'm also using it when I need to apply much force. I did mess up a 1/2" extenion piece and several cheap sockets with it.

[Macbeth]

I bought one two years ago for around €75 and lasted about 30 nuts before the end thread wear out.

I paid less than 50 euro for mine (similar model) over 10 years ago and it has survived working on 2 cars so far. Like Macbeth I also unwind it after use and keep it in it's plastic case. But I'm also using it when I need to apply much force. I did mess up a 1/2" extenion piece and several cheap sockets with it.

When you need a lot of force use a cheap 1/2" drive nice long breaker bar! Much better than the torque wrench for sure!

I have some old effed up torque wrenches I don't care about and use them for that purpose, but they are nothing like as nice as using a proper breaker bar. Seriously, get one!

[Monkeh]

I've just picked one of these up in the UK. Have also ordered a set of scales to check it out and make sure it's reasonably accurate. There's no tolerances specified on it at all..

"Precision" I think was the tolerance 

Hey, if it comes within 10% it's better than my arm..

They're doing a crappy NiCd thing and a buzzbox next over here.. got plenty good drills, and my own buzzbox.

[Kjelt]

I kept it unwinded. It is just that the shallow and to fine thread at the end wore out, it could be that i had a monday morning product.
The brand was Laser probably RPC built and as the first picture shows the thread has wear on it. So you can put it back together, set the right amount of torq and then it will just come loose or when you use it on the first few bolts it comes loose and you can start all over again, unworkable for me.
The new wrench is from Carolus and has a totally different way of operation inside, no weaknesses there, there is also an excellent window to set the torque but yeah it costs much more.
I could have bought another one like the Laser type but knowing its achilles heal made me decline. Oh yeah and I would never lent it out if I were you because of this weakness but that is up to you.

[Kjelt]

Well I got mine just to replace the summer/winter tires twice a year which saves €50 labour each time. I thought also that wrench would be able to last me my lifetime with that kind of use, unfortunately I was wrong.
Now when I was young I have seen my father buying cheap tools that just failed on him the moment he needed them the most and ofcourse always at everning in the weekends so no way to get a replacement. That was probably the time I made the decision to buy quality, and if you are younger you can use it more years to come. Now I get older I also see if it still usefull to buy the best brand or that I can use something cheaper. Anyway with this tool I found out the hardway and had the experience my father had 
I do hope yours is better and will last you a long time.

[nctnico]

I kept it unwinded. It is just that the shallow and to fine thread at the end wore out, it could be that i had a monday morning product.

That threaded end should not become loose in the first place (did you open it?). You could have put a dab of loctite on it to keep it in place.

[Kjelt]

That threaded end should not become loose in the first place (did you open it?). You could have put a dab of loctite on it to keep it in place.

It came loose on its own when turning for the torque setting and reversing it to unwind. Could try loctite but unsure if that is tough enough, anyway not gonna sell this thing anymore but if you are interested you can have it?

[SeanB]

My motor mechanic friend has vice grip hands. Also a calibrated torque setting in them as well. As i do a lot of machinery I also have a feel for torque, but also have amassed a selection of screw extractors, recoil sets, tap extractors, and a fair amount of skill in cooking broken bolts out of holes.  Just need to find a decent set of left handed drill bits to add to the Ridgid extractor set, the lifetime warranty is not available in South Africa (favourite expression of Doubleboost here) so I have had to buy a few sets to get spares. Those are kind of expensive.

[SeanB]

Reminds me when a small rural workshop became the first distributor in the area of Zetor tractors way back in time 1980's? being experienced with Massy ferg , Case , Komatsu and heaps more and all sorts of stuff , I was breaking bolts on those things left right and centre , even broke seal housings tapping them with a hammer and prying them off with a pry bar , I got sick of it and did some testing as above and found out the steel and cast they were using at the time was real inferior stuff even by normal standards , at first they were blaming me until I showed them (the bosses) , they never did apologise either .

I even went around tapping with a ball peen the engine blocks and gearbox housings and it was the same stuff , I guess if one smacked the engine block hard with a hammer it would have popped a hole in it , real soft stuff , I used to call them bolts playdough bolts , that's probably not the case now as it was a long time ago and they probably have remedied all those issues up , back then they were "cheap" , at least half the cost of anything else about ..

I think that the others went down in quality to match the price rather than the other way. I often get to be the first to undo bolts put in when it was made, and you can never know if they have corroded fast in the casting, or if they had half stripped them or the original thread was just poorly made.

then again there is an importer of "made in a nameless country" vehicles near me, and there they had endless issues with inferior parts that were used. Regular mild steel bolts used to hold a rear axle on, and the same bolts used to hold universal joints for the rear wheel drive. This on a vehicle with a 5 ton cargo rating. Some broke just from being driven off the lot by the new owner, a lot failed within weeks. The importer had to change them all on new vehicles as a matter of course.

[SeanB]

I know, but even the other brands have dropped in quality these days. The older stuff used to be built to loast, but the modern stuff is mostly plastic, inferior castings and designed to fail parts that will make it out of warranty and last mayhaps a season more then break, leaving you on a perpetual replace or repair if possible cycle.

Not like the old stuff that you could buy second or tenth hand, clean the dirt off, do a little percussive maintenance and have back in service with little work. As I work near the sea, I replace airconditioning units on a regular basis, getting a little over 6 years on them. but there is a 30 year old Carrier there and a 40 year old Amana in regular use, which are still running, though I can no longer get any spares other than capacitors that fail after a decade in service.

[BradC]

I might as well as put this here , and I changed the header post description .

If wanted a longer runtime ie>plenty of screws one could pop in a 3100 or 2400mah 18650 , a much longer charge though .

Its cute imo , so far the "5" setting seems right for small in thread steel , ain't tried plastic yet but more than likely the "1"

Judging by the photos that is the same as the Ozito unit I bought from Bunnings 3 years ago. 3 years of hard use later and it is still as good as the day I got it. I ditched the 6V wall wart charger as I charge it off my bench PSU (same as all my other devices that don't need a specialised charger). For the $19 I paid on sale I've had many, many times the value in putting together server cases with 100's of screws and not stripping any. The torque limiter is awesome. 1 or 2 for plastic depending on if they are machine screws or self tappers into plastic. Buy some decent bits.

<Edit> I also have a guitar tuning head adapter for it and it makes changing strings a breeze.

[amyk]

I might as well as put this here , and I changed the header post description .

If wanted a longer runtime ie>plenty of screws one could pop in a 3100 or 2400mah 18650 , a much longer charge though .

Its cute imo , so far the "5" setting seems right for small in thread steel , ain't tried plastic yet but more than likely the "1"

According to the datecode that cell is either 11 or 8 years old... if it's still holding a decent charge, that's pretty good.

Also it is a high-discharge type (>10C), not a regular 18650, and so by design it will have a smaller capacity. Something like this or even this would be a better replacement.

[nctnico]

I have been looking for a while for such a screwdriver but have not been able to find it in the 'building materials' shops over here.

[Monkeh]

I have been looking for a while for such a screwdriver but have not been able to find it in the 'building materials' shops over here.

There's always the Bosch Ixo, which is pretty widely available. Torque control is extra, though..