Beam Type Torque Wrench?

Anyone using a beam type torque wrench for general maintenance of your own bike?
While I am a firm believer in having good tools, paying big bucks for a click type torque wrench which will probably only be used once or twice a year isn't too appealing.

It seems that cheap click type wrenches are less than reliable/consistent while cheap beam type wrenches fare much better.

 

Beam type torque wrenches are actually "better". They are said to be more accurate than clicker type wrenches. I also find beam type to be harder to use as most do not rachet and you have to stare at the scale while pulling very slowly on the wrench. Clicker type wrenches can be had for a decent price if you look around and with the added convienience of the rachet I think it would be worth the extra cost. I have a Craftsman "Digitorque" (I think) 1/2" drive that I have had for at least 7 years now that gets it's calibration checked every year. It has never been out of calibration and never sent out for re-calibration. The only thing I don't like about my Craftsman one is that the head is a non pivot type which makes it difficult to find room to work sometimes.

Long story short, even for the little ammount of use you will get from it, I would strongly reccomend getting a clicker type with a pivoting rachet head on it. Space is limited when working on bikes even more so than cars.

 

Where do you go to get it checked?

 

SNAP ON RATCHETING TORQUE WRENCH TQFR 100A 3/8" CASE NR - eBay (item 320676882330 end time Apr-02-11 13:53:01 PDT)


http://cgi.ebay.com/Snap-Torque-Wre...34601QQptZLHQ5fDefaultDomainQ5f0#ht_584wt_908

 

Wow, the bid price on the Snap-On torque wrench is now at $38.50.

I have the same one and paid a lot more for it.

Someone here should grab that puppy.

Highly recommend this model.

 

What Metallican said is correct. I have both. I use the beam for critical stuff like rods and crank caps. For general stuff I use the clicker. What ever you buy don't buy a cheap one. You will regret it sometime down the road.

 

Beam or click, as long as it's calibrated and certified regularly, it really doesn't matter. Price, brand name, or age, does not ensure accuracy.


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If it was me, anything critical would be confirmed with Plastigauge, especially main rotating mass bearing clearances.


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Keep in mind it's Ebay and it has several days to go.
I put it on my watch list just to see what the final price will be.
I will be surprised if it doesn't go for over $100 by the end of the auction.

 

Because my dealership is ISO certified we have to have the calibration of certain tools checked every year. Torque wrenches, fuel gauge, temp gauges, tire gauges, etc etc etc. My company has a man in a van with all the tools to check my tools, his tools are calibrated once a year @ the national institute of standards. You could also send your tools in to have them re-calibrated but I don't have the info for that, I'm sure I could get it for you if you have tools you suspect are not reading properly anymore.

 

Plastiguage, is that stuff still around? I didn't think anybody used that anymore. Mic's tell the real story IMHO. I use Mitutoyo mic's. Hard to tell variations in roundness with plastiguage I would think. Let alone tapper and accuracy.

 

sears< if you join their "Craftsmen club" has some really good deakls on click type torque wrenches. Far easier to use to me then the beam type - FAR easier. Craftsman isn't the best quality, but reasonable, and certainly good enough for the rare use at home mechanic. And pretty much no matther where you live in the states there is a sears nearby. Also regular Craftsman hand (not power tools or any of the other brands Sears cranks out) have a lifetime guarantee

 

Yep, still around. Difficult to mic anything that is assembled, which could be why it still is.


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Well unfortunately this past holiday season I picked up the higher end approx $115 craftsman clicker torque wrench for my dad and it turned out to only have a 1 year warranty. Neither of us were too happy about that.

 

That's most likely I believe your supposed to have all clicker type checked for calibration once a year. Depending how you use it and take care of it, every several year should do. Store it at "0" torque setting.

 

if someone is looking for a clicker type wrench still, they are on sale at sales for $59.99 from $79.99, from April 16-23

 

I've never had a problem returning anything Craftsman at anytime that I have had a problem with to Sears, never.

I just went to their website to see if it has changed, and they still say lufetime warranty on Craftsman.
Craftsman