Hot Rods What brand torque wrench?

I just went through this, this morning. I bought a 1/2 drive Craftsmen torque wrench in 1994. The salesman told me it was lifetime warranty wich is why I bought it. It has worked well all these years, but all of a sudden the handle stopped working, it won't set & lock on a setting & there is no torque & no longer clicks it just spins. I took it to the store, they gave me a hard time about the warranty & even suggested that IF I couldn't prove it there was nothing they could do. I asked to see the store manager, who never came And I honestly believe if I hadn't of gotten loud about the thousands of dollars I've spent on Craftsmen tools over the years & that they were happy to take my money! I never would have received service. I will not be buying anymore tools from Sears!

 

I had the same experience with Sears years ago (30?), haven't bought anything from them since....

One issue with Sears is they have this stuff built on contract by whoever offers the best price. In many cases, it's just a re-brand (or with slight changes) of whatever that vendor sells under their own name. I've had more than a few items need parts/repair and found the original vendor had went under... no more parts. No more Sears crap....

 

haven't used sears since they quit using S-k as one of there suppliers ( mid 90's) as for torque wrenches Proto dial style , I have found deals on them from several different supply houses , Ussually MSC direct or Zoro tools has them cheaper than others , the proto comes with a Nist cert. calibration paper , and the last one I bought was shipped direct from them . do not let the stanley B&D ownership scare you off . its a quality tool . ( made in Georgia USA )

 

Hey, R35;
Interesting observation. I've no horse in this deal, just mentioning what I have personally experienced. I don't like Craftsman any more, dislike Matco, & a few others, but haven't heard of some of ones mentioned. I watched the tester run the wrenches on the machine that was brought into work to calib their TWs. He was kinda surprised that all passed well w/i spec. I had him check at a low, med, & high torque - & I was surprised they passed. When I told him they saw limited (& careful use - & *don't* get loaned out) duty, but I kept them turned all the way down, after each time I used them, he said that is probably why they are still in decent calib. Either way, I'm happy - for now. These things weren't cheap, although I did buy some used, & that guy also took excellent care of his tools. & also reminded me how to store TW. If they ever go away, I'll look at the others mentioned here. Thanks for the info. Well worth the read & consideration.
Marcus...

 

I don't buy anything from Sears. Got a run around on some broken items maybe 25 years ago, haven't been back since. I have one of their old beam type 1/2" drive wrenches, but hardly use it.

My neighbor has a repair shop and I borrow his Matcos if I have something fussy to tighten.

 

I used one of those Williams Measurewrenches to put my 327 together. That was 10 years ago, it is still together

 

CDI all the way!

CDI is a Snap-on industrial brand. I was told the only difference between a CDI and Snap-on torque wrench is the ratchet head on a Snap-on wrench is a Snap-on head.

I have two Snap-on wrenches, one 1/2 and one 3/8. I bought a 1/4 in. in.-lb torque wrench from CDI and was really impressed with the packaging, certification, documentation, and quality.

You can find them on Amazon, Zoro, etc. or their own site. Check the high reviews on Amazon.

http://www.cditorque.com/

 

I know one owns the other. Never was sure if CDI owns snap-on or the other way around. I don't think they build the torque wrenches on the same line. The quality is much better with cdi. Storage at low setting probably has as much to do with how long they last as anything.

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