Thinking about buying a digital torque wrench

[SS Performance]

So my old torque wrench seems to be out of spec.

I'm thinging about replacing it with a digital torgue wrench that also does the angle (torque to yeild) setting.

I'm wondering what brands/models you guys might have used and what you thing of them.

Sorry if this is in the wrong area. Mods are free to move it if they choose to.

Thanks
Craig

 

[smdk2500]

I have the 1/4,3/8,1/2 set from snapon. They will also do the torque angle as well. They are a really nice set but so is the price. I think i paid 1200-1300 for all 3.

 

[Schurkey]

Perhaps a moderator will move this to "The Garage".

Talk to the folks who calibrate your torque wrenches.

I've used Angle Repair, and Team Torque. I recommend both companies.
www.anglerepair.com

Angle Repair & Calibration Service | Calibrate and Repair Your Torque Wrench | Beckley, WV

Located in Beckley, WV, Angle Repair provides nationwide torque wrench repair. Our trained technicians will calibrate or repair heavy duty torque wrenches.

anglerepair.com

www.teamtorque.com

Team Torque Inc.

Team Torque provides repair and calibration services for torque wrenches, multipliers, testers, and more. Use our professional-quality services today!

www.teamtorque.com

It cost FAR more to test/calibrate an "electronic" torque wrench than a "clicker". That was a deal-breaker for me. Up 'til I figured that out, I had some interest in the Snappy torque-angle jobs. Not any more.

When I last had my "clickers" tested/calibrated at Team Torque, it was $50 each. The price for an electronic torque wrench was $125. Price hasn't gone up judging by the downloadable price sheet.

https://d3ciwvs59ifrt8.cloudfront.net/ceef4437-58a8-4a5b-928c-5cd7b2f95b95/d76a70d5-fc13-44d5-ba2a-6a4ed75704e4.pdf

Torque Wrench Repair and Calibration Pricing - Angle Repair

View all of Angle Repair's torque wrench repair and calibration pricing, including click-type and dial-type torque wrenches.

anglerepair.com

There's other companies that test/calibrate/repair torque wrenches. Maybe you can get a "deal" from them.

IF (big IF) your "old" torque wrench was a decent unit to begin with, maybe Team Torque can fix it. (Maybe not--my "pawn shop purchase" Snap-On 1/4" drive torque wrench was out of calibration, and no parts available for repair. Team Torque couldn't do anything with it, neither would Snap-On.) If your old torque wrench was Hazzard Fraught junk, it's just as well that it failed before you screwed something up with it. Scrap it and get a real one. CDI and Precision Instruments are what I usually recommend; although there's other quality brands.

Snap-On owns CDI. That's who makes 'em for Snappy. If you buy the CDI-branded equivalent, you don't get the Snap-On ratchet head, you get a generic ratchet head.

 

[skylark]

I have the Snap On 1/2 and I love it.

 

[Frank Enstein]

The prices make my eyes water but I would live one or several. Maybe Santa.

 

[LA2SD]

Can't go wrong with CDI. I have two CDI torque wrenches, and a torque screwdriver. All of them are the click type. I'm old timey when it comes to precision hand tools.

 

[TechNova]

Precision Instruments makes them for Snap On and others.
I buy direct and send mine in yearly to them for calibration.

Precision Instruments

Since 1938 Precision Instruments has manufactured the torque products that industry depends on. Whether the application involves delicate fasteners at 8 ounce inch of torque, or massive bolts at 10,000 pound foot, Precision Instruments has a solution to fit your needs.

torqwrench.com

 

[Supercharged111]

Man, you guys need a PMEL hookup. I have a friend who calibrates all kinds of **** for a living. Torque wrenches are almost beneath him at this point.

 

[454cid]

I had a used Craftman checked at work once by one of the Instrument Repair guys and he said it was good enough to put an engine together with after checking in in several places. Unfortunately, I don't even know if we have inhouse IR at my current place of employment, since we're not machining.... much bigger plant, Though. I've also got an old Sturtevant Richmont beam type that I like, but you really need (or at least I do) to have easy line of sight to the scale. I think the SR is actually branded as Challenger, so it's probably pretty old. I don't think beam type torque wrnches really go out of calibration, Though.

 

[Erik the Awful]

I have some old sockets welded to a strip of 1/8" plate that I can mount in my vise. Set your torque wrench and hang the appropriate weight off then end and see if it clicks/beeps. Test at a low, mid, and high setting. Test at a setting just above the weight to ensure it doesn't click/beep. Save $50/$125.

Best practices:
Always store your torque wrench with it set to the "zero" (or lowest) setting.

You "should" put your torque wrench on an immobile test fixture (i.e. sockets welded to a strip of 1/8" plate) before you use it and cycle it through a few clicks before you set it and torque something.