what would be the best torque wrench to get that is cost effective?

 

I have a craftsman one and two SnapOn ones, the craftsman one seems to work fine, I would get the 25-150 clicker craftsman reversable 1/2in drive one that costs about $70

 

I had a craftsman that broke. Guess what? Craftsman does not warranty torque wrenches. BITCHES!
So now I have two Husky torque wrenches that seem to work good. $50 each from Home Depot.

I'd guess that Snap On is among the best though.

 

I have 2 snap ons and a Mac they both work really well, I use them everyday on very expensive componets.. I have used a Craftsman a few times and it also worked well although I didnt really like the feel of it(plastic handle vs knurled steel) depending on your intended usage spend the extra money and get a quality peice..

 

I have an S&K and a SnapOn TechWrench. With those 2, I can get done whatever I need to.

 

Being as this is what I do for a living, is calibrate test equipment. Here is a profesional opinion. CDI makes good wrenches that stay fairly accurate over extended period of time. Snap on is really good quality stuff. Craftsman will warranty them as long as they are BROKEN. But they will not warranty them if they fall out of calibration.(being that it is a wearable knuckle or a spring that wears out) But if it breaks as per say any other craftsman might break you can force the issue and get them replaced. Did it a bunch for the Air Force. If you drop it..which I know you will, it will be out of spec, 9 times out of 10.

 

I have used a Snap On for most all of the precision installs I've done. No probs yet and seems like a very quality tool.

 

Actually there is a 90 Day Warrantee on the Craftsman TQ Wrenches. I found out the hard way

TX Tahoe Z71 - That sig is WAYYY to big man... nice Bronco, but I dont like having to scroll all the way down just to read the next post.

 

I use the Husky and love it.

 

I have had craftsman replace several torque wrenches that were definitly older than 90 days. Like I said if you force the issue of manufacturers defect and not accuracy or calibration issues then they will usually replace them. Example-handle breaks or locks up.

 

My bad; I trimmed it down. Also, an for me.

 

Some good info here: https://ls1tech.com/forums/tools-fabrication/130628-torque-wrench-dilemma.html

 

by far the snap-on are the best that I have had, the Craftsman are nice though for home owner use. The reason there isnt the lifetime warrenty is if you break if you were miss handleing the tool, I.E. you didnt use it for its intent, its build to handle what its torque range is marked for.

 

I use Matco, I'm happy with it.

 

Where/How do you get the wrenches recalibrated? I've had my Husky for a while now and has held up good, but I wanna check the specs on it.

 

I've got a Snap on that I bought many years ago (about 10) and I've built a couple of engines with it and tourqued a bunch of wheels. Allways seems like it's good but I also wanted to get it recalibrated and went to a Snap on truck and the guy wanted like $150 to calibrate it I decided I'm not gonna worry until it's time to build another engine.

 

Craftsman only warrenties the analog torque wrenches. Not the clicking ones. The clicking ones do have a 90 day warrenty. I know, I work there.

 

I used the husky and they worked for me. I prefer Snap-on but money dictates and I as you can see I have Husky!

 

I've got s&k and snap-on like um

 

Clickers are untrustworthy. I also had a dial type that went
slowly insane. A beam type, though, is not easily fooled or
hurt. Only downside is lack of ratchet action on the old
school beam torque wrenches. That hurts in tight places.

If you have a clicker then you can use a beam wrench to
check cal in a rough sort of way.