Do any of you guys still use the single beam type torque wrenches? The reason I ask is because I went into my local "old school" auto parts store that I know carries S-K Tools. They had the 250 lb. torque wrench I needed but it is a bit spendy. The guy there suggested I just get a beam type, he says they rarely go out of calibration unless it goes through some extreme temperature changes. He says he checks his clicker-type torque wrenches off of the beam ones as a cheap way to make sure they are decent.
I'm debating buying a decent beam type for now until I can save up enough to get a better one. Plus I could use that beam one to check accuracy (if it is accurate to begin with). I was originally weary of this idea but with some of the bigger bolts and nuts that need a lot of torque it may not be as inaccurate on. Thanks.
The guy is absolutely right.
The only real downside to a beam is that accuracy depends on how close to a straight look at the pointer and scale you can get, and if you can't get that, it's not usable. That is the main reason for the existence of click type torque wrenches, they work when you don't have line of sight to the scale.
I keep a bendy beam in my toolbox just in case I have any reason to mistrust my clicker, the bendy beam I trust implicitly.
