For All That Don't Have A Torque Wrench

[natemoen]

Here is a coupon for an OK torque wrench. Not the greatest but it is much better than not having one at all! You can either go to the store after printing the coupon or you can order online. Can't really complain about $10 for any of the three sizes!

[jetmechmarty]

For what we do here, I think those wrenches are just fine.

[natemoen]

For what we do here, I think those wrenches are just fine.

Yeah, they arent the best quality but its better than nothing. And for $30 you can have one of each size.

[650mark]

hf torque wrench

i bought one 5 years ago for a small motor rebuild thinking it would be "diposable" after the job. still have and use it. i checked it against a friends $300 snap-on wrench and it is still within 2-3 lb.ft of his. not bad for about $12 at the time.

[Tat2demon]

I was just going to pick up both the 3/8 and 1/2. Had them in the cart and decided to check the reviews. Looks like they are pretty faulty. If I had a HF store here I would get some but Im stuck with online. Returns would be too much trouble.

[Rasputin]

I was just going to pick up both the 3/8 and 1/2. Had them in the cart and decided to check the reviews. Looks like they are pretty faulty. If I had a HF store here I would get some but Im stuck with online. Returns would be too much trouble.

If I had them in the cart and found the reviews to be bad I would thank my lucky stars I did not buy them and be happy. Once you have snapped a few bolts like on your clutch basket due to a faulty torque wrench you will be happy to skip it.
While bargain store tools have their place in our world, some of them will do more harm than good.
A simple socket or valve tool may prove to be unusable for some, while another will like it fine. Something that your bikes depends upon like a proper torque on a crank bolt, is another matter. Always buy the best or most trustworthy you can afford.
The question is what do you do after an el cheapo tool fails and you have done harm to your ride?
I am certainly not saying that the old torque guage by feel is better by any means. I am saying it would be best if you can trust the tool you are working with.
Simply said: that you get what you payfor. Do the homework and be sure it is the tool you want.

[LoHo]

Who here has snapped off bolts because of a faulty torque wrench?

[JerseyJon]

torque wrenches

I still use the old bar-style torque wrench with the straight bar measuring the bend in the steel lever bar. Seems to work pretty well.

[Rasputin]

Who here has snapped off bolts because of a faulty torque wrench?

I have snapped two and stretched the rest on a clutch basket star before realizing the torque wrench was at fault. When I snapped the second one after re-installing all the bolts, I decided to check how tight it would go before it showed the proper torque. I think the wheel nuts on my concrete mixer would be looser than what it took to get that tool to show the few pounds required for the clutch basket.
Guess what? .... It was an el cheapo with bad reviews as well. Never checked the reviews until after the fact of course. I found them while looking to give the tool a bad review. Who knew?

[trbig]

I have snapped two and stretched the rest on a clutch basket star before realizing the torque wrench was at fault. When I snapped the second one after re-installing all the bolts, I decided to check how tight it would go before it showed the proper torque. I think the wheel nuts on my concrete mixer would be looser than what it took to get that tool to show the few pounds required for the clutch basket.
Guess what? .... It was an el cheapo with bad reviews as well. Never checked the reviews until after the fact of course. I found them while looking to give the tool a bad review. Who knew?

Sure, we could all be incredibily anal about every little detail, but if you have a torque wrench that is twisting off the bolt heads when you're looking for a tiny 7 foot pounds, then is the crappy wrench REALLY the one to blame? Do cheap little torque wrenches go bad? Yup. Do $300 torque wrenches go bad? Yup. Will anything bad happen if you torque your crank bolt a few pounds either way? Nope.. If you torque your clutch nut at 57 or 45 foot pounds instead of exatly 50, is anything going to fail? Again.. nope.

Are there suckers born every minute that automatically assume a more expensive tool is going to do a better job?

[Rasputin]

Are there suckers born every minute that automatically assume a more expensive tool is going to do a better job?

Tod. You buy what you like and have an opinion on it, Great. I buy what I buy and I have an opinion on it, my option. Opinions are like a-holes as everyone has one!
Point is that a more expensive tool is not necessarily going to be better. You do have more options with a name brand tool than you have with a cheap chinesey tool, like a return policy. Have you ever tried to order parts for an el cheapo tool? Try buying something from Harbor frieght and getting parts for it....Good luck with that. Go to a Snap On dealer and get parts for their product. You will see the difference.
I know we are all on shoestring budgets, but I stand by my words that you get what you pay for. If it is a one time thing then sure a cheapo will work. If you will do a repair a few times over then you may want to go one better.
I myself have been working on not only my 9, XS11's that I currently have but I also help out others with my tools. Do I want cheap tools to blame when I screw up a buddies bike? NO.

[trbig]

Have you ever tried to order parts for an el cheapo tool? Try buying something from Harbor frieght and getting parts for it....Good luck with that.

More assumptions. I've done it several times with their electrical tools, little mig welder, pneumatic tools, etc... Most of the time, their return policy is excellent, and as cheap as they are, you can usually just buy another new tool versus trying to fix the old one. If you do need the parts and call them up, they'll email you any PDF files with parts lists and walk you through what you may need while speaking english! I've had a MUCH tougher time with name-brand "better" tools offering lifetime warranties. The hoops you have to jump through for them to honor that warranty can be frustrating at best. That's not the case with Mac, Snap-on, or Craftsman (Who many things have gone to K-mart junk) who will fix you up if they still carry that tool, but generally for the cost of one of those, I can wear out a half dozen of the cheapos... or in this case THIRTY torque wrenches. You might actually check your tools out first though to see if there's a problem. If you've twisted off two and stretched the rest, it's maybe a little late for the ah-ha moment, whether it's a cheapo or high-dollar one.

[Rasputin]

Tod.
No assumpions here dude. I am currently waiting on a part for over 8 months for a winch from one of these type sellers. Known as Princess auto here in Canada.
Like I say opinions are like a-holes and you are welcome to yours.

[Catmaigne]

I was using the 1/2" drive HFT torque wrench for a clutch job on my car. I torqued the flywheel bolts to 75 lbs without a problem, but when it came time to torque the pressure plate bolts to 25 I found myself wrenching way past what felt like the proper spec and didn't hear a single click. I switched to an old Craftsman beam style wrench for assurance and found everything way easier to tighten. I think the smaller HFT 3/8" or 1/4" wrench would have been more suitable for smaller jobs so don't get the big one. It's total overkill.

[crazy steve]

The way this was explained to me (by a guy who calibrated tools for nuclear plant use) is that 'clicker' torque wrenches are at their most accurate if used in the top half of their 'range'. That was also the main difference between 'quality' and cheap wrenches; they'll both be reasonably close if used in the top half of their range, but with the cheap units accuracy generally falls off more the lower the value.

I use my in-lb wrench the most; that size covers about 80% of the bolts on these bikes (pretty much all the 6mm bolts, and some of the 8mm). Mine has a 30-200 range (2.5-16.6 ft-lbs) and is my main 'go-to' wrench. Next up is my 'mid-size' wrench, with a 10-80 ft-lb range. This covers about 90% of what's left. Both of these are 3/8" drive, although you can get the larger one is a 1/2" drive also.

The 'big' wrench is my 1/2" drive unit with a 30-150 range. I rarely use this one; I pretty much only use this one for the swingarm locknuts and axles on the XS. Limited usefulness on a bike, this is more of an automotive tool.

They do require some care also. They don't like being dropped or beat around, and should be stored adjusted to their 'low' value. Don't go below that as that can ruin the wrench.

I've also got both smaller (inch-ounce) and larger wrenches, but those are more specialty tools and very rarely used.