Torque Wrench

[xs11jack]

I am like alot of you in that I use a torque wrench on most of the nuts and bolts on the bike. So, after you have used your wrench for several years, how do you know if it is in tolerance?? What do you use as a standard to measure it against???
Ole Jack

[IanDMacDonald]

Calibration specialists will check them for tolerance. Airlines, professional mechanics, etc., send them out to be tested/calibrated.

[crazy steve]

Short of having them calibrated (which can equal the purchase price on the lower-end model wrenches), if you have several you can check them against each other. There will usually be some 'range' overlap between sizes, set both the same and see if they both 'click' at the same torque or close to it....

Most will hold calibration pretty well in 'hobby' use like ours as long as they're treated like the precision instruments they are. Store them 'set' at the bottom of their range, and don't beat them around and they should last for many years...

[xs11jack]

Being a ole man with a fixed income, I can't afford to send them to a cal lab. The two I have are both craftman, one is in inch pounds or 2 ftlbs to 20 ftlbs, and the big one starts at 20ftlbs. So, I have only one overlaping value. And I don't know anyone that has wrenches to compair mine to. I do take extra good care of them, as you said, I turn them back to just below the lowest setting each time I use them and keep them in a plastic case inside my tool box. Using the plastic case keeps the dust down to minumium. So that the show and thank you for all your information.
In case I don't appear here before Thursday, Happy Thanksgivng to all.
Ole Jack

[MPittma100]

Torque Wrenches

You can do a search online. There are some videos showing the calibration check method. It involves putting the drive in a vice and adding a weight to the handle equal to the setting of the wrench. If it is corect, it will click.

I think that if you are not breaking fasteners with your current wrench, that it is close enough. Some critical items, such as high performance connecting rod bolts, require a measurement of stretch along with a recommended torque value. May want to have a good T wrench and a strech guage for those. But for our bikes, most any T wrench is probably ok.

MP

[MPittma100]

Another Thought

If you still have the instructions with your wrench, may want to look it over just to be sure about the setting when not in use. I have a couple that instruct you to wind it back not near as far as most of us are used to. They say to leave it set on a certain number of pounds/inches.

MP

[MaximPhil]

If you still have the instructions with your wrench, may want to look it over just to be sure about the setting when not in use. I have a couple that instruct you to wind it back not near as far as most of us are used to. They say to leave it set on a certain number of pounds/inches.

MP

Thanks Mike I too was worried by how many people were suggesting Zero.
Near the bottom of the scale yes but not zero.
Phil

[fredintoon]

I am like alot of you in that I use a torque wrench on most of the nuts and bolts on the bike. So, after you have used your wrench for several years, how do you know if it is in tolerance?? What do you use as a standard to measure it against???
Ole Jack

Hi Jack,
for a Q&D low cost check (just a check, not a calibration) shove the socket drive square in a vise with the handle horizontal, set the wrench to your usual numbers and reef on the handle with a fish scale.
Put the fish scale on the handle at exactly one foot from the socket centre to avoid the conversion arithmetic.

[xs11jack]

Geeze, you guys came up with usable tests that I should have figgered out. Thanks!!
Ole Torqued off Jack

[xs11jack]

more torque

I was thinking this weekend about torque when my cordless drill crashed and burned(not literally). I bought another one, but would like to know how much torque it has. If I put a reducer on the wrench that reduces the capacity from 1/2 to 3/8 and chucked it in the drill, and give a quick pull on the trigger, would this produce a ballpark torque figure?? What do you think?
Ole Jack

[fredintoon]

I was thinking this weekend about torque when my cordless drill crashed and burned(not literally). I bought another one, but would like to know how much torque it has. If I put a reducer on the wrench that reduces the capacity from 1/2 to 3/8 and chucked it in the drill, and give a quick pull on the trigger, would this produce a ballpark torque figure?? What do you think?
Ole Jack

Hi Jack,
the sq drive reducer has a square end so you'd need to put in some kinda adapter that the drill's 3 jaw chuck could grip.
3/8" sq drive Allen socket would work.
You'd have to test in steps,
Set the clicker to a torque number and pull the trigger.
If she clicks the drill got more torque than that.
If she don't it ain't.
Keep changing the setting to get the reading closer and closer to the drill's torque output number.

[CaptonZap]

Or torque up a nut with the gun, and sneak up on it with the wrench, and when it turns before it clicks, you are a pound past it.
The problem is that as the batteries wear down, the torque lessens. They are great to get you close, but the old strong arm method is still needed for accuracy. CZ

[xs11jack]

I have to say thanks again, quys. I am going to use these methods to make a system of checks for the wrench and the drills. Here's what I am going to do with your info. I will use it first to check the new drill against the bigger wrench and and write the number down somewhere and then about once a year test the wrench again to look for changes. I will do the check the first thing after recharging the drill battery for uniformity. This should get me a ballpark figure to see if the the wrench is starting to fail.
Ole Jack