I'm looking for a decent-to-good torque wrench. Can't afford Snap-On/Matco/Etc, it's completely out of the question. I'm stuck between buying a beam-style Craftsman wrench because I know they're pretty accurate, but they're difficult to read. I've heard good things about Duralast ratchets (copies of Snap-On's) so I considered a Duralast Click-style Torque Wrench. And there's also Harbor Freight, but with the build quality on the ratchets they have (pretty notchy) I'm not sure if I could trust a HF Torque Wrench. What would you do?

Duralast:
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=914018_0_0_

Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-hal...rench-239.html

Sears/Craftsman:
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-150-f...7&blockType=G7

 

not everybody can afford a $500 torque wrench

my craftsman 3/8 is fine for 99% of everything i do in my driveway. matter of fact, the only thing i've used it for in the year or so i've had it is a clutch/transmission job and lugnuts. everything else i go by feel. nothing's come loose yet.

 

This is absurd. Twist type torque wrenches need to be dialed down after every use. Dial type do NOT have to be, but I do anyway. Most are rated +-3% or better putting you within the standard torque range for most fastners. Digital is garbage and a waste of money and only truly useful in very few applications

 

What do you mean by being dialed down?? First I have heard of this.

 

If you set it to 80ft/lbs to torque lug nuts, you have to set it back to "0" when your done.

$250 snap on is wayyyyy out of my range.

 

I would never ever trust a HF tool for something as important as torque specs.

My best advice is to save until you can afford a quality tool otherwise you'll be purchasing two in the end.

I purchased a Snap-On split beam from eBay and had it calibrated. I only spent $100.

 

If your looking for a good torque wrench lmk
I have a few for sale.

 

Sears craftsman TQ wrenches are on sale

And work great

 

Digital ones usually do have a much better tolerance right out of the box, but with + or - values for every torque spec, you will never really deviate from that spec.

Also, digital ones use a vibrate function as well as a light, which can come in handy when working in adverse conditions when you can't really feel a torque "click". I used to use a digital when doing rod nuts on compressor stations where other engines were running with a lot of noise and vibration were I was unsure with a standard torque wrenches.

The twist type use a spring where if you do not return them to a "0" value, it may cause the spring to wear prematurely, were as dials use a totally different technique.

 

find a snap on truck rolling around and they sell remanufactured ones for way cheaper than retail, and every truck can test torque wrenches for you also

 

Good to know I diddnt know they can test them

 

Snap On does not manufacture their own torque wrenches. If you are looking for a quality torque wrench at a "some what "cheaper price you can try http://www.torqwrench.com/home.php

That is who they used in the past and currently the are using
http://www.cditorque.com/
Actually they bought this company a few years ago, So Im not sure if you can order from them.

Finally, I have seen this company come up a few times in the past. I have no personal experience with them , nor do I know anybody that does. But still, their product seems promising, and is very cheap.
http://www.brownlinemetalworks.com/index.php

A digital torque wrench is best. It is more accurate than any mechanical torque wrench and will better retain this accuracy. All though a quality mechanical torque wrench will work just as well (and is much cheaper). Now, for some people "good enough" is the way they do things and that is how they justify using a cheap, low buck torque wrench. If you are one of those people, where precision is not important to you, then just buy whatever wrench is cheapest. There really is no difference on the low end of the spectrum....



(BTW I have two Snappy Techangles, a Snappy split beam for tires and a Snappy click type that reads in inch lbs.)