I've ranted about this before. But things just keep getting worse.
I was looking into getting a small (inch-pound scale, 1/4-inch drive) torque wrench for light jobs (spark plugs and such). I don't want to spend a lot of money since I wouldn't use it too often, but it needs to be reasonably accurate or else I might as well just go hand-tight.
Well, I did an internet search, and it was just as worthless as you'd expect. Half the search results were retail websites (Harbor Freight, Home Depot, etc). The other half was just all AI-generated garbage.
One of the top hits was something like "torquewrenchreviews.com" or something like that. I assumed it would be just all AI content but I clicked on it to see if there was any useful info. Nope. Just a mindless listicle...
"Torque wrenches are just the tool you need when you need to torque something, like bolts, home improvement projects and other things. Torque wrenches come in a variety of brands to meet your needs.
Here are our top picks for inch-pound torque wrenches:
Best torque wrench: TorquePro 3000
Best overall: TorqueMaster Jr.
Editor’s choice: Wuhan Importers J5693-a
Best for 2023: XINGTUL Bezos+
etc... Click here to check price on Amazon"
You get the idea. Finding helpful content written by a sentient being who has actually used a torque wrench is pretty much impossible. I guess my question, and I do have one, is if anyone has a good recommendation for a light-duty torque wrench, that would be great (I have a heavy duty one that goes 10-140 foot-pounds on a 1/2-inch drive.)
I feel your pain. Finding reliable reviews and recommendations is getting more and more difficult. Everyone and their dog is trying to game the review system, especially on Amazon.
I have the Harbor Freight "Pittsburgh Pro" 1/4" drive torque wrench, rated for 20-200 inch-pounds. I've only used it a few times but it seems to work OK for what it is. (Like a lot of HF stuff it would probably fall apart if used every day in a shop environment but for occasional home use it should be all right.)
Yeah, that's the price range. Good to hear from someone who has used one (and knows what they're doing)
Though I haven't tried the torque wrench, the other Home Depot house brand (Husky) stuff is usually pretty decent.
So you get what you pay for, kinda.
I suspect a lot of these come out of the same Chinese factory with different labeling.
I use a Tekton brand from Amazon: check their Amazon store. I know Scotty has used Tekton torque wrenches many times before.
