Sometime last year I had purchased a new 1/2" drive torque wrench from autozone in a hurry as my good one was stolen. It struck me as odd that all the other tools had a lifetime warranty, this had a "if you buy it, good luck" policy.
Yesterday I was putting lug nuts on at 150 ft/lbs, the head of the wrench explodes, the force sends me fist first into the pavement. Both cover plate screws had snapped & the heads went into low earth orbit leaving me with just the threads along with some of the parts.
There was no locker on the threads, it made me wonder how long the thing had been applying incorrect torque. The gear didn't have many teeth either (they were all present, maybe thirty which makes for a big jump).
Not wanting the another $60 mistake I picked up an Icon one from harbor fraud, twice the price but this actually has a warranty on both the tool itself & calibration, 90 teeth.
The single a.z. "impact" sockets now look like poorly toleranced & close in wall thickness to standard. This may be incorrect but back in trade school I was told that aside from being able to differentiate quickly between standard & impact, the latter weren't chromed because the finish could "shatter" and end up like a palm full of razor blades. This and the obvious tougher steel so you don't end up with spilt steel.
Of course all the new whatever brand az sells look to be black chrome now instead of parkerized (unless you buy a sleeve of 3/4" drive). Maybe not an issue being gentle but I think those might end up about as safe as standard sockets which I've split my fair share of.
Use em, don't use em, I just thought the quality was dangerous enough to give a warning.
That torque wrench must have been built on a Friday afternoon, or a Monday morning.
This one might even be a Whiskey Wednesday build😄
For sure - hope you didn't bust a knuckle!
Somehow I lucked out this time. A little sore now but when it happened the pain vanished as soon as I realized more money might have to be spent😄
Psychological distraction. Works for me too!
I was wondering about the Craftsman brand?
Was good, but it's Chinese junk now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP4uECoH8cc
I'm using my father's Elora torque wrench from the 50s or so. It's got the needle and display ft-lbs when Toyota seem to work in NM so it's a bit dicey. It's about £60-£80 in today's money.
Snap-on are too expensive and made in China. I'm a bit wary of the German stuff now, and English tools are only good for hammers. I hear Craftsman are good in the USA as a mid-range tool? Or are they made in China as well?.
Ideally I'd go for a KTC/Nepros tool from Japan, but they do 4 at different NM ranges: 10 - 50 nm, 20 - 100 nm, 40 - 200 nm, & 60 - 300 nm. So AFAIK you can't get one that will go as low as the teen range up to the wheel nut range. so at £250 each, you kinda need two.
On the other hand I've learned as a carpenter over the past 25 years that cheapening out on tools is false economy. But the mid-range stuff is usually ok unless you're heavy handed, so I was wondering about the Craftsman brand? If anyone uses them. Thanks.
