what sort of range do I need for my Blade? I can get a Teng TW for £80 with a range of 20-110NM. Would that be enough range?
Kev, I think most of us use two. One from about 6 - 24 and the other from 20 - 140 or so. The 2017 - 19 rear axle nut is 100ft lb or approx 135NM. Of course the rear axle is the only high setting so 110 would get you by for all else.
I'd check to see if you have any thing else you'd potentially use it on (cars etc) and get something with a range that fits. Is the Teng 1/2", worth checking what size sockets you have (although you can get adaptors to use 1/2" with a 3/8" and vice versa) I've got two one 1/2" 60 - 300 Nm (the rear axle nut on my ZX-7R is 145Nm and covers any big stuff on cars etc) one 3/8" 10 - 60 NM (this one gets used for pretty much everything else, brake callipers, pinch bolts, clipons etc etc.)
My socket set in an Halfords 3/8" range. I probably go with the smaller range for now, it looks like it will get the most use.
Halfords pro Torque wrench is a good buy ,,,,, its identical to a Beta one . At the time I bought mine they were made by Norbar a top name in torque wrenches . Had mine for 4 years now , 8 to 60 Nm 3/8 drive ,,,,,, I have a 1/2 inch drive one that goes up to 200 Nm . That's only used on axle nuts
I had my Halfords one for about 25 years and I have got a Draper for the small stuff and a teng which I have just brought to replace my Halfords and a britool I got off greatguy the other day. I do like to torque everything up, But remember to wind them off when done with
Whether 8 - 60 or 10 - 60, how would a 1/4" be more accurate than a 3/8" drive if they're both correctly calibrated? (No dispute here, merely a serious question)
My 1/4” only does 5~25 Nm then my old workhorse (1/2”) does 10~50 and finally the big boy does14~203! I was not comfortable using a wide range tool on the motorcycles delicate fasteners. And I would not like to use a 3/8 to do a 200Nm job. The size of drive determines the range the tool can handle (not the accuracy) if we are talking about a purely mechanical tool then in my experience, tight calibration/ accuracy and wide working range are mutually exclusive. Could be such a tool does exist but it’ll be too pricy to buy and to regularly recalibrate for a mortal like me.... So Nigel in the scenario you mention they’d be the same.If you can find one I’m sure our friend would have a serious look at it but too late for mr! And I understand your point
No. I wouldn't have a clue where to take it, and it would probably cost heaps to return to manufacturer/distributor.
Yup, i had mine done, 3 of them and it cost ~£50 in total, by an accredited (ie audited to international stadards by a third party) laboratory over here in Thailand. The shop down the end of my road (whose owner races) has torque wrenches, but never calibrated in 4 years and it was quite different when we compared them. As far as I am aware, the accuracy is quoted as % full scale - so that if you have a 40-210 Nm that is 2% accurate, it would be within 4.2Nm accuracy. This means that if you set it to 40Nm, you could actually be applying 44.2Nm (or ~10% )
Isn't hard to calibrate them yourself. I picked up a cheap ¼" 5-25 off ebay that didn't come with a ticket so I wanted to check it before use. Measured along the handle to a convenient length(250mm). Weighed a heavy thing(car battery - 10kg) Torque at mark should be 10x9.81x0.25 = 24.5 Nm Set wrench to that. Wrapped round some masking tape and marked length with a pen. Hung it on the bike horizontaly using one of the subframe or hanger bolts - can't remember which one but it was handy and was already torqued higher than the setting on the wrench. Hung battery by a bit of string lined up with the mark on the handle. Just resting a finger on top of the handle was enough to trigger the break. Was happy with it instantly. If they're out you just remove the end cap from the handle and adjust the spring tension nut and locknut that are underneath. I use the 5-25(the most) and my old ½" bendy bar type for anything over that. In the workshop is also a pal's 20-110 that I use on occasion(usually when reading the bendy bar scale is impossibly awkward).
@Grooveski. That's spot on mate. An alternative, if you wanted to check other settings, is to use a decent spring balance (like fishermen or butchers use - & easily checked for their accuracy with known weights). I put the square drive in a solidly mounted vice & use a pole slipped over the handle of the torque wrench to make 1 metre (this helps mitigate spring balance inaccuracy). I position the wrench vertically so the weight of the pole doesn't affect the accuracy. Of course, an easier way is to torque a nut with a known good wrench, put on reference marks, slacken & then retorque with the wrench you're checking. Kudos on the 9.81 calculation, especially as it appeals to my OCD! Most wrenches I've seen convert KG to Nm by a factor of 10, & that sh*t ain't right!
Superb post, I'll have to get mine checked out soon. Up to now I've just set mine to the value just under what the nut should be and then slowly increasing to the defined value when I remove it. So far it is ok but of course relies on it having been set correctly when previously tightened
I had a Proto torque wrench when I worked for a company that built ships. Had to torque down inspection plates after they were removed for inspection. This thing was nice, cost around $900 they told us, so we were not to lose them, take them home for an extended time or drop them in the ocean.
Made a mistake in the order of that description. Have edited it to show that marking the length comes after screwing in the handle to set the torque.
I went for this one as my starter TW. I followed @TheMickster ‘s (and everybody else’s) advice on the range.
