alnukem

Hi, I have a 1/2" torque wrench that has been with me for a long time, it was a cheap beam one & has lead a tough life. I am probably going to do a remain & re-ring job on a 302 SBF for the experience & for my 67 XR-7. I really probably don't want to spend much more than $125. And what ft lb range should I be looking at. Any suggestions? Thanks, Tim

dmaxx3500

used snapon on craigs or ebay

REELAV8R

Nice thing about a beam torque wrench is that it does not go out of calibration. Click wrenches do. So a used one may or may not be calibrated correctly. Even a new one may not be if it's on the cheaper end of the spectrum. I use a click torque wrench for initial tightening in stages then final torque with a beam wrench.

range would be some thing like 20 to 150 ft lbs for that job.

GUSTO14

I agree.

I recently picked up a like new Snap-On on eBay for my son for just over $100. If you are patient and stick to your personal limit you can find just what you're looking for. My limit on eBay is no more than 50% of new retail price.

Good luck... GUSTO

jim2527

Harbor Freight Icon. Just one of many articles on the 'net about them

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-vid...-torque-wrench

alnukem

Wow, I would have never thought! If you're researching this subject, it's worth the time to watch this video. Thanks you.

alnukem

Thank you guys. See, I learned so much from just asking a question here. I was afraid that my beam wrench might be inaccurate, no reason, just thought so because it was cheap.

leadfoot4

I had a Craftsman "clicker" for a LONG time. When I was still working full time, my employer had a "calibration lab", and I took this wrench in for a check. It turned out to be pretty accurate, but unfortunately, a couple of years ago, it just died. I bought an Armstrong torque wrench, as a replacement. IIRC, it was about $150.....

CA-Legal-Vette

As Gusto mentioned above, I’ve had very good luck picking up good Snap On wrenches on eBay. Just takes patience and there’s always a risk of it being out of calibrationion.

There is a brand that used to have a Forum special called Brown Line. Folks on here that bought them spoke highly of them and it’s right in your price range.

https://m.bestreviews.com/best-torque-wrenches

terrys6t8roadster

The dealor that sold my torque wrench to me told me to always undial it after use. Always followed his instructions not knowing why,but every time it was checked for accuracy over the 4 decades of use it was always accurate. T
p.s. it was A Snap On

GUSTO14

My first real job after High School was working in a Calibration Lab. My first assignment in the Lab was calibrating torque wrenches used on aircraft. Most were the click type and many were Snap-On. The click types could be adjusted, but the dial types could only really be verified. Torque wrenches were allowed to off (a bit) at the bottom 10% and the top 10% of their range, but had to be dead on in the rest of the range. Instructions to users on click types was always to run the wrench to bottom of the range when not in use.

Click type torque wrenches do experience some wear when used, but can almost always be recalibrated. Dial types normally only suffered from abuse (sorry - wrench fell off of the wing) and were rarely out of calibration. Beam types were not used on aircraft back then. I only checked a few, for friends, but they were rarely right on in the middle range - but usually considered good enough. Calibration cycle for aircraft torque wrenches was 90 days.

Good luck... GUSTO

pigfarmer

I tried one of the Harbor Freight 1/2" drive click type torque wrenches. I also see that exact same wrench rebranded under several names for more money. I returned it because of the way the lock ring works. Or doesn't in this case. Waste of time. I tried a couple of others you can get off the shelf. Of them, the Husky at Home Depot really wasn't bad. They all have too much plastic - the lock ring, etc.

My brother took pity on me and have me his old Snap-On 30-150 ft.lbs. That's the way to go, IMO.

Just for a curiosity I also use a JO-LINE Tools JOMI 1800 50-150 ft.lbs. Looks more like a mace than a tool, big heavy s.o.b. My uncle worked for JI Case for years and this thing came out of a tool kit that went along with two types of tractors Case developed for the military during WW2. I just use it on my lug nuts. It's the type of thing that, if you happened to be working on a tractor and your airfield was overrun, you could use it as a hellish close in killing weapon.

Kacyc3

I use a Kobalt brand wrench from Lowes.. The reason behind that was Kobalt used to be made by the same company as Snap on..that has since changed.

GUSTO14

Kobalt tool manufacturing was contracted to J.H. Williams a subsidiary of Snap On Tools, sometime in the late 1990's. They only kept the contract for a short time when it was given to another manufacturer for reasons of cost.

Snap-On acquired the Williams company, an old and well respected tool maker that dates back to the 1880's, in 1993 and renamed it Snap-on Industrial Brands in 2011. They manufacture most of the Blue Point line of Snap On tools.

I remember the J.H. Williams tools from back in the 50's & 60's and now have a bunch of them that belonged to my Father-in-law. They are excellent tools and all USA made. If you run across any, don't hesitate to add them to your tool collection.

Good luck... GUSTO

vince vette 2

I bought two Tekton click types when I started working on my '80, one 10 to 200 in-lb and the other 20 to 150 ft-lb. There's a calibration lab where I work so I brought both in to check them. The larger one was well within spec throughout the range. The smaller did not meet the 4% requirement. I called Tekton and they questioned me on how I could be sure it was the wrench and not the calibration device. I told them all our devices are just two steps from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, step 1 being our lab standards which are then used to verify our calibration devices. They accepted that and sent me a "new" wrench which tested in spec. I say "new" as it was clear that it was refurbished. They never asked for the old one back. Since I had our lab's cal sheet for it, I knew how much it was off, so I could compensate for that. I gave it to my son.

After using them about 2 years I had them checked by our lab again. They were still within 4%. So, I would say for the money for the garage mechanic, they're not bad. I wouldn't expect them to hold up like a $150 or $300 tool but I can't say they won't.

On the topic of always putting them onto their lowest setting when not in use, the issue is simply to avoid stress relaxation of the of spring/beam members in the mechanisms. The technical explanation is that when a spring is loaded it creates elastic (i.e. recoverable) strain in the metal. But if that strain is maintained over a long period the energy will gradually drive defects in the grain structure of the metal to move and whenever two of these defects find each other they stick together as this lowers the stress in the part and in the process converts some of that elastric strain to plastic (i.e. non recoverable) strain. At that point if you unload the spring it will not return to its original shape and the tool will now be out of calibration.