I have had an S-K clicker wrench for a while now. I think it goes for $100-$125 still today. I bought it at my local Car Quest dealer. You might have some around you in PA. I have had this wrench recalibrated twice through the years when dropped and they said there were no issues. I think the warranty is one year including calibration. Myself, I wouldnt trust a Craftsman one anymore. My son bought one and it just doesnt feel right.(read the reviews and you will understand) Any torque wrench will work for every day AVERAGE jobs, but for anything else I like the S-K. It's rated from 20 to 150 ft lbs and you are supposed to turn it back down to the lowest setting after use.I've got a torque wrench and hardly ever use it. My bad. It's a no name manual and i just don't trust it. Why I don't know...
Would an inexpensive HF digital gauge be more accurate than a more expensive manual "clicker"?
is a clicker style adequately accurate?
Say for a hundred bucks, which I don't think is unreasonable for a precision tool, that would go up to say 200 pounds,
what do you all recommend? I know the pro models are way more expensive than this, but can one get good precision for installing
car/truck wheel lugs, mower blade nuts, etc.? Not little stuff but not working on a nuclear plant either.
I have both types, and can test my clickers against my split beam torque wrench pretty easily. I just find the right socket to join the two and then check a few settings on the clicker against the value indicated on the split beam. Split beams are simpler, as has been pointed out, and retain their calibration essentially indefinitely.
Convenience is the main advantages of the clicker type. The convenient tool is the one you will use. Sometimes the torque setting is really important, and the bolt or nut is in a hard-to-access spot, like the drain bolt in an oil pan. Who wants to read a scale 2" from one's nose while laying under a tractor? :smiley_aafz: Before I got the clicker I would mark the a spot on the back side of the split beam's scale so I could read it upside down, but that didn't always make it visible.
As for digital torque wrenches, unless they beep they have the same problem as the much cheaper split beam wrenches. Plus, their batteries might fail, and just because they show lots of significant digits doesn't mean they are accurate.
For most applications a click type torque wrench is best because it is fast and easy to use. I saw a harbor freight tested on youtube against a snap on and it was off 10% which is not acceptable for critical fasteners. I would look for a good used snap on and test it against a known to be accurate torque wrench. You could pick up a used 1/2" snap on for around a $100.
Precision Instruments was the OEM for SnapOn for a very long time.
Rgds, D.
I think now it is CDI, which I think Snap On owns.