OCD Overland
Explorer
Is there a missing part of that article? I don't see where they actually compare the different wrenches.
It does seem to be abbreviated. I read the article quite a while ago and I seem to remember it being much more complete. I just looked up the article, recognized it, and posted the link, but I didn't re-read it.Is there a missing part of that article? I don't see where they actually compare the different wrenches.
This will ruin a $500 tool just as quick as a $20 one. You need to always unload a clicker after you're done and certainly never leave it stored under tension. You're compressing a spring that will take a set if you leave it long enough. Eventually anything with a spring like that will stop being useful since the spring fatigues with cycles anyway.
Let’s try this again as you seem to have missed a few salient points:Gotta love a thread that begins with asking for an equivalent to a $600 digital Snap On, and ends with 'Thanks all, but I got a sweet $9.95 deal in the parking lot of a Harbor Freight'.
Jgaz, thanks for your post. I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek when I posted about the Harbor Frieght wrench. However, I did buy one (for $10, how could you not?). Good to hear about your experiences with them. Initial thoughts pulling it out of the box is wow, there’s way more than $10 worth of steel in this thing. Very solid feeling. I have nothing to compare it to yet, but once I get a proper torque wrench I will for sure check it out and compare.A few thoughts on the Harbor Freight wrench.
For use in rougher environments such as track testing tires the company bought Harbor Freight torque wrenchs and considered them somewhat disposable. They were acutally very accurate out of the box and lasted very well except..... IMO just return the adjustment to zero like the directions say and you’ll be fine.
I might need to expand on my thoughts regarding digital verses clicker type of torque wrenches. My main issue is NOT the inherent accuracy of the wrench, it's the ability to detect when the proper torque is reached. I've had so many clicker types simply not click when they should. I hate feeling anxiety as you are torquing something, and clicker types just don't work for me.
The digital units have lights that progressively illuminate as you approach the set torque value, and then beep when you hit it. You know precisely when to stop turning. No anxiety, no mystery, no missed clicks. Peace of mind and confidence in your work. This is valuable!
That’s a good point, and some of the digital units also buzz like a cellphone in silent mode specifically for that reasonThe other problem I have with lights? You can't see them when you are upside down, at the wrong angle, etc. Sounds work well if you can hear it. If it's noisy, etc. that an issue. I'm not sure what the best solution really is but the clicker type gives you the feel. Maybe use all of those options.
Here's the salient point that you missed: you've been given good advice that you won't take.Let’s try this again as you seem to have missed a few salient points:
1. Looking for an alternative to spending $600 on a Snap On, not an equivalent. I gave my price range.
2. The $10 Harbor Frieght unit is not digital, and while I did actually buy one out of shear curiosity, I would NEVER trust that for something as critical and sensitive as a head job on my engine. I posted that only as a cheeky counterpoint to the recommendations that were not digital torque wrenches.
I’m still looking
Here's the salient point that you missed: you've been given good advice that you won't take.
I don't have to reset my old beam-type torque wrenches.
Well, I don't think you know what you want. First you want the best digital you can find for your budget, then you buy a cheapy clicker, then you pretend you just bought that on a lark, and that you need something super accurate, then you say you don't care about accuracy and only care about the beeps.
People are telling you to get a good split beam wrench because that's the best you can get in your price range. Digital is only useful if it's paired with a quality wrench; i.e., there's zero point to knowing exactly when your wrench registers a certain torque if that torque isn't accurate to begin with. In other words, buy any one on your list because it doesn't matter. You'll get your beeps and be absolutely thrilled thinking about how perfectly torqued your bolts are, and you'll never know the difference because you're working on a friggin jeep, not a new McLaren.