Torque wrench

what torque wrench were you using. I'm planning to buy one soon. Please let me know at you're earliest convenience.

Thanks

Sam L.

With torque wrenches, there's no 'one size fits all'. You're going to need to look at the maximum, and minimum, torque values you will expect to use, and what size drive you want to use - there will normally be some overlap. I currently have 2 'wrenches, a 3/8" and a 1/2", and am considering buying a 1/4" drive one, but don't currently have a need for one.

There are also many different designs, from the amateur to professional grade, and the accuracy will vary (note - ALWAYS set them to their minimum value when not actually using them), some have also got an angle setting also, which makes some fasteners much easier to tighten - some professional electronic types will even need re-certifying every year, but those are $$$s, anyway.

Personally, I use all tekton torque wrenches. They are the nicest ones I have found on the budget side at about 50 USD and very nice quality. I have a 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" and they are all great. Hope I could help!

Ah, reminds me of something I forgot - a cheap calibrated 'wrench that is consistently out by 10%, that you can correct for, can be better than one that varies by +/- 5% across the torque range. I seen to recall some being advertised as being accurate to **% at maximum torque, but that's like the FSD for meters, where that percentage may mean the value of that inaccuracy applies at the lowest value, too, which can be a LOT more inaccuracy as a percentage there! On that, ALL torque wrenches should come with a calibration sheet that cross references actual and indicated torque values - keep it safe and learn the correction to use for the fasteners you're torquing - if there's no test sheet, DON'T buy it!

On that, further, the thread condition and lubrication can make a lot more difference than the accuracy of the 'wrench.

Once you get above a certain price point all torque wrenches are alike, I’d suggest finding a supplier that offers a calibration service and bearing in mind you’ll be buying 3 to cover most requirements for engine building you’ll have a lot of buying power to find a good deal with free calibration. Personally I have wrenches from Norbar, Beta and Snap on and would recommend Norbar as they specialise in torque tooling rather than a full line of hand tools.