Opportunity to buy a Snap-On 1/2" TechAngle cheap

[c5greg]

I have an opportunity to purchase a 1/2" Snap-On TechAngle from a friend at a great price ($200). Its barley seen use, which is why my friend is selling it. Normally I would have snapped this up (no pun intended) but I already have a 3/8 TechAngle and a 1/2 SK USA clicker (which i barely use), when i do its annoying to set as I am spoiled by the ease of the 3/8 TechAngle. Im not a pro, I just wrench on the weekends but I like nice tools and really like my 3/8 TechAngle.

So WWYD? Is it worth getting "just to have" or a waste?

 

[2ndGearRubber]

If you don't use the range a tech-angle offers, or the angle function in areas you can't mark or use an adapter, don't buy it for economic reasons.

What's $200 to you? The clicker will last longer, that's not a question. Tech-angles are fabulous to use, no question there either. It sounds like you're paying $200 for novelty/enjoyment of nice tools, which is fine.

 

[Steve_P]

$200 is obviously a steal on this. But you don't need it to tighten your lug nuts- which as a DIYer is 95% of what I use a 1/2 torque wrench for. And almost all of the rest is suspension bolts which aren't TTY. The 1% that are TTY for me are flywheel bolts, and a paint marker works fine for them.

A good clicker torque wrench will last you the rest of your life if even moderately taken care of.

Saying that, if you have $$$ to burn, and you'll enjoy using it, buy it. I have all sorts of tools that I don't need, but I appreciate them when I use them every few months instead of making due with lesser options.

 

[darrowco]

So, does the tech-angle have a shorter expected life than a clicker? Just wondering as I use both.

 

[scooby074]

You havent bought it yet? lol. Id have been there asap . TA are awesome

 

[Wrench97]

You havent bought it yet? lol. Id have been there asap . TA are awesome

I'm closer

 

[charbar]

So, does the tech-angle have a shorter expected life than a clicker? Just wondering as I use both.

I would say yes just because of the electronics. A decent clicker will last a lifetime. Hard to say that for most things electronic.


I use a torque wrench daily and the only time I use my Tech Angles is when I need to torque to something to a degree.
If you are a DIYer you probably don't come across something like that more than a couple times a year. And even though $200 sounds cheap for a Torque Angle, there are still cheaper options if you need to torque+angle. Albeit more of a pain but still work just fine.



Depending on what generations of TA it is you could probably resell it for a profit if you are into that type of stuff.

 

[LXCam]

If you even once need to do torque to yield bolts in an engine bay, don't give it a second thought. So if you don't need a flex head and the ability to track rotation, I wouldn't bother.

 

[dnschmidt]

How many head gaskets do you change a year. That's the only question. You're 3/8" Tech Angle isn't going to have the range to do TTY head bolts and the 1/2" will.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

The beauty of the tech-angle is support, there's a good chance part/repair will be available for a long time. They'll never last as long as a clicker though, the electronics won't last 50 years.

 

[Pinne]

I just sold my split beams because they've been replaced with Tech Angle wrenches. I care about the accuracy and the ability to set things easily in both lb ft and Nm. The 1/4" version is what I use most frequently and the TA is so much easier to deal with and provides a higher level of accuracy for small fasteners. I have the 1/2" as well, but it's more of a nicety - though for $200 it's a relatively affordable luxury.

 

[IndyGarage]

I do not get the value of an angle electronic torque wrench.

Generally they say torque to a spec and then turn 90 degrees or 130 degrees, or whatever further.

Do people not understand what a 90 degree angle is? How could you miss that? 130 is just less than halfway between 90 and 180. Not that hard.

The only thing I want is my wrench to click or beep when I get to the right number.

 

[Pinne]

I do not get the value of an angle electronic torque wrench.

Generally they say torque to a spec and then turn 90 degrees or 130 degrees, or whatever further.

Do people not understand what a 90 degree angle is? How could you miss that? 130 is just less than halfway between 90 and 180. Not that hard.

The only thing I want is my wrench to click or beep when I get to the right number.

You can tighten screws with a screwdriver, doesn't make an impact driver less valuable.

I think anyone who is using one of these regularly for the angle function has enough reps doing things the manual way to find a true benefit of having it all integrated. Be it speed, accuracy, repeatability, etc.

 

[charbar]

I do not get the value of an angle electronic torque wrench.

Generally they say torque to a spec and then turn 90 degrees or 130 degrees, or whatever further.

Do people not understand what a 90 degree angle is? How could you miss that? 130 is just less than halfway between 90 and 180. Not that hard.

Getting close to any degree is easy when you are torquing a head on an engine stand in the open.

Try torquing something an additional 90 degrees when you can only get about 15* per swing and you can't get a straight on look at the fastener to accurately mark it and where you want it to end up. Usually standing on your head pulling the wrench too. At that point you are just trying to convince yourself that you are close enough. Probably fine for a single bolt, but personally I'm not going to half *** it like that if I have multiple fasteners on a sealing surface.

The only thing I want is my wrench to click or beep when I get to the right number.

That's exactly what an electronic torque wrench does. I don't even need to be looking at the fastener and I can tighten it one ratchet tooth swing at a time and still end up dead nuts on 153 degrees every single time if I wanted to.

 

[mikey03]

The beauty of the tech-angle is support, there's a good chance part/repair will be available for a long time. They'll never last as long as a clicker though, the electronics won't last 50 years.

That’s true but generally speaking I seen electronic anything get cheaper over time. Whereas the opposite is true for mechanical stuff.

10 years ago to now, how much did a good wrench set change in price? Went up maybe 50%
same time how much price change on a cordless impact wrench? ESP if you compare foot pounds of torque to dollar cost of the tool it’s prob gone down 80%

so I’m guessing in 10 or 20 years a tech angle quality torque wrench might only cost $200 in todays value

 

[IndyGarage]

Getting close to any degree is easy when you are torquing a head on an engine stand in the open.

Try torquing something an additional 90 degrees when you can only get about 15* per swing and you can't get a straight on look at the fastener to accurately mark it and where you want it to end up. Usually standing on your head pulling the wrench too. At that point you are just trying to convince yourself that you are close enough. Probably fine for a single bolt, but personally I'm not going to half *** it like that if I have multiple fasteners on a sealing surface.

If you are torquing stuff like that on a regular basis that would be a good use for it. Personally, I've run into that scenario maybe 1 or 2 times.

 

[mike93lx]

I have never and almost certainly will never encounter an instance where I would need it's features and I would still buy the damn thing.

I'd start torquing everything with it.

Kind of like when you got your first pressure washer... Everything needed to be cleaned. Or when a kid holds their first hammer.. Everything needed to be hit

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I do not get the value of an angle electronic torque wrench.

Generally they say torque to a spec and then turn 90 degrees or 130 degrees, or whatever further.

Do people not understand what a 90 degree angle is? How could you miss that? 130 is just less than halfway between 90 and 180. Not that hard.

The only thing I want is my wrench to click or beep when I get to the right number.

Try 42 degrees for a GM wheel bearing, or needing to rotate 60 degrees on a fastener you can hardly see and cannot mark due to location, 10 degrees or less at a time.

 

[fatfillup]

I would jump on that and resell it but that is what I do
Being as it is a friend, reselling probably isn't kosher but if he doesn't care, that is what I would do

 

[pbon]

Buy it if you need it. My newer BMWs are using angle torque on more bolts. On my 25 year old ones, it was few bolts, like head bolts. On my 15 year old ones, rod bolts and some others. On my 5 year old ones, strut braces and undertray and suspension bolts and more.

The 3/8 is too big for some stuff and too small for other stuff. If you work a lot on cars with angle torque you will want 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2. Beware over extending a 3/8. I was using one on a suspension bolt and the final stage of ft lbs was within the 3/8 wrench’s range but the angle torque put it over and I stripped the wrench and ruined it (HF Quinn and no rebuild sources I could identify at the time).

 

[dnschmidt]

Buy it if you need it. My newer BMWs are using angle torque on more bolts. On my 25 year old ones, it was few bolts, like head bolts. On my 15 year old ones, rod bolts and some others. On my 5 year old ones, strut braces and undertray and suspension bolts and more.

The 3/8 is too big for some stuff and too small for other stuff. If you work a lot on cars with angle torque you will want 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2. Beware over extending a 3/8. I was using one on a suspension bolt and the final stage of ft lbs was within the 3/8 wrench’s range but the angle torque put it over and I stripped the wrench and ruined it (HF Quinn and no rebuild sources I could identify at the time).

What did you mean "stripped the wrench." It will go into error mode (which can be fixed electronically with the right Eclatorq software) but stripped to me means broken gears or something mechanical.

 

[IndyGarage]

Try 42 degrees for a GM wheel bearing, or needing to rotate 60 degrees on a fastener you can hardly see and cannot mark due to location, 10 degrees or less at a time.

I highly doubt two sets of threads have anything close to enough tolerance for the difference between 42 and 45 degrees to be significant.

On 20 threads per inch 42 degrees is about 6 thousands of an inch movement.

 

[pbon]

What did you mean "stripped the wrench." It will go into error mode (which can be fixed electronically with the right Eclatorq software) but stripped to me means broken gears or something mechanical.

Stripped in the head. I asked about the issue here when it happened and one member who was pretty familiar with Eclatorq said it could not be repaired.

 

[c5greg]

Thank you all for your replies! They actually helped me decide. I just texted my friend and told him ill take it. Hopefully he still has it.

A few comments that helped me make make my decision:

1. Per one poster, even if i need it for a single job, ill be spending more for a lesser product. For example the HF options: Icon is almost double the cost and the Quinn is just a bit cheaper.
2. I have come across some bolts lately that are requiring angle on my BMW, but my 3/8 is capable of managing those so far. If i need more range, this will be great to have.
3. I currently don't bother with torquing everything (think brake caliper brackets) but like a poster said, if its easier with the digital why not. The digital is so much easier to use.
4. Its a good deal. No way would i pay anywhere near retail or even $400 for the Icon, but at $200 its worth it. Per another poster's comment, i can always sell it for at least what i have into it.
5. Someone said its an "affordable luxury" which is true. I can afford it so why not treat myself. Ill regret not getting it the first time i "need" it.
6. Its serviceable by Snap-On. Not cheap but better than having to buy a new tool per another poster that broke his Quinn.
7. As i get older i am struggling with the marking on my clickers. I hate having to stop working to find a pair of reading glasses.

Again, thanks to all that replied.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I highly doubt two sets of threads have anything close to enough tolerance for the difference between 42 and 45 degrees to be significant.

On 20 threads per inch 42 degrees is about 6 thousands of an inch movement.

That's the spec, do what you want.

 

[dnschmidt]

The biggest mistake people make is not understanding how an additional 45 degrees can triple the torque. Say it says go to 35 ft-lb. This basically takes the slop out of the system. Then tighten an additional 45 degrees. That additional 45 degrees can cause you to exceed the maximum value the torque wrench can handle and put it into error mode. Normally, once in error mode only specialized software can fix the error mode. That's a huge pain in the ***. Start off with something with a 250 ft-lb range and you'll never encounter this problem.

 

[Steve_P]

That’s true but generally speaking I seen electronic anything get cheaper over time. Whereas the opposite is true for mechanical stuff.

10 years ago to now, how much did a good wrench set change in price? Went up maybe 50%
same time how much price change on a cordless impact wrench? ESP if you compare foot pounds of torque to dollar cost of the tool it’s prob gone down 80%

so I’m guessing in 10 or 20 years a tech angle quality torque wrench might only cost $200 in todays value

AFAIK, nothing that Snap On sells gets cheaper over time; if inflation is 3%, they raise prices far more than that each year, because they can. Yes, maybe in five years you'll be able to buy an Icon digital for the same or less $ than it sells for today as they gain popularity- but I'd bet that won't be true with a TechAngle.

By your logic, you'd never buy a big screen TV because they'll be cheaper next year. And that's been totally true so far. Are you still watching that black and white 19"?

 

[2ndGearRubber]

The biggest mistake people make is not understanding how an additional 45 degrees can triple the torque. Say it says go to 35 ft-lb. This basically takes the slop out of the system. Then tighten an additional 45 degrees. That additional 45 degrees can cause you to exceed the maximum value the torque wrench can handle and put it into error mode. Normally, once in error mode only specialized software can fix the error mode. That's a huge pain in the ***. Start off with something with a 250 ft-lb range and you'll never encounter this problem.

Buy a techangle, they don't have error mode issues.

Snap on keeps winning.

 

[IndyGarage]

That's the spec, do what you want.

My point is that it is an unnecessarily random spec. It's about like having a speed limit of 68.225 miles per hour and you trying to maintain that, when your speedometer is + or- 3 miles per hour.

If you think you are doing something special by turning to exactly 42 degrees, I think you are mistaken. There's no way automotive threads are manufactured with a .0001 tolerance.

 

[pbon]

I have not yet encountered a spec that specific, but have seen one that was 105 degrees. Most seem to be rounded up or down to a number ending in 0.

 

[dnschmidt]

Buy a techangle, they don't have error mode issues.

Snap on keeps winning.

Eclatorq does what it does for a reason. Their feeling is that if you have overloaded the wrench you've probably put it out of calibration. The error message is basically a warning to have the wrench calibrated. The way this is done is pretty cool. You take five measurements at steps within the wrenches range and then using a computer connected to a port on the wrench you enter this data. Say for nominal 25 ft-lb the wrench reads 21 ft-lb and so on up to max range. You enter this data into the software and it rewrites the calibration curve stored in the EEPROM to align the torque tester value with the stored value thus recalibrating the wrench to match the torque tester.

 

[AEAdam]

One point I didn’t see mentioned. Regardless of what the specs say, the digitals have Snap Ons patented “early warning system”, making their techwrenches and techangles more accurate for most people. This is yet another reason engineers like me (and others) love Snap On and don’t look forward to the day they succumb to Taiwan.

Snap On did field studies that indicated most of us pull through the click on our clickers. Many more click it again for good measure. Pulling through the click results in over torque. Not sure about the second click, but that can’t be good. We are supposed to stop pulling when the wrench releases, stopping before the click. But literally no one does that (not even aerospace). The techwrenches start to beep and vibrate just before you hit the target. Later models have colored lights. Last, all these wrenches display the final torque, giving you feedback to help your technique.

Absolute torque values don’t always matter. But uniformity can. Used my tech angle to snug up water pump bolts a few weeks ago. With stuff that has a gasket, you really want uniformity and you don’t want an over torque condition. The car will still start, right? But the quality of the workmanship can show in longevity. So I think it’s good to have a torque wrench that’s easy to do well with.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

My point is that it is an unnecessarily random spec. It's about like having a speed limit of 68.225 miles per hour and you trying to maintain that, when your speedometer is + or- 3 miles per hour.

If you think you are doing something special by turning to exactly 42 degrees, I think you are mistaken. There's no way automotive threads are manufactured with a .0001 tolerance.

I agree it's a nonsense spec. But they picked the spec for a reason, why guess?

The biggest thing is being able to watch the angle climb. You maye register 10 degrees winding up a 3 ft extension, the bolt then turns, you can watch how many actual degrees occurred during rotation. I'll do the basics by eye, I don't disagree there. But if the spec is in ft/lbs, 80-90, I'm picking 85. Lots of tolerance adds up to bolt stretch variation.

Probably doesn't matter for a wheel bearing, if it's a 20 hour engine job you'll redo for free if there's an issue, be conservative and careful.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

One point I didn’t see mentioned. Regardless of what the specs say, the digitals have Snap Ons patented “early warning system”, making their techwrenches and techangles more accurate for most people. This is yet another reason engineers like me (and others) love Snap On and don’t look forward to the day they succumb to Taiwan.

Snap On did field studies that indicated most of us pull through the click on our clickers. Many more click it again for good measure. Pulling through the click results in over torque. Not sure about the second click, but that can’t be good. We are supposed to stop pulling when the wrench releases, stopping before the click. But literally no one does that (not even aerospace). The techwrenches start to beep and vibrate just before you hit the target. Later models have colored lights. Last, all these wrenches display the final torque, giving you feedback to help your technique.

Absolute torque values don’t always matter. But uniformity can. Used my tech angle to snug up water pump bolts a few weeks ago. With stuff that has a gasket, you really want uniformity and you don’t want an over torque condition. The car will still start, right? But the quality of the workmanship can show in longevity. So I think it’s good to have a torque wrench that’s easy to do well with.

In my experience, the frequency of torque wrench use is directly correlated with how nice your torque wrenches are. I'll fully agree about technique, the pull and jerk through the click is pretty common especially "torquing" wheels.

A lot of times using a torque wrench on anything somewhat critical is adding single digit % to total job time. But it protects you pretty well. Many things on a car can be installed at a pretty wide variation from spec torque and still work and not fall off. I see it every day. Everybody has their own tiers of fastener type which require various levels of precision.

 

[SilverJimmy]

One feature that I always showed my customers was that when torquing a TTY bolt to a specific angle the TechAngle wrench would beep, vibrate, and had the light display after reaching the desired angle. Then it would display how much torque it required to reach that angle. I would explain to them that feature would help them to know if they had maybe missed that bolt in a previous step or if it was prematurely failing. TechAngle wrenches also keep track of how many bolts you had already tightened. I sold hundreds of them, I still don’t know all their features and functions, I just know they work!

 

[2ndGearRubber]

One feature that I always showed my customers was that when torquing a TTY bolt to a specific angle the TechAngle wrench would beep, vibrate, and had the light display after reaching the desired angle. Then it would display how much torque it required to reach that angle. I would explain to them that feature would help them to know if they had maybe missed that bolt in a previous step or if it was prematurely failing. TechAngle wrenches also keep track of how many bolts you had already tightened. I sold hundreds of them, I still don’t know all their features and functions, I just know they work!

It's a very nice feature when someone bothers you during a torque sequence or even just while torquing something down with multiple bolts. They DGAF if you lose your place, the wrench helps record your progress.

 

[Steve_P]

In my experience, the frequency of torque wrench use is directly correlated with how nice your torque wrenches are. I'll fully agree about technique, the pull and jerk through the click is pretty common especially "torquing" wheels.

20+ years ago I never used a torque wrench unless it was for critical fasteners: connecting rods, head bolts, main caps, flywheel bolts... Then I bought a full set of CDI torque wrenches and was suddenly using one on a power steering pump bracket

I don't have any digital wrenches, so I never realized the "pull and jerk thru the click" until I bought the HF torque tester and did calibration tests on my wrenches. Then yep, it was clear that you gotta be smooth. Of course, if you "pull and jerk", that'll be ok as you're not going to break anything going 15% over.

 

[jimindm]

I have had the TA since they have come out. They are great torque wrenches. I still use clickers on a lot of stuff, but critical and tty stuff , the ta come out.

I like many of the features that have been mentioned. The two I like the most are it does not start the angle reading until the initial torque is in spec. I also like the finished torque reading, when done TTY.

I do not know which style you have. The first ones the battery cap on the end used to twist on and off to service the batteries. I pull with my right arm and untwisting that would happen, shutting off the wrench.

The new style is sort of a tabbed cap that pushes in and twisted locking in place. I think the old style can be upgraded to that.

My 1/2 inch one just shut of one day in the middle of a head gasket job, I bought the new style and sent old one in a few months later, it came back looking like the new style. I think it was a total refurbish and calibration. If I recall it was like $175.

One last thing that had not been mentioned. I never store them with the batteries left in them. If you get it in the case, there is a cavity to store the batteries.

 

[AEAdam]

Just a reminder Torque To Yield (TTY) is a tightening spec where the bolt is stretched beyond its yield limit, meaning a permanent deformation has occurred. Sometimes a TTY spec will include an angle reqt, sometimes not. There is no relationship between TTY and Torque Angle reqts.

I personally see angle reqts on bolts that are not TTY. The advantage of the angle specs for car manufacturers is that the angle is not effected by friction the way torque is. It makes sense for auto manufacturers to use Torque Angle specs for all critical fasteners under the car especially where corrosion could increase friction resulting in incorrect bolt tension during service. (Friction creates ”stick slip” which increases the range of bolt tension I.e results in too little or too much bolt tension).

We have not started specifying angles in aerospace apart from some few unicorns, some of which I designed. Our hardware is typically renewed during service. But for automotive, we will only see more and more angles specified. It’s a less risky approach. If you are working on cars, it’s when not if you will encounter angle reqts. It used to be only heads, now it’s suspensions and more.

So just a reminder of why buying a Techangle is probably a good idea.