[300sniper]

i bought a craftsman professional 1/2" torque wrench a little over a year ago because of lots of good reviews. i had not even taken it out of the box till i needed it last weekend. when the micrometer is set to zero, it is about half way between the tens. i have no idea how i should read this and really think i need to try to exchange it. i heard that it may only have a 1 year warranty but i need to look into it.

how would you read this, 70 ft/lbs or 80? should i just try to exchange it before i rely on it for something really critical?

 

[Lowtorious]

that looks like 75 ft/lbs

 

[300sniper]

that looks like 75 ft/lbs

if it is 75, then it is way messed up since the 5 isn't lined up with the center line.

 

[tmorgan4]

I've used a few wrenches that do that. I always just assumed it is in .5 increments so you're actually at 75 in the picture. I bet if you turn it around another whole turn it will be on exactly 70 or 80 when the zero is zeroed.

 

[300sniper]

I've used a few wrenches that do that. I always just assumed it is in .5 increments so you're actually at 75 in the picture. I bet if you turn it around another whole turn it will be on exactly 70 or 80 when the zero is zeroed.

if i turn it one full turn it would either be halfway between 80-90 or 60-70. it will not line up with the zero on any of the tens.

 

[1tonIHs2]

Take it back and get a new one.

Mine had 90 day warranty writen all over the box i took it back in. All i said to the girl behind the counter when she told me she couldnt exchange it was, "its a craftsman hand tool isnt it?" She said "yeah i guess so i'll grab another one for you."


It had been like three years.

 

[sn0border88]

I have the same one and it reads fine. return it and see what happens.

 

[supervert]

good luck on that exchange:shaking:they will only warranty them for a year. and they want something like 40 bucks to calibrate them. i had one that the handle just crumbled in my hand. so at Christmas time they were on sale, so i picked up another so i could use the receipt to exchange the old one. so i end up with 2 insted of none. sears is:rainbow:

 

[Static-XJ]

The only Craftsman torque wrenches that carry the lifetime warranty are the beam type. The clicker type have 90 day. There will always be employees that cave in, and those who won't budge. I worked at Sears about 4 years back, and the torque wrench warranty was part of the employee training.

Torque wrenches being excepted from lifetime warranties is not exclusive to Sears. I know Proto's clicker and dial type are the same way. You can send them in for calibration.

 

[4x4mike]

Looks like that is supposed to be reading 80. If it were 75 the 5 on the ring would be facing you but it wouldn't really be in the middle of the 70 and 80. I think the adjuster is off but who knows which way.

Do you have another torque wrench with similar capacity? It so put set them at the same setting and put a 10mm socket on one and a 10mm allen bit on the other. Put the socket on the allen and see which clicks at what. You maybe able to use your findings to accurately set the "new" wrench. I hope that made sense. I would check mine that way if I thought one might be off. It's not accurate but it's closer than guessing.

 

[300sniper]

Looks like that is supposed to be reading 80. If it were 75 the 5 on the ring would be facing you but it wouldn't really be in the middle of the 70 and 80. I think the adjuster is off but who knows which way.

Do you have another torque wrench with similar capacity? It so put set them at the same setting and put a 10mm socket on one and a 10mm allen bit on the other. Put the socket on the allen and see which clicks at what. You maybe able to use your findings to accurately set the "new" wrench. I hope that made sense. I would check mine that way if I thought one might be off. It's not accurate but it's closer than guessing.

no, i don't have another torque wrench. i think i am going to try to exchange it. i don't want to be guessing when i go to torque down a head or something else critical.

 

[Brad]

Get a new one. That wont read correctly. I had one that read the same way yours did. When doing the top end on my dirtbike, I sheared one of the head studs.

 

[300sniper]

last week i made some calls to craftsman/sears. i called and was transferred or given a different number to call at least 6 times. no one could help. they kept telling me it only had a 90 day warranty and there was nothing they could do. the last person i talked to told me to go to my local store and see if they could help. they told me since it was a catalogue exclusive they couldn't help. i dug out the instruction manual for it and noticed in the bottom corner fine print it says 2 year warranty and a 90 day warranty for calibration. i called again and told them about this and asked if i could just send it back and they can send me a new one as it is hard for me to get to sears during the day. they said no, i had to go through the local store.

i got off work early today and had a chance to stop by my local store. they were very friendly as they usually are. they called the sears customer service and apparently a new one is being shipped to me. i received a conformation number so we'll see what happens. they didn't even ask for the old one but i suggested they take it and give me a receipt for it. again, i wasn't after anything free, i just wanted a working torque wrench that i paid for.

i think after this, i am done dealing with sears online/catalogue exclusive stuff. every time has been a major ordeal. i have spent A TON of money on tools and machinery over the last year from internet orders and have had nothing but great service from everyone but sears. maybe i have just been spoiled from companies like enco with great customer service.

 

[TJREX]

last week i made some calls to craftsman/sears. i called and was transferred or given a different number to call at least 6 times. no one could help. they kept telling me it only had a 90 day warranty and there was nothing they could do. the last person i talked to told me to go to my local store and see if they could help. they told me since it was a catalogue exclusive they couldn't help. i dug out the instruction manual for it and noticed in the bottom corner fine print it says 2 year warranty and a 90 day warranty for calibration. i called again and told them about this and asked if i could just send it back and they can send me a new one as it is hard for me to get to sears during the day. they said no, i had to go through the local store.

i got off work early today and had a chance to stop by my local store. they were very friendly as they usually are. they called the sears customer service and apparently a new one is being shipped to me. i received a conformation number so we'll see what happens. they didn't even ask for the old one but i suggested they take it and give me a receipt for it. again, i wasn't after anything free, i just wanted a working torque wrench that i paid for.

i think after this, i am done dealing with sears online/catalogue exclusive stuff. every time has been a major ordeal. i have spent A TON of money on tools and machinery over the last year from internet orders and have had nothing but great service from everyone but sears. maybe i have just been spoiled from companies like enco with great customer service.

I agree Sears sucks...I have had nothing but trouble out of the internet service...transferred around for hours with no results. I have a nice 8 inch drill press vice with not handles if anyone is interested.

 

[roverjohn]

Am I the only one who thinks the OP should be more concerned with the actual torque being applied and less about what the reading on the handle says? An uncalibrated torque wrench is nothing more than a fancy ratchet handle. That style of twist handle clicker gets the readout calibrated just like a micrometer gets it's zero set. Not that it matters what is says if you don't know the actual torque it's applying when its there.

 

[300sniper]

Am I the only one who thinks the OP should be more concerned with the actual torque being applied and less about what the reading on the handle says? An uncalibrated torque wrench is nothing more than a fancy ratchet handle. That style of twist handle clicker gets the readout calibrated just like a micrometer gets it's zero set. Not that it matters what is says if you don't know the actual torque it's applying when its there.

um, yes i am very concerned with what the actual torque is. i bought this particular torque wrench over any other brand because it is supposed to be one of the best, not just because it was the cheapest one the local store had it in stock. it is supposed to have great calibration. the calibration sheet that came with it showed that as well.


am i misunderstanding what you are saying? how am i supposed to know what the torque being applied is if i have no idea where it should be set on the micrometer? i could be 10 pounds off and not know it if the micrometer doesn't line up.

 

[Static-XJ]

Just an FYI, using applied torque to measure bolt preload is relatively inaccurate. Generally this method is give an error of ±25% due to friction. Higher with flanged head bolts and nuts. Measuring torque is accepted because it's easy, cheap, can be used in the overwhelming majority of situations (access wise), and generally accurate enough for most things.

Good to hear that you got an exchange coming.

 

[krugford]

That is true. If you want good preload measurments, you need active ultrasonic transducers in the head of the bolt with a reader. I was able to use them to watch a gasketed joint relax over time to determine a retorque sequence. Pretty awesome stuff...and pretty expensive.

 

[Al Kaholick]

I think that this is taken into account with the torque specs. I used to do some bolt testing on construction sites and we had a gauge that measured bolt tension. We would use this to find the proper torque that specific bolt batch needed to reach the desired tension and then test the remaining bolts with the same torque wrench we tested. I do not know what the margin of error is, but it was good enough to meet ASTM standards.

Josh

Just an FYI, using applied torque to measure bolt preload is relatively inaccurate. Generally this method is give an error of ±25% due to friction. Higher with flanged head bolts and nuts. Measuring torque is accepted because it's easy, cheap, can be used in the overwhelming majority of situations (access wise), and generally accurate enough for most things.

Good to hear that you got an exchange coming.

 

[300sniper]

i received my replacement torque wrench today. the numbers line up perfect.