[vtcycle]

Hi All,
I'm back. Now I'm searching for a torque wrench , 1/4 inch drive and 1/2 inch drive 10-80 foot pounds. Found that Gearwrench has one for $166.17 on Amazon, but that's a little out of my price range.
Tektronic (sp?) / Harbor Freight / Ares ones are cheaper but of questionable quality. The local parts stores have some off brands, and none of them have a +/- accuracy ratings!!! unbelievable, non?

ANy suggestions are wellcome.
thanks,
Michel

reason I 'm posting here is all the posts on torque wrenches are quit old

 

[Ozninjaguy]

I have a Warren & Brown deflecting beam torque wrench. Not sure if it's available in the US - it's Aussie made. Have had it since I was 17 - now 67 and still works perfectly.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjw1oKgwa_4AhVwTmwGHeFIA-4QwqsBegQIAxAB&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfj8vJJkc5g&usg=AOvVaw0PKbz2K9z84EMsSBkUqFeC

Maybe just look for a good deflecting beam TW.

 

[txhogcowboy]

Might this one work for you?

Amazon.com

 

[rcannon409]

I went throught this when I bought my gear wrench 1/4" drive. Find it's part number. Mine was something like 85060, I think? It was made by someone else. You can often times find it, on ebay, for much less once you locate the real builder.

I had a few cheap torque wrenches. Accuracy was ok, but the adjustments and the ratchet head showed where they had saved money. They were awful to work with.

 

[vtcycle]

Textron = low quality in my book. Have bought other tools from them and = not satisfied. Think I'll just bite the bullet and drive 1 hour to sears and buy one there today as the GearWrench ones are Way too expensive for me. The others on amazon are so/so. Like rconnon409 says:
"I had a few cheap torque wrenches. Accuracy was ok, but the adjustments and the ratchet head showed where they had saved money. They were awful to work with."
michel

 

[rcannon409]

Michel, that's no joke. I bought one 1/4" discounted to 5.99 at Harbour freight. It really was accurate enough to trust, if you had to.

Are using it every day? If so, if you buy much cheaper than Gear Wrench, you'll end up buying another one. Calculate the cost like that. If you are asking the question, I don't see you being happy with a low quality wrench. Even gear wrench.....it's not something I would brag about.

From the other post I think I understand what you are doing. You will be angry with yourself if you don't get something halfway decent.

If you find something you like, at Sears, Google search the specific one. Odds are you'll find the exact one for less from eBay or Amazon.

As I recall, my "Gear wrench" brand is really from KD Tool. Sorry I didn't remember than, earlier.

 

[txhogcowboy]

I’m assuming y’all know to store your torque wrench zeroed out. Not doing so is the fastest way to get one you’ll call cheap no matter what brand and what you pay for it.

 

[AusEr6guy]

I’m assuming y’all know to store your torque wrench zeroed out. Not doing so is the fastest way to get one you’ll call cheap no matter what brand and what you pay for it.

I did not know that ... Assume that the mechanism in constant tension goes out of whack or something ?

 

[Ozninjaguy]

I’m assuming y’all know to store your torque wrench zeroed out. Not doing so is the fastest way to get one you’ll call cheap no matter what brand and what you pay for it.

Not technically true, that is according to Norbar Torque Tools Ltd:

"When a torque wrench is in regular use it does not need to be wound back. However, when storing a torque wrench for an extended period of time, users should always wind it down to the minimum scale setting and never to zero.

A fully loaded torque wrench, left in storage for a long period, can cause a set in the spring, causing it to weaken over time. On the other end of the scale, by completely off-loading the spring, other components within the wrench may move fractionally relative to each other. When you reapply spring compression the orientation of these components can change, therefore affecting accuracy. All in all, it is better to leave a bit of compression in the spring while in storage."

 

[Obo]

Unless you spend a lot of money, and still have them checked for calibration regularly there's no guarantee they will be on spec.
The cheaper ones have tolerances that are sometimes potentially off a lot. The issue often become when they read too low and you end up snapping something off. Happens more with the 1/4 and 3/8 vs 1/2" but can still happen.

I use them to get me into a "close enough" zone. If I feel like a fastener is using too much force, I may go lighter. Likewise if I feel it's not tight enough I may give it a bit more.
All mine (I have a 1/2, 3/8 & two 1/2 click) were bought on sale at Princess Auto / Harbor Freight and seem to be fine. I've double checked them with my 1/2" beam that I've had for 30+ years.

The advantage with the beam is you can easily re-zero it lol.

 

[Ozninjaguy]

If you have 17+ minutes to waste, this is a good comparison of ratchet torque wrenches. All the wrenches start at 50 ft/lb, which isn't ideal for working on motorcycles, but maybe the results translate to the smaller wrenches of the same brands.

 

[rcannon409]

We had a company credit card and a very expensive machine to rebuild. Tool cost, even Snap-On, wasn't anything that would be noticed in the overal


Back in 2007, Yamaha gave these away as a promotion. You just entered your vin number, and in a few weeks your torque wrench would arrive. A small group of us soon discovered the "rebate" went through on any previous Yamaha vin no matter when you really purchased it.

Even though it's about 10x too expensive, it's well worth buying. It's so well designed. The ratchet end is surgically like precision .

The wrench also warns you when you are within 10% of your setting. It's compact, well balanced. One of my most valued tools, even though I am guilty of grand larceny and probably postal fraud to obtain it.

I kick myself for buying my gear wrench 1/4". Even though it's good, it's not at this level. If I were doing this torque thing, on a regular basis, I would buy the 1/4" version

 

[vtcycle]

I’m assuming y’all know to store your torque wrench zeroed out. Not doing so is the fastest way to get one you’ll call cheap no matter what brand and what you pay for it.

yep, I know that, thanks

 

[vtcycle]

Thanks for all the replies. I've already spent 100% of my monthly income on tools/parts for the ZR-7S last week, BUT I still haven't bought a Good torque wrench. Bought a harbor freight one Then I read reviews on it and decided to return it as I'm afraid it might break the bolts on the valve cover.

Might just have to bite the bullet and buy Sears (1 hour away) Snap-on which really is too expensive for the amount of work i currently do. Sadly I haven't been working on motorcycle restorations much lately.

One problem w/ Snap-on is contacting the local guy. He never calls back, at least he hasn't in the past month.
michel

 

[Ozninjaguy]

You can see by the video that there are cheaper options that might meet your particular needs for a lot less money.
.

 

[vtcycle]

You can see by the video that there are cheaper options that might meet your particular needs for a lot less money.
.

now that I'm fully awake , I'll look at it. Thanks, michel

 

[vtcycle]

ok, looked at several reviews online and have decided to get an ICON 1/4 inch drive

 

[Ozninjaguy]

ok, looked at several reviews online and have decided to get an ICON 1/4 inch drive

I would buy one considering the test results and price. Good choice.

I still have my Aussie made deflecting beam type - it goes down to 5ft/lbs and up to 50ft/lbs - so pretty much meets most of my needs regarding bolts that are really dependent on correct torque - eg: sump plugs, cam bearing caps, rocker covers and so on, all of which are generally fairly low in torque poundage.

 

[vtcycle]

Wouldn't you know it both "local" Harbor Freight stores are sold out of the 1/4 inch models. Will check further afield, ie 1 hour away (have my brother pick it up for me as he goes into the big cities more often than me).

 

[vtcycle]

Well....it seems Harbor F no longer carries the 1/4 inch model!!!