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Mon Jan 04, 2016 2:35 pm

I have returned 2 Craftsman click type torque wrenches in the last month and not going to try for a third. I don't do this for a living and trying to avoid the cost of a Snap On. While I'm not going to argue that the Snap On is one of the best, I already know that from owning several before. The CDI wrenches seem to have a lot of mixed reviews and apparently the warranty is not the same as snap on, only 1 year. Came across this Eastwood while searching and was looking to see if anyone else has used it. I'm looking for a wrench to due the lower torque (under 50 ft. lbs.) settings.

http://www.eastwood.com/digital-electronic-torque-wrench-3-8-drive.html

Mon Jan 04, 2016 4:07 pm

Take your Craftsman back and exchange it a 3rd, 4th, 5th or 13th time You paid for a lifetime guarantee. There is nothing wrong with my Craftsman 3/8" and 1/2" torque wrenches.

I've exchanged my broken Craftsman 1/2" ratchet using a 4' cheater bar to tighten the gland nut 4-5 times and they have never ask why or how I broke it.

Mon Jan 04, 2016 5:35 pm

I've been using the same clicker TQ wrenches for many years(maybe decades), I ONLY use them to TQ with, never to install or remove fasteners with, that is what the ratchets/air guns are for.

I've only had to replace one ratchet in the past and it was an SK and there was no issue, they swapped it out no questions asked. The same should apply to Craftsman tools.

Mon Jan 04, 2016 9:00 pm

Why are you returning them? I have a low and high torque one. They get calibrated every year and they have been good. I've had them about 15 years though. Maybe they were made better then.

Tue Jan 05, 2016 12:50 am

Craftsman click type torque wrenches don't have a lifetime warranty, the beam type do.

Tue Jan 05, 2016 1:29 am

vwracerdave wrote: Take your Craftsman back and exchange it a 3rd, 4th, 5th or 13th time You paid for a lifetime guarantee. There is nothing wrong with my Craftsman 3/8" and 1/2" torque wrenches.

I've exchanged my broken Craftsman 1/2" ratchet using a 4' cheater bar to tighten the gland nut 4-5 times and they have never ask why or how I broke it.

While that's all true and good Dave both wrenches had the head lock and freeze while torqueing a nut to 24 ft lbs. Both wrenches were used just a few times. A tools job is to function and if it needs to be returned every third time its used doesn't really do much good. I can only wonder how accurate it really is. I do own a lot of craftsman tools but all older stuff which I have no problems with.

Tue Jan 05, 2016 3:13 pm

beleave it or nopt but the harbenger of fright tq wrenches I got were closer than my snapon's and almost dead on at all ranges.much better than the expensive snappoff one. the crapsman was junk almost all crapsmans I even had were junk. the mack expensive one...junk well it worked for a few monthjs thewn cost more to repain then it cost, but it was just the rat shit head that was afu.....that was when I sent the useless mfen mac man on the road.to never return. I have some beam typs'I use my good OTC wide beam one to check them all,I had it checked and it was good .(had a millspec on it)(I think it fell out of a aero plain :shock: and landed in my yard....... :wink: with a small brother joline tqrench. :shock:

Tue Jan 05, 2016 3:35 pm

Might just give the harbor freight a shot before dropping a considerable amount on something else. Have a store fairly close and I don't really think it could be worse than the craftsman right now. Worse case scenario, return it.

Tue Jan 05, 2016 3:39 pm

Craftsman torque wrenches USED to be good. They are no longer.....and as noted...neither their click type or electronic type are covered by the Craftsman warranty...nor do they have a prorated warranty.

They are also...at +/- 4% of total scale....not particularly accurate and not dirt cheap. They are no longer totally made in the US. They have chipping issues with the main gear pawl inside.

There are far better wrenches out there....for similar money or a bit more. It also depends on what all you use them for.

Short of the Snap on electronic wrench which is not only a well built tool....but is actually very well designed among electronic wrenches......the rest of Snap on's torque wrenches are actually hideously overpriced. There are better wrenches out there for half the cost. You are paying for the warranty. Unless you build engines for a living.....it would be rare that you would ever collect on the difference in cost that the warranty is costing you.

For great quality clicker wrenches of moderately more cost than Craftsman. ...but FAR, FAR higher quality......Check out Proto and Sturtevant-Richmont.

In reality.....you can spend as much as you want on a torque wrench. Snap-On is not even particularly expensive compared to whats out there. Just not nearly as good as some of the truly expensive stuff. Ray

Tue Jan 05, 2016 3:51 pm

S/K and KD are still high quality.

Tue Jan 05, 2016 4:30 pm

Very enlightening post Ray. I think the chipping issues in the main gear pawl you are describing is the defect in the wrenches I had, the heads froze. Just surprising that happened at such low torque. And yes, as many have said, their tools are not made nearly to the standards they used to be, but honestly what is. Just started looking at the S&K, Proto and Sturtevant-Richmont.

Tue Jan 05, 2016 4:32 pm

Glenn wrote: S/K and KD are still high quality.

Oh yes!....and almost forgot....Seekonk. ...makes superb torque tools. I am looking at theirs and possibly going to buy an inch pounds dial type for setting bearing preloads on differentials.

I Also found a write up in hot rod magazine about torque wrench comparison and testing. ...and they noted...as mark tucker noted....that the torque tools from Harbor freight...including their electronic conversion torque tool.....were surprising accurate.

The problem with cheaply made torque tools....is not their initial accuracy. A HF torque wrench, a Snap on and Craftsman bought the same day.....are invariably all accurate within about 1%....as the guys from Hotrod mag found. I have found the same in various places. With elecctronic wrenches...they are all damned accurate out of the box. All of them use strain gauge technology so dont let that statement wow you when shopping for them.

However....its over time that the difference in construction quality shows. The really cheap crap may be off significantly.....with normal hobbiest use (even when stored properly with the tension turned down)....in weeks or months......long before the normally suggested recalibration point of 1 year or every 10,000 clicks.

The problems I have been finding with cheap HF....and no-name bought on amazon....and these issues also now seem to apply to Crapsman.....us maijly (like in most other Chinese products) ....the metal qyality and hardening is poor. The springs get weak faster even with proper storage..and the click detent gets weak faster.

One other item...a ratcheting wrench....unless its really carefully built. ..is always several percent less accurate +/- than a fixed head wrench.

And.....since you wont generally own anything to test the wrench with to KNOW that its off by 10% or more (which is common)......your first warning may be when a rod bolt or pressure plate bolt lets go.

With something as cheap and as heaply made as the HF wrench....its far cheaper to toss it than it is to get it recalibrated twice a year or more.. ..which by the waym...is about what I have found for all the $30 price range, click type Chinese made torque wrenches. They are nicely accurate when you buy them. With normal use they are typically off by more than 10% within about 4 months....even with storing them properly turned down.

The average cost to recalibrate a torque wrench in one direction only....is between $30-50 depending on where you live. Its simpler to just throw the HF wrench away and buy another one.....which is not actually that bad of a logic.

If you cant muster the up-front cash flow to spend an average of $120-$175 for something like a Proto that will last for years....spending $30 every 4-6 months for something that works and is just as accurate for general use makes sense. Ray

Tue Jan 05, 2016 4:45 pm

And that's because we live in a disposable world now. You don't repair things anymore you replace them.

Tue Jan 05, 2016 5:08 pm

vwnutt wrote: Very enlightening post Ray. I think the chipping issues in the main gear pawl you are describing is the defect in the wrenches I had, the heads froze. Just surprising that happened at such low torque. And yes, as many have said, their tools are not made nearly to the standards they used to be, but honestly what is. Just started looking at the S&K, Proto and Sturtevant-Richmont.

Yes.....i saw this actually about 7 years ago and several times since....ebcause I was looking at the problem. I used to work for a company that provided a fairly high quality torque wrench in the tool kit required for daily use on their equipment. We bought torque wrenches in skid quantity.

We used fo use Stanley/Proto wrenches for ages. But they got so expensive that we couldnt offer a good enough tool kit price. So....we did some serious looking around and settled on a Sturtevant with a special length and torque range......15-75 ft lbs with a total length of 14.5". These worked great. But a couple months later...we made a design change. We wanted about 25% more teeth on the ratchet pawl for smoother use and better ergonomic control as angle was critical on using the wrench with our,product.

Its worth it to mention that the average shop using our product might torque and untorque 300-600 bolts per day with average torque of 55-60 ft. Lbs.

The upgraded wrenches came in....and very quickly started either seizng up...meaning no more ratchet....but more often they would shatter the teeth off the ratchet pawl.
It happened to me...and I amn near broke my hand.

Talking to thr manufacturer (who was excellent)....they went through exactly how much work and how critical it is to do proper machine work for accurate tolerances and proper hardening of thr pawl.....and showed how hard it was to get right in a tool that is gong to see this much actual usage...true industrial. They fixed the issue quick. It was one hardening batch that was at fault. It caught us.... because ours were not part of the nrmal batch runs.

Ever since then I have been looking at everyones torque wrenches with a critical eye. I have found Craftsman and others exhibiting some of these same types of material weaknesses....and not after long or heavy use. My last Craftsman snapped its 1/2" drive lug off while torqueing a wheel bolt to 90 ft pounds on my Jeta.
Sears said no Craftsman warranty on those products any longer even though I gought it two years earlier...about 1year before they started the policy.

They said cough up a receipt....or no go. I said f*ck them......never again. That wrench had maybe 100 clicks on it.

I then bought a Blackhawk at either home depot or lowes. A year later. ....it stripped the pawl. Warranty was some kind of prorate.....not worth it. Ray

Tue Jan 05, 2016 6:36 pm

Yes, like all things nowadays metal quality even in name brands sucks, and a torque wrench is not item to compromise.

There is a good amount of Apco-Mossberg USA made Military Surplus Dial Torque wrenches out there for good deals. Good number on ebay right now. They range from inch pound models to 1500 foot pounds. I bought this 0-50 Ft-Lbs off ebay for $50. I'm more willing to trust a old well made Torque Wrench then a new one that might not last/be accurate. First picture is how I received it, and second after cleaning up, polishing, and I checked it against my old USA made needle style that I have used and trusted for years.

Tue Jan 05, 2016 6:41 pm

Glenn wrote: S/K and KD are still high quality.

SK have gone bankrupt and have no more warranty. Snap On,Proto,Sturdevant,mititoyo, Mac are professional quality designed for day in day out use, lifetime. WW Grainger will still warranty KD tools maybe.

People wince at the high cost of professional tools, but they should try to buy them used. They are always available used on EBay and Craigslist then you have them calibrated and you have a tool which will last a lifetime and can be resold if need be. What precision tools do you think they use at the aircraft maintenance repair stations here in the US ? It ain't harbor freight :D that's the choice of hack mechanics. I recently bought a 60s model snap on 1/4 drive torque wrench for twenty dollars, yes those deals are out there. Do not ignore auctions, estate sales, garage sales, flea markets. There is no substitute for good quality tooling and you don't have to be a professional mechanic to understand this. You can tell a lot about a mechanic and how seriously he performs his work by the investment he's made in having proper tooling.

Tue Jan 05, 2016 6:48 pm

I know the OLD Proto clicker torque wrenches were very good, actually as good as the modern snap-on equivalent. I use them side by side.
Look for them used. The ones with the OVAL beam part, not round tube like most are now. the threads in the handle wear down and so they need adjustment now and then, but the critical parts seem to last forever.

The most accurate one I know of is an old Aamco dial type. It's not at all handy to use, no ratchet, have to crane your neck to look at the dial, but it's very good at staying calibrated and no batteries to need replacing.
For the hobbist.........might be ideal.

Tue Jan 05, 2016 7:01 pm

Just got back from EBay, many many deals on used torque wrenches. :D

Tue Jan 05, 2016 8:36 pm

I have used a few Norbar wrenches from UK, they are well made.

Also used a couple of Wesser (German brand made in Taiwan I believe). Still useable but not as good as the Norbar's.

Tue Jan 05, 2016 9:58 pm

YES!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Zundfolge1432 wrote: Glenn wrote: S/K and KD are still high quality.

SK have gone bankrupt and have no more warranty. Snap On,Proto,Sturdevant,mititoyo, Mac are professional quality designed for day in day out use, lifetime. WW Grainger will still warranty KD tools maybe.

People wince at the high cost of professional tools, but they should try to buy them used. They are always available used on EBay and Craigslist then you have them calibrated and you have a tool which will last a lifetime and can be resold if need be. What precision tools do you think they use at the aircraft maintenance repair stations here in the US ? It ain't harbor freight :D that's the choice of hack mechanics. I recently bought a 60s model snap on 1/4 drive torque wrench for twenty dollars, yes those deals are out there. Do not ignore auctions, estate sales, garage sales, flea markets. There is no substitute for good quality tooling and you don't have to be a professional mechanic to understand this. You can tell a lot about a mechanic and how seriously he performs his work by the investment he's made in having proper tooling.