Need some help figuring out a tool lineup

[WR250F]

Hi everyone, great forum you have here. I was a lurker for a while, but I see a lot of folks with my same interests here so I decided to jump in.

I've been turning wrenches off and on most of my life. In the distant past, for work, more recently for hobby related stuff only.

As time has passed, I've either loaned out, lost, or misplaced most of my tools.

Now, I'm going to be wrenching on a couple of dirt bikes and a resto job on an old chevy truck.

So, I need a few things, mainly, torque wrenches, combination wrenches, box ends, a good set of sockets in deep and std in metric and SAE, decent screwdrivers etc... all the basics for a hobby wrench.

As far as torque wrenches go, I'm really confused as to the best option for my needs. I see most torque wrenches are rated for accuracy from 20% or so of the full rated range up to the full rated range. I don't have a problem with that, but after looking at 10 or so different brands I'm still trying to weed out the best fit for my needs.

The range I need to cover is from 7 lb/ft up to 105 lb ft. I realize this is probably impossible to cover with one wrench so I'm looking for suggestions on what range wrenches to choose to keep the working range I need within the 20% and up rated range of the wrenches I need.

I'm not brand loyal in the least, don't care the least little bit about measuring peckers via how much $$$ I drop on a torque wrench and I gain zero satisfaction from knowing I bought the supposed cadillac wrench.

This being said, if I need the cadillac wrench, then that's what I'll get.

My thinking is the electronic/digitals sure look convenient, but, the electronics are something else to break. A good quality all metal wrench with a calibration cert ought to work fine. I see some of the brands that can be calibrated by Team Torque or someone similar have clicker wrenches that approach the cost of a digital/electronic, so if the digital/electronic wrenches hold up, given the choice I'd go with one for the convenience.

As far as combination and box ends, the last time I bought a set they were made by Challenger Blue Streak. Excellent wrenches in every respect, but they've walked off over the years and for the life of me I can't find where to buy them now. I don't know if they are still available. I bought the ones I had off a tool truck back when I was wrenching full time, but, that's been a while ago to put it mildly.

So, I have to come up with something else. I went to look at the Craftsman offerings last week and was kind of surprised at how crappy they look now compared to the past.

I've looked at Gear Wrench (pricey) but I'm not familiar with the brand so I don't know if they hold up. I looked at Harbor Freight and Northern Tool too. Of all the wrenches I've seen, the Northern Tool mirror finish seem to have the best fit/finish/feel of them all. The price is cheap enough, but I don't know who makes their wrenches or if it's worth buying from them. I am open to any brand, just looking for decent quality for home mechanic use, nowhere near the use time a pro wrench puts on his tools.

Can someone tell me did China buy Sears ? I don't know what happened there but the fit/finish on the wrenches I saw there was ****. Not one compressor in the whole place that would turn out 10 CFM @ 90 psi, screwdrivers all cheaped out, tool chests are flimsy as hell etc no matter how much you pay.

I ended up buying a tool chest and top box from Harbor Freight. It's a US General brand. Never heard of that brand, but it seemed to be much better made than anything I see at Lowes, Home Depot or Sears. Not a SO or a Mac, but for hobby use, I can't see dropping 15 grand it tools and a chest to wrench a couple dirt bikes and an old truck.

Torque wrenches need to be decent quality because I will be building up a motor for the truck and maybe the dirt bikes.

I've read thru a ton of threads and it seems a lot of folks have the same needs as me. I will buy online if that's best but I wouldn't know which online vendor to trust vs one that's not a good choice.

As far as the bucks I have to drop here, I won't say price is the determining factor in all of it, but I'd like to find the least expensive decent quality stuff I can.

I'm an old curmudgeon, most of my mentors have died off due to old age or wear and tear from too many women. I have a couple of good decades left in me and I intend to spend the majority of my time enjoying myself in pursuit of hobbies.

When my time comes, I will leave all of what I buy now to friends or pass it on. I don't want to leave or pass on any ****... well... except to my step son, he's as lazy and dead beat as they come. I'd kick his *** to the curb except his mama is smokin hot and I like smoking hot women in my life enough to put up with a snot nose ingrate until he gets out of school or ends up in jail first.

I love what's left of this country, I love to wrench and I am sorely out of the loop on what's what in the wrench world nowadays.

I need a little help with the above if any you would be so kind

Thank you

WR250F

 

[kartracer55]

I really like click type wrenches. To be completely honest, they are more than accurate enough for 99% of things you will do on a car with them. If you need more accuracy, then you need a better method of tensioning than torquing a bolt anyway.

You can get sick deals on Proto clickers from MSC and such, and they come with a nice case. No plastic handles etc etc. Some guys on here have their theories and feelings about them and how they hold up in the long run but bottom line is you can always get them calibrated. I am from the school of thought that I like to have all metal and minimal electronics in my tools so I am a fan of them.

 

[diesel research]

If you want "better" tools, spend less time looking in retail stores. That would be lowes, sears, harbor freight, or northern.

I am NOT saying don't shop at them, but don't limit yourself only to them either. They all have some items that could be considered of "decent" or "ok" quality, but don't let yourself feel like that is all that is available.

That is not to say that tool trucks are your only other option either.

You also have industrial suppliers who provide our nations factories with quality tools. A few more options are becoming available at the nations chain autoparts stores. Since these will be lower volume items, they may not be on the shelves and may need to be catalog ordered, ordered online, or atleast asked for (maybe not on the shelves but sitting in the stock room out back).

You now have the option of discount online retailers. They come with some unique challenges but most can be overcome or overlooked. Example issues might be warranty claims, shipping charges, lack of ability to put hands on the tool, etc. As mentioned, quite a bit of that "drama" can be reduced with a bit of research.

___________________

Of course, there is the used tool route. I don't like used hand tools, but many people seem to love them.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Im a Craftsman guy and a pretty die hard one at that. I understand they seem to be going down hill but I still think they are pretty good with their sockets, professional screwdrivers, and raised panel wrenches. I use the screwdrivers and sockets for my job and they are now and always have throughout their history, stood up to the abuse of professional work. (the sockets that is, screwdrivers will always have to be warrantied)

I have Snap On ratchets and flare nut wrenches and a few other odd and ends and a few SK tools mixed in as well. I worked in a resto shop which provided tools and they were Snap On so I have a great deal of experience with them even if I have never owned many. Other than these 3 brands I have to plead ignorance on much of everything else.

As far as torque wrenches are concerned I come from the school of thought where unless it is a critical compenent (usually on an engine) then I dong worry too much about torque specs. Automotive applications are actually one of the less fussy areas of critical torque specs.

Im curious what it is exactly that calls for 7 lb/ft. If it is something like a valve cover then I dont think I would worry about it too much and just snug those fasteners down good. I know if you look hard enough you can find torque specs for darn near anything. By the very nature of their design different fasteners will have different amounts of torque you can reasonably place on them.

 

[WR250F]

7 lb/ft is for the pinch bolts holding the front suspension on the dirt bikes.

Almost all of the work on the dirt bikes is either with aluminum bolts or bosses that aren't hardened steel.

I agree torque on every bolt or nut on the bikes isn't critical, but snapping off a bolt is something I'm trying to avoid.

For the restoration work on the truck, mainly motor internals at assembly time is what I'm concerned with.

As you probably know, working on cars can be expensive. In comparison (of scale) motorcycles cost exponentially more. Proper maintenance and regular care is critically important in keeping costs in check.

As far as other sources to consider along the lines of industrial/industry suppliers, can anyone suggest a good place to start ?

 

[reptilezs]

gear wrench torque wrench are good quality and us made. cripe distributing has a nice napa electronic one for about 100. you will need a 1/4 drive, 3/8 and maybe a 1/2. most 3/8 wrenchs stop at about 75 ftlb. the kobalt one at cripe seems to fit the bill too

 

[camarotoolman]

Ebay is loaded with great used tools. I would rather have a used usa than new china. Imports break, spread out, and are throw aways. Also buying used helps the enviornment.

 

[slidehammer]

I happen to like dial-type torque wrenches with a telltale needle. They can't be operated blindly like a clicker, but on the other hand the torque setting doesn't need to be set (and released for storage), and they work when turning clockwise and counter-clockwise.

Precision Instruments is, or at least was, the OE for Snap-On's dial-type torque wrenches. The products are identical except for the label on the dial.

 

[orangefury]

On dirt bikes I would say torquing to spec is critical. I do a tear down on my bikes once a year and torque to spec. Suspension components after every race. If you're working on dirt bikes I would get an in/lb dial torque wrench. You run the risk of stripping threads using bigger torque wrenches. Also with the aluminum parts use anti-seize so you don't get any galling.