I ruined my torque wrench what are my options

[Panzerman]

I second the Harbor Freight torque wrench. They are very nice and well made. I've had SK torque wrench in the past.
Price per pound and quality. The Harbor Freight is no brainer. I think you will like them.

 

[Greggy_D]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Harbor Fright.


This

 

[Tdbo]

Originally Posted By: Greggy_D
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Harbor Fright.


This


Agreed. Unless you go high-end, you would be probably be getting comparable quality.
HF would be about as good as anything you would get Craftsman branded anymore, anyway.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: raaizin
I really only use it to torque down wheels or for a brake job where I need to torque caliper brackets. An inexpensive one would be ok as long as it is accurate


For that usage checking it with a bucket of water and a bit of rope should be good enough, or just don't use one at all.

If replacing perhaps consider a beam deflection type. Not much to go wrong on them

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: raaizin
I really only use it to torque down wheels or for a brake job where I need to torque caliper brackets. An inexpensive one would be ok as long as it is accurate


For that usage checking it with a bucket of water and a bit of rope should be good enough, or just don't use one at all.

If replacing perhaps consider a beam deflection type. Not much to go wrong on them


Beam torque wrenches are such a pain to use. You have to have a good view of the scale to monitor what torque you are applying. Many places I use a torque wrench, it would be difficult to look at the scale.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

For $100-150 you can buy a very good click or split-beam from CDI or Precision Instruments...

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: raaizin
I really only use it to torque down wheels or for a brake job where I need to torque caliper brackets. An inexpensive one would be ok as long as it is accurate


For that usage checking it with a bucket of water and a bit of rope should be good enough, or just don't use one at all.

If replacing perhaps consider a beam deflection type. Not much to go wrong on them


Beam torque wrenches are such a pain to use. You have to have a good view of the scale to monitor what torque you are applying. Many places I use a torque wrench, it would be difficult to look at the scale.


True, but doesn't seem to apply to the OP's very limited usage, where space doesn't seem to be likely to be restricted, though for that usage (lug nuts again, oi vay!) he probably doesn't really need one at all.

A lot of people seem to make a bit of a fetish out of torque wrench settings. I'd only consider one essential for a very few jobs where space isn't usually restricted, like with an engine rebuild.

With a bit of fiddling about you might be able to rig up an audio contact switch alarm to tell you when you'd reached a particular pointer deflection, though I've never tried.

 

[mobilaltima]

If its an American made Craftsman, send it to Angle Repair for repair. Or buy Snap On.

 

[mobilaltima]

Angle Repair only handles US made torque wrenches

 

[RedVic]

Stay away from those Harbor Freight torque wrenches. Sure you can get lucky and get one that will work for a while but you might get one out of the box that just does not work correctly also.

My advice by a CDI torque wrench, they are owned by Snap On so the basic torque wrench will be the same as a Snap On, the difference will be the ratchet head and the handle, on Snap On you will have a Snap On ratchet head and the handle will be larger around.

The point is you will get a quality torque wrench that can be serviced for decades to come if you buy from CDI (Snap On owned company).

 

[Pilatus1]

I HIGHLY recommend CDI brand torque wrenches. They previously manufactured Snap On's torque wrenches and were bought out by Snap On. If I'm not mistaken they still do manufacture all of Snap On's torque wrenches except you can get CDI branded ones for a fraction of the cost. In aviation, just about everything requires a specific torque. I like to keep my own torque wrenches so I never have to question whether they've been dropped/etc and are still in cal. I've found that in a side by side comparison, the only difference between Snap On and CDI is the ratcheting head. The CDI has, without looking it up, a ~48 tooth head whereas the Snap On's have a 72 or 80 tooth head. I paid $115-140 each for a couple of CDI's. The equivalent Snap On's would've been upwards of $300/each. CDI's are still made in the USA and come with an excellent warranty. I'll never buy another brand unless something drastic happens in terms of quality/assembly etc.