Utica Torque Wrenches

[kartracer55]

Well Im in the market for (well my dad wants for christmas) an inch lb torque wrench. I came across UTICA branded ones in MSC. Know I know Utical used to make tools "back in the day" but they have since gone out of buisness. The current run of Utica Torque wrenches are being made by Cooper tools (same as Dotco and Mastercraft) Where are these made, and hows the quality?

thanks

Jim

 

[Jared]

The mastercraft ones seem ok although i have only used one a couple of times,this is what my high schools auto shop has. How much does it cost?

 

[kartracer55]

Im dont know how much they run off hand, but as I recall they are about the same as the other brands they sell(proto, armstrong, etc). Do you know where those mastercraft torque wrenches are made?

Jim

 

[Thumper]

I had a Utica/Bonney 1/2 drive torque wrench about 15 years ago. It worked very well for many years till I bought a new Central.

 

[kartracer55]

I had a Utica/Bonney 1/2 drive torque wrench about 15 years ago. It worked very well for many years till I bought a new Central.

Yeah they were both awesome names back then, but Im worried they have become like thorsen... a formerly good tool brand that went out of buisness, and now some chinese company is making crappy tools under the name.

I agree though... bonney is awesome stuff. If you are interested in getting anymore, There is a place that bought up all thier old stock when they went out of buisness.

Is the central made here? I know thier measureing stuff is, but they have the line they call "storm" which is imported.

Jim

 

[Fast Orange]

Jim-
How come your not looking at either Proto or SK? The reputation for both is excellent,the pricing online is good and no doubts about the accuracy. Unless something has changed,both are USA made. I'd stay away from Craftsman-notorious out of the box accuracy problems. For what you'd pay for Snap-On,you can get a full set for every usable range in Proto or SK.

George

 

[kartracer55]

Funny you should mention that. Im actually looking at a proto torque wrench. Yes, they are a stanley company but they are also accurate to 3%, whereas most tother brands are 4%.

Im not confident buying an sk at the moment because I read a post by a guy on some website that said he was the plant manager for a place in alphareta georgia that makes the torque wrenches for craftsman, kd, and yup, SK. I havea catalog that sells both, and the lengths are within 2 tenths of an inch for all thier models, and if you look at the ring that locks the handle on both the KD and SK, they look identical. Now granted, maybe the KD is better quality than the craftsman, but Im not entirely comfortable with that. Im ok with the metal handled SK torque wrenches, because my dads has lasted 15+ years, but i dont know how the plastics will hold up... will the SK retaining ring break like the craftsmans do?

I was just asking about Utica to get some reactions and opinions, but Im actually leaning towards the proto because of the accuracy and relaticvly low cost.


Its a Question for Mark Kws
Jim

 

[eschoendorff]

Jim????? Buy a Proto!!!!????

OMG.... hell must have frozen over!!!!


Seriously, Proto's good stuff. I would buy a Proto TQ wrench if I could cough up the $$$$... I have a Proto 3/8 socket set (killer ratchet) and some misc wrenches, all top notch.


I have Cman TQ wrenches and all 3 of them have been dead-on out of the boxes. SK, Cman, Allen, Kobalt.... take your pick. I guess that there will always be duds. i am sure taht someone has had a poor experience with Snappy or even Proto. Just seems that you hear more about the Cmans being off or less than average... I am starting to think that the reason that you hear so many remarks about Cmans is that there are probably *proportionally* more Cmans in circulation than Snap Ons.

In the end, though, you gotta go with your gut. If I ever question my Cman clickers, I can always double check my work with my Sturtevant-Richmont beam types.

My .02

-Ed

 

[chevy302dz]

From what I have seen and heard Utica makes a very good quality product.

 

[kartracer55]

Ed, Its 125... The SK is about 40 less, but Im betting the proto will hold up longer because the SK version has a plastic handle, just like the craftsmans. Just like the craftsmans you say? Well, as I just found out, Craftsman, KD, Armstrong, plastic handled SK, and Im going to venture Matco as well are all made by JS Technologies, a Subsidary of danaher (who isnt) Of course the Armstrong and Matco will probably hold up better because of less cost constraints, but still, I knew SK had a connection somewhere to Danaher. The SK flexheads look like the Snap on Flexheads though.

Jim

 

[Fast Orange]

A word of advise to anyone who owns a torque wrench-If you have a wrench you trust,never loan it to anyone. They won't use it the way you do, they won't take care of it the way you do,and you won't trust it again until you send it out to be calibrated.
For this reason,I've got 2 each of the most commonly used wrenches-in 3/8 drive,one Craftsman Microtorque and a Snap-On Tech-Wrench.Same thing in 1/2" drive.I'll loan the Craftsman wrenches,but noone but me touches the Snap-Ons.
If someone wants to use the Craftsmans,I'll do a quick comparison of readings against the Snap-On,and they're on their own.If thats not good enough for whoever wants the wrench,they can send it out and pay the $50.

George

 

[kartracer55]

I dont loan tools out PERIOD

 

[eschoendorff]

Ed, Its 125...

Jim

$125? That's not bad at all. Where at?

 

[Jay H 237]

$125? That's not bad at all. Where at?

He found it through MSC. They carry many torque wrenches. Just put "torque wrench" into the quick search box at the top and then they'll all show up in a list.


I've ordered through them in the past and they are very good to deal with. They are similar to Grainger or McMaster-Carr. As a matter of fact I ordered wheel chocks from them last week.

 

[kartracer55]

Yeah, You were thinking what I was. I saw Proto on the page and I was like Oh jeez snap on prices but I was quite pleased to find out they were relativly affordable. This is for an inch lbs though, they larger 150-250 ft lb type wrenches are closer to 200, some are more.


Does anybody know if the proto handles are plastic or "rubber"?

Jim

 

[eschoendorff]

Yeah, You were thinking what I was. I saw Proto on the page and I was like Oh jeez snap on prices but I was quite pleased to find out they were relativly affordable. This is for an inch lbs though, they larger 150-250 ft lb type wrenches are closer to 200, some are more.


Does anybody know if the proto handles are plastic or "rubber"?

Jim

The Protos that the guys use at autox are all metal handled. Of course, they are older units, but metal they are...

 

[kartracer55]

Yeah when i went on the proto website only 2 of the torque wrenches had plastic/rubber handles the other ones were all metal. Metal would be my first choice, but I def. dont want hard plastic like the sears.

Jim

 

[eschoendorff]

Yeah when i went on the proto website only 2 of the torque wrenches had plastic/rubber handles the other ones were all metal. Metal would be my first choice, but I def. dont want hard plastic like the sears.

Jim

I really don't mind the hard plastic on my TQ wrenches... I have heard that the plastic lock ring can break, but I just treat mine like glass and I haven't had (nor do I anticipate) any problem. I do, however, like the knurled metal handle on the Proto, SK and Allen ratchets, though.... so I would probably go for the metal handle like you are if I had a choice.

If you can get that Proto for $125, I really don't see how you can go wrong.

BTW... all the Proto stuff is still made here in the USA, IIRC. And, if you look at the stuff, Proto doesn't seem to share much likeness with MAC or any of the other Stanley companies (esp ratchets). I kinda like to think of Proto as it's own thing, just subsidized by Stanley

 

[kartracer55]

Lol yeah. You cant cut corners when they are going to be used in industrial applications i suppose.

Jim

 

[Reloader1]

Well guys, Thank you for taking me back to my childhood!

My father designed these torque wrenches at Utica Tool Co. In Orangeburg, S.C. in about 1969. It took him 2 years to come up with a ratchet head for it that didn't break (They were testing powdered metal then) I had about 10-12 of them in our shop. Fond memories of going with him to the plant on Saturdays and seeing the screw machines spitting out those knurled handles by the hundreds! The were/are the most durable wrenches on the market. Kelsey Hayes/ Triangle corp. aquired Torque Control Inc. from Los Angles, and up until then, they only had the old "Beam Type" wrenches.

Cooper Tools bought Utica (Bonney/Herbrand) in the late 80's and trashed the place and fired everybody but a few people out of 2,500 employees that had mostly been there most of there lives, and moved everything to Sumter, S.C., So I have no love for Cooper...to see with my OWN eyes of those people with their lives suddenly destroyed, will live in my mind forever. I still have a LOT of Bonney/Herbrand tools in my box from back in that day. I even have 24K gold plated 8-6 pliers and 24 gold plated swivel-head ratchet that they gave my dad for top engineer.

 

[skiingman]

Funny you should mention that. Im actually looking at a proto torque wrench. Yes, they are a stanley company but they are also accurate to 3%, whereas most tother brands are 4%.

So what? For the typical use of a torque wrench tightening fasteners, that is a meaningless distinction.

 

[hofferwood]

Check this out
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71624
Chuck