Harbor Freight Torque Wrench

[wh500special 2,249]

I need a torque wrench for my work that can thrown away without guilt if needed since the gorillas in my shop have a tendency to drop, run over with forklifts, break, bend, lose, and destroy things (They don't steal stuff though ). The item we will be repeatedly assembling/disassembling is located next to a big tank of epoxy resin and I suspect that at some point the torque wrench will go for a dive at which point it will either be abandoned or promptly dumped into the parts washer tank for a rudimentary cleanup.

Can't even consider Snap-On, SK, MAC, etc. due to the environment. I'm not impressed with the current Sears wrenches either since they get poor reviews for a plastic lock ring that breaks (although I do have a small one I've been using for years w/o problem).

That's my situation, so a "nice" tool really won't fit the bill. I personally own a nice wrench in addition to the Craftsman, but it will not be visiting the shop and let out of my sight. Our machinists use nice stuff that they personally own and take care of, but I can't ask my production workers to bring in their own $300 tool since it would be way out of the budget for most of them. By the same token, I'm not providing expensive wrenches to guys with a bad track record. And the "clicker" is much preferred since they are more convenient and faster to use repeatably.

That said, has anyone bought/used a harbor Freight torque wrench? Particularly this model: HF Torque Wrench

We use quite a few HF tools in the shop and have had decent luck with most of them. But some things they sell clearly don't match up to higher priced things. On new, clean assemblies almost any tool will do. On rusted, stubborn fasteners it seems to take a better quality tool. We are getting away from providing tools since things have a tendency to disappear and get abused. But "specialty" items will always be supplied since it's unreasonable to have our guys furnish everything themselves since most of them are not professional mechanics or machinists.

I can't believe this thing could be any good if it only costs $10-$20. It's cheap enough that I'll go buy one anyway to give it a try. I can use it as a hammer at that price. But if someone here KNOWS for a fact through personal experience that it's a paperweight please let me know before I buy a dozen of them. I don't expect it to be as good as a name brand tool, but if it is 75% as good that will probably be enough for this particular process.

It doesn't have to be particularly accurate, but it should be consistent. It's only for internal product use and not for stuff that leaves the building. Meaning, I can align the calibration scale to a standard before each use but the numbers on the settings don't need to correspond to the real values. As long as it will hold a fairly close setting for about 40 fasteners at a time.

Any personal experience?

Steve

[DoctorHfuhruhurr 137]

I've used it but only when I swap out snow tires twice a year. I've had it 10 years and it does the job. I'm by no means gentle with it but I can't say I put it through the wear and tear you'll be using it for but for $9.99 it's worth a try (IMO).

[6wheeler 668]

My brother has one, it is ok. But just ok. I call it his long ratchet. Don't expect it to be overly accurate. This particular one (we have found) can be + or - about 6 to 8 lbs. If he has to be accurate he comes to get mine, which is more often than I like. But, if its going to be wrecked or have a resin wear layer eventually. You could buy alot of $10.00 wrenches (if accuracy is not a real issue) for what a good one costs. just my opinion. Pat

[SALTYWRIGHT 859]

I HAVE HAD ONE FOE 20 PLUS YEARS. I GOT IT FOR MY BOAT SO I DID NOT CARE IF IT GOT RUSTY. IT STILL WORK AS THE DAY I GOT IT. BUY ONE.... :omg:

[wallfish 17,598]

Here's one from Northern that has good reviews????????

Still cheap enough and may hold up a little better. $30

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/pro...63474_200263474

[Operator 7]

I bought one of the HF ones for the "if I loose it" thing, works great and have had it for at least 10 years.

Get a few from HF then get a couple from Northern. And gives us a product reveiw.

Randy

[C-Series14 15]

Got one many years ago...it worked for awhile then something inside broke. It now is a spare breaker bar! BUT, all my other Pittsburgh tools I got as a 16 year old are still working fine!

At work, we had a $600 3/4" drive, 4' long 200-600 foot lb. one that didn't conform to AF PMEL accuracy anymore so guess what, it is now our heavy duty breaker bar!

Sounds as though many have them and they work and for the price, it should be fine.

I ended up buying a Craftsman beam type and a click type due to I use them on my Harley and Duramax...

[Daddy Don 907]

No luck with there torque wrench. Used one time and broke.

[wh500special 2,249]

Thanks fellas.

I bought two of them today and tinkered a little. My calibration cell is assumed to be at one of the other plants so I couldn't baseline it to anything yet, but they actually seemed to be pretty consistent with each other when torqued head-to-head (1/2" socket on each with a 1/2" piece of hex stock sandwiched between). either they are both close to being right or they're both wrong. But I'm mostly after consistency, not accuracy.

Geez these were cheap. $9.99 apiece. I have no idea how these could be manufactured and shipped halfway around the globe so cheaply (well, I do. But this is no place for discussion of currency subsidization, no environmental restrictions, and rediculously cheap labor).

I'd be willing to bet the Northern wrenches are exactly the same thing. Until HF became popular Northern had a corner on the imported tool market.

No idea how they will fare in regular use, but from the feel of them you can definately tell them apart from a $100 sears tool or a $300 Snap On. But good enough is good enough for now. And so far seem acceptable for a disposable tool. Hopefully Daddy Don's wrench was a statistical lemon.

Mike, if any line of work could justify top-notch tools I think it would be yours. Don't let me catch you using any el cheapos on one of my taxpayer-dollar-funded airplanes!

Thanks again guys.

Steve

[rmaynard 15,964]

Torque values are important. If the book says torque to 20-25 ft/lbs and you are using a cheap wrench, you may over or under tighten without knowing it.

I have used a Craftsman torque wrench for over 30 years. If it breaks, I will take it back to Sears and get a new one free.

Harbor Freight tools are usually cheap knock-offs from China. I would not trust something as important as a torque wrench from H/F.

You get what you pay for.

Bob

[captjake 1]

I already returned a crap torque wrench to HF. I was way off.

I recommend a beam type. The are very simple and cheap. Like 25 bucks.

[wh500special 2,249]

Thanks folks.

Bob, not sure I could disagree with anything you say since we seldom get MORE than we pay for.

I'm going to give these a shot and see what comes of them. I have fairly low expectations of them so I doubt I'll be too disappointed.

I considered the beam type, but I think the ease of use of a clicker is really needed here. If the wrenches are way off on calibration that really isn't a problem...so long as they are consistent. Again, I'm not after accuracy, I'm after consistency.

I have the luxury of setting my own torque specs and have a pretty big window to hit. The reason I care about even tension on the bolts - regardless of what its absolute value is - is so I get even compression on a gasket.

The reason I'm not going with a quality tool is that there are somewhat frequent times when something goes wrong in the process and we have to quickly tear the thing apart, make corrections, and seal it back up while it is slathered in a hot mess of dripping goo. If I have to worry about not screwing up a good wrench it will be a major headache. Even though the cost of a $300 wrench is low compared to the product, it is still a noticable item that will cause much grief with the guy who pays the bills (spending $300 to save $25k might seem like a good investment to me, but I know how other people think).

Take care of that Craftsman wrench. If they replace it with a newer one you'll probably get stuck with the current 90-day warranty on it. I'm a big fan of craftsman tools since they seem to be a great compromise between quality and price, but they did cheapen up their clickers and "digitorques" in the 3 decades since you bought yours. I have one of their wrenches at home and like it.

Thanks again,

Steve

[Save Old Iron 1,568]

Just curious folks ...

can anyone here who has voiced their opinion on the advantages of a brand or $$ range of torque wrench actually provide any EVIDENCE that one wrench is better than another

NOT PERCEPTION... BUT EVIDENCE

please tell me how you have come to the conclusion.

I would love to know how you checked your wrenches for accuracy.

I would really love to know how you checked your wrenches for REPRODUCIBILITY.

Steve brings up a great point about reproducibility but I have yet to hear anyone state how they have checked that aspect of using a torque wrench.

I'm all ears folks and willing to listen to evidence, not old wives tales or opinions or ASSumptions.

[rmaynard 15,964]

Chuck,

If you have a friend that is a Snap-on driver, or Cornwell Tools, or any of the vendors that drive their sales trucks to auto shops, they have testers on board. They can test it for accuracy. If they are nice, they will test any make, but don't be shocked if they try to sell you a new $250.00 Snap-On.

Bob

[Coadster32 793]

I also have a cheapy torque wrench. I did check it to a beam type, and it was pretty darn close. Mine is the micrometer barrel type as seem in these pics. Prob. all the same manufacturer. Then again, I heard craftsman is made in a plant that makes other brands also. Some of the cheapies I wouldn't distrust just yet. Anyhow, just make sure when you're done with the torque wrench, to back the load off down to zero, so you don't wear out the sping that gives you your torque. Even on an expensive wrench, this could be the downfall. My wrench has been with me for approx. 8 years, and it looks like I got it last month. Proper care is more importaint. just my $.02 on it.

[Save Old Iron 1,568]

They can test it for accuracy.

We still have not answered Steve's question on REPRODUCIBILITY.

I hear about the "free checkup" from the guys in "the truck".

Who was it that said we rarely get more value than we pay for?

So we give our expensive wrench to someone who disappears into the back of a truck and he emerges saying your OK to go. Lets see, if he says your wrench is out of calibration, the company he works for has to give you a replacement. Makes you wonder how many wrenches that are not actually falling apart ever test "bad".

Do they check your wrench for indicated accuracy or full scale accuracy?

Do they give you a certificate confirming your wrench is in calibration with actual measured results of their test?

When was the last time their tester was calibrated?

Do they make sure your wrench is at a nominal temperature before its calibration is checked. What if the wrench is at sub freezing temps or laying out in the sun and is 100+ degrees.

Do they carry a certificate "on file at the office" showing the results of the tester's calibration.

Do they consider their tester a secondary or tertiary standard - or do they even know what those terms mean? Hopefully they are not using "inferred accuracy".

I have worked for companies where I needed to send torque wrenches , multimeter and even pin gauges back for calibration checks on an annual and sometimes semi-annual basis.

We would attach stainless steel connectors to Plexiglas manifolds (needed to see blood flow thru the plexi manifolds) and if the wrenches were not in cal and REPEATABLE - you just severely shortened the life of a $10,000 piece of Plexiglas.

So I guess I'm back again asking how the average guy torquing down a Kohler cylinder head can verify his wrench is repeatable? Or should we lose sleep wondering if reproducibility will leave the building before accuracy does ?

If it does, then accuracy calibration loses all value as the only free test the "truck guys" offer.

The next time these portable purveyors of international standards show up - ask them a few questions about how your torque wrench works and get their autograph on your wrench's calibration certificate. Don't be surprised if neither one is forthcoming.

[Save Old Iron 1,568]

If the book says torque to 20-25 ft/lbs and you are using a cheap wrench, you may over or under tighten without knowing it.

Bob,

that statement is full of assumptions. Statements could also be made that a improperly used and neglected $300 wrench could easily be further out of calibration than a $10 wrench which has been calibrated properly , stored properly and used properly.

trust me on this one.

the technique of use (or mis-use) of the wrench, poor storage practices, combined with cleanliness of the bolts and thread area will account for 95% of any error in torquing a fastener.

When all is said and done with this post, If anyone is interested, I will describe how you can easily build your own calibration fixture for your torque wrenches.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,147]

I have used a Craftsman torque wrench for over 30 years. If it breaks, I will take it back to Sears and get a new one free.

I take it that you haven't attempted this yet?

[Coadster32 793]

When all is said and done with this post, If anyone is interested, I will describe how you can easily build your own calibration fixture for your torque wrenches.

That I am interseted in. :omg:

[Save Old Iron 1,568]

Chris,

conceptually very simple. You pivot a steel tubing on bearings or a knife edged piece of metal.

At the fulcrum of the lever is a nut that you attach your torque wrench to.

At the other end of the lever you attach a know weight (10 lbs - 50 lbs)

If you attach a 50lb weight 1 ft away from the fulcrum, set your torque wrench to 50 fl/lbs, the wrench should click as you try to lift the weighted lever off the test bench.

If the wrench clicks before the weigh just lifts, your wrench is under its cal point. Over calibration if you can lift the weight off the bench without the wrench clicking.

A 10lb weight held 36inches from the fulcrum gives you a very accurate 30ft/lb calibration. 50lb weight at 3 ft gives a good 150 ft/lb cal for most automotive work (well at least in my older everything was cast iron days)

This is by no means the most professional calibration method, but surprisingly accurate if done the right way. Also a great way to check REPRODUCIBILITY because you can "break in" a new wrench, recalibrate right to the specs you use most and check reproducibility by running a series of 30 attempts to lift the weight.

If 95% of your attempts click the wrench at the right torque, you have statistically proven your wrench is both accurate and reproducible. Scientifically sound practice with guessing, opinions, wives tales or assumptions.

I'll have to dig my wrench calibration tool out of the closet and take some picks. Its been a long time since my involvement in offshore racing where we used to need fairly accurate loading on the outdrive components.

[Save Old Iron 1,568]

I have used a Craftsman torque wrench for over 30 years. If it breaks, I will take it back to Sears and get a new one free.

I take it that you haven't attempted this yet?

TT,

funny you brought that up.

My oldest daughter works in a diesel repair facility - "sales guys in the truck" all over the place.

I discussed this with her just yesterday and she said several owners of $500 + impact wrenches are being turned down for replacements if the wrenches are not totally inoperative. This is something new that she has not seen happen in previous years.

As for questionable torque wrenches - a calibration is offered - not replacement. Debatable if the owner is charged for the calibration.

I'll find out more as the week goes on.

[Save Old Iron 1,568]

folks,

here is a good article on how to make a torque wrench checker / calibrator

this one is a little better than the one I made years back as it operates the fulcrum point on bearings - I have a similar setup but I just pivoted the lever on knife edged steel plates instead of bearings - this looks a little more user friendly

http://www.stockcarracing.com/howto/scrp_0...ench/index.html

looks like next weeks project for all those concerned about torque wrench accuracy.

and this is interesting too

http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/torque_wrench/index.html

[iicap 1]

Hi all, would like to add something not mentioned, it's not about accuracy but may help with consistency. Pertaining to barrel type, snap/click type wrenches. I always put a drop of oil on the roll/pivot pin that goes thru the barrel and I warm up the wrench by setting it to the spec I need and putting the drive square in a vise Then I operate the wrench 10 times tightening and 10 times loosening. This is not my idea, I had read it somewhere years ago. It definately makes the wrench snap/click smoothly and I feel most consistently. Before learning to do this I didn't like these type of wrenches and preferred the beam type. I could tell by feel that they were not clicking off with the same effort. I am a retired truck and equipment mechanic. If any of you do get or make a tester, try your wrenches as the are then try what I have mentioned. Please correct me if I have given some wrong info.