I have a Craftsman torque wrench(925-250lbs)and after using it once it broke.They only give a 90 day warrenty on these wrench so I bought a SK torque wrench.Any one else use this wrench?Joe
Craftsman torque wrench-Not worth the money
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I thought Craftsman had a lifetime warranty. I guess they are Chinese junk now too.
John
John
Craftsman TQ wrenches are not covered by the lifetime warranty. have never been as far as I can remember. Usually the ratchet head strips or quits working. I had an SK TQ wrench that uses the same head as the Craftsman one and it broke too.
i have a gearwrench tq wrench that i'm pretty happy with, craftsman has become a joke, i've heard of them denying replacement under lifetime warranty due to a couple specs of rust.
My Craftsman torque wrench is about 5 years old and still working beautifully.
Realistically, they have been replacing junk people find in yard sales for free, for years, can't keep doing that obviously. Should be with ID and receipt. My 1/2 in. is from the 80's, still works fine, made in USA, wasn't cheap at time, but worth it. Don't know who made them, Armstrong? Not so many USA manufacturers left. Eventually no one in USA will know how to make a tool, now that will be great in the so called global (chinese) economy.
I have a short-range Craftsman torque wrench for tightening spark plugs, and I haven't had any issues with it. It does seem quite cheap though, I believe it's not made in the USA.
The biggest complaint of the Craftsman torque wrenches is that the plastic lock ring collar breaks on the microtorq model and that the view window clouds up on the "digital" model. As dparm notes, use experience varies a lot.
JS Technologies in Georgia is the Danaher owned company that makes torque wrenches for Craftsman, GearWrench, KD Tools (defunct), NAPA, Armstrong, and others. Except Craftsman, these other brands share similar design and seem to be a step up from the Craftsman (no plastic). I also read that some SK wrenches were from JS.
Note the design of this Gearwrench:
vs. the Armstrong industrial/professional:
And more useless info:
SK recently went bankrupt and it is reported that IDEAL company (electronics tools and supplies) has just purchased them. Since IDEAL outsources much of their tool line, people are speculating the future of SK tools.
The Craftsman full polish professional combo wrenches have been outsourced to China.....the writing is on the wall.
JS Technologies in Georgia is the Danaher owned company that makes torque wrenches for Craftsman, GearWrench, KD Tools (defunct), NAPA, Armstrong, and others. Except Craftsman, these other brands share similar design and seem to be a step up from the Craftsman (no plastic). I also read that some SK wrenches were from JS.
Note the design of this Gearwrench:
vs. the Armstrong industrial/professional:
And more useless info:
SK recently went bankrupt and it is reported that IDEAL company (electronics tools and supplies) has just purchased them. Since IDEAL outsources much of their tool line, people are speculating the future of SK tools.
The Craftsman full polish professional combo wrenches have been outsourced to China.....the writing is on the wall.
I have three different Craftsman Microtork type wrenches that I use without issue. With these micrometer style torque wrenches you should dial down to their lowest torque setting once you're done using them to keep the load off their internal spring.
Craftsman Beam-style is US made and have a lifetime warranty.
The other ones are garbage. Get a snap-on.
The other ones are garbage. Get a snap-on.
Originally Posted By: doitmyself
The Craftsman full polish professional combo wrenches have been outsourced to China.....the writing is on the wall.
I'm happy i got most of my craftsman stuff while it was still made in the USA, while most of it still is, just give it a few years and the craftsman name will be on par with harbor freight.
The Craftsman full polish professional combo wrenches have been outsourced to China.....the writing is on the wall.
I'm happy i got most of my craftsman stuff while it was still made in the USA, while most of it still is, just give it a few years and the craftsman name will be on par with harbor freight.
Originally Posted By: defektes
Craftsman Beam-style is US made and have a lifetime warranty. The other ones are garbage. Get a snap-on.
Snap On owns and is made by CDI and you can get a CDI for MUCH less than the Snap On. You just won't have a Snap On ratchet head nor the status that goes with it. Everything else (the important "guts") will be the same. It takes some nerve to get over the brand name association.
The other major US manufactures are Precision Instruments, Proto, and Sturdevant Richmont.
Craftsman Beam-style is US made and have a lifetime warranty. The other ones are garbage. Get a snap-on.
Snap On owns and is made by CDI and you can get a CDI for MUCH less than the Snap On. You just won't have a Snap On ratchet head nor the status that goes with it. Everything else (the important "guts") will be the same. It takes some nerve to get over the brand name association.
The other major US manufactures are Precision Instruments, Proto, and Sturdevant Richmont.
I'll agree with doitmyself, I bought two CDI torque wrenches after doing a ton of research and couldn't be happier. They are the same thing as the Snap On brand with a different ratchet head.
To the OP, SK torque wrenches are supposed to be pretty good. I think you will be happy with your purchase.
To the OP, SK torque wrenches are supposed to be pretty good. I think you will be happy with your purchase.
SK went bankrupt and was bought by ideal, I would not buy a torque wrench from them. Like mentioned above the gearwrench clicker is a good deal.
Precision Instruments makes a good one.
Black and Decker owns a bunch of companie also, Proto, Mac Tools, Stanley, Delta, Dewalt, Porter Cable. Each company still exists independently. B D does seem to go to China a lot, saw a Proto hammer, not cheaper either, made in China. No Thanks. First was China and cheap, now it is China same price as USA, and maybe even quality. Can anyone see what these crafty people are doing?
My old Crafstsman torque wrench has the window and the plastic grip, no problems with either, and the ratchet head is strong and easy to work, two tab type.
My old Crafstsman torque wrench has the window and the plastic grip, no problems with either, and the ratchet head is strong and easy to work, two tab type.
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