Craftsman torque wrenches any good?

[dodge610]

I have the craftsman beam style torque wrench it has allways done the job. Also have Snappy inch pound torque wrench. And my click type are all HF. Thinkin about trying a Husky Or craftsman click type.

 

[Tsquare]

I have a Craftsman 3/8 and 1/2 Torque wrench - click type - I use them both and they work well - very satisfied.

 

[mikeceli]

The "click" style Craftsman 1/2" torque wrench, I bought in 1973, gave out a few years ago. I bought 2 new ratchet parts for it from Sears and it has worked fine since.

 

[thwaller]

I am resurrecting this thread because I was looking for this exact information. So rather than a new thread, I see it best to combine and consolidate....

I have 3 of the micro click Craftsman, made in USA, torque wrenches. I have heard the same, that the rings break. Mine have been fine for a good long time. What I am interested in ... those who have these break, what are you doing to break them? Not to say anyone is doing anything wrong, but how and why do they break for some, and be just fine for others?

 

[WWheeler]

I have had three of the Craftsman clickers for ~5 or more years now, a 1/2"dr (20-150ftlb) and two 3/8"dr (one's 2-20ftlb and other is 10-75ftlbs). I use them all the time. I have never broken any of the lock rings BUT I knew in advance they are known to be easy to break and I have treated them accordingly. I'm very careful when I unlock them to adjust and lock in place to use and always turn them back to the lowest setting before storing away. I have never had any problem with them.

I also have a snap-on 3/8"dr clicker (2- 15ftlbs iirc) and a Precision Instruments 1/2"dr flex split beam that I think goes up to 250ftlbs. That's pretty much my go-to these days for everything in it's range.

FWIW I also have several beam style torque wrenches (craftsman, SK, CDI) and a HF digital torque adapter that I occasionally use to check my clickers against and all of them have stayed as accurate as I can tell with them. To check a clicker against a beam-style I put the beamer in a vise and use a 8pt socket between them, set the clicker to the middle of it's range and watch the needle on the beam for when it clicks.

 

[thwaller]

Good point, I too was aware of this issue, but not right away. Mine have also been treated with care. I wonder though, if there is someone who has broken theirs, what happened that it broke?

Mine are kept in blow molded cases, which may be a factor as I know that some just toss them in a drawer or box with other tools. I could see an impact on that ring snapping it.

 

[L.Cheapo]

Good point, I too was aware of this issue, but not right away. Mine have also been treated with care. I wonder though, if there is someone who has broken theirs, what happened that it broke?

Mine are kept in blow molded cases, which may be a factor as I know that some just toss them in a drawer or box with other tools. I could see an impact on that ring snapping it.

I didn't break mine. I went to use it one day and the ring was split. No matter, I kept using the wrench. Then the plastic handle split, also while not in use.

I treated this tool as a precision instrument. It was never dropped, abused, or stored outside its case. It was kept in my locked toolbox and only I ever used it--as a DIY'r.

I switched to Techangles and never looked back.

 

[gda659]

Not good. Lock nut came loose. That was it. Not worth fixing it.

 

[thwaller]

I didn't break mine. I went to use it one day and the ring was split. No matter, I kept using the wrench. Then the plastic handle split, also while not in use.

I treated this tool as a precision instrument. It was never dropped, abused, or stored outside its case. It was kept in my locked toolbox and only I ever used it--as a DIY'r.

I switched to Techangles and never looked back.

Wow, that is interesting to hear. Could I ask you ... what sort of climate do you live in? I have wondered about outside storage vs inside where temps are more stable. I am in Wisconsin, so there is not much extreme heat here, but we do at times get some cold weather.

 

[L.Cheapo]

Wow, that is interesting to hear. Could I ask you ... what sort of climate do you live in? I have wondered about outside storage vs inside where temps are more stable. I am in Wisconsin, so there is not much extreme heat here, but we do at times get some cold weather.

I live in the NYC area. All tools are kept in a detached, unheated garage. I do bring the electronics indoors in the winter.

No other tool has ever done this on me.

 

[bpjr]

A friend of mine built an experimental plane with VW engine. He bought a new Craftsman clicker to just to assemble the engine. After a couple hours of flight the engine died and he deadstick landed on a road. He found every nut and bolt in the engine was loose and traced it back to the Craftsman clicker being way out of calibration...that was in the mid 1990s. He tossed the Craftsman and rebuilt the engine using my Klein clicker.

 

[timc930]

I have three CMan Clicker's, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, bought about 15 years ago. The lock ring on the 1/4 just spins, the other two work fine. The ratchet on the 3/8 just spins! Where can you get these re-calibrated and repaired?

 

[Professional Tool User]

I've got an old Craftsman USA made one and it seems to work fine. So much better than the HF ones.

 

[royesses]

I have 3 craftsman and 1 Husky. They are 13 years old and still work fine. The husky in the same price range is a better wrench. I had all Precision brand before and they are much higher quality, but the craftsman and husky are decent low cost wrenches for the home mechanic.

Roy