I've recently recieved two torq wrenches as gifts from family members.. One of them has to go back.. I will mostly use it for head bolts, rod bolts, and other light to medium duty stuff. Which one would you choose?

1) Craftsman..("Microtork") 1/2"drive, 150ft/lbs max, locking handle, reversable ratchet head, 1 year limited warranty.

2) Westward... 1/2"drive, 250ft/lbs max, locking handle, reversable ratchet head, 1 year limited warranty, hard plastic carry case.

Are there any real differences between the two brands?

All suggestions are appreciated.

(It doesn't matter which one I send back, because neither was bought by my wife http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif)

Gene

Go craftsman,good warranty,good rep,never heard of the other.Besides,Sears are everywhere.

Just had a friend return a Craftsman torq. wrench that had broken interally....got a new one-no problems on the exchange.

Read the warranty on the Craftsman. I had one and it was only for 1 yr!!

I had nothing but problems with the craftsman. I was told by sales person at a sears store that they get a lot of these that come back. I think they are imported, seems craftsman tools are coming from China. I bought a carftsman drill press on sale at a store in another state. Never paid much attention to the box it came in because I saw the press on display. When I got home and was pulling the box out of the truck I saw the words "Made in China". I always assumed craftsman was US made, never bought another thing from sears. Could have got the same thing from China at Harbor Freight for $100 less.

As a sears associate, I feel I am qualified to clarify this. Craftsman HAND TOOLS are made in the USA and are guaranteed for life (EXCEPT "click-type" torque wrenches). The Majority of Craftsman POWER TOOLS are imported yes, many are made by the same maufacturers that make national name brands (DeWalt, Ryobi, Dremel etc) Others are exactly what you'd find at harbor freight.
As far as the torque wrench goes, I have worked at sears for 4 years now, I cannot EVER recall getting one of our torque wrenches back due to DEFECTS IN MANUFACTURING. Sure, people will come back with them, having abused it. True, they only have a 1 year warranty. I own 2 of them personally and use them a lot. I like mine, no problems at all with them. Hopefully this helps somewhat.



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Dave Vanderputten
1970 Malibu 307/M20 4-speed/3.08
(Eternally in progress)
TC GOLD #867
ACES# 3967
http://daves70.freeservers.com

The law of inanimate reproduction: If you take something apart and put it back together enough times, you will eventually have enough parts to make two.

What about the different torqs? 150ft/lbs vs 250 ft/lbs.

Does the higher torq load reflect durability? Can I "Click" the wetsetern more times @ 80ft/lbs vs the Craftsman because it is biult to a higher torq load?

Gene

This is speculation at this point. I'd say a wrench with a larger torque range would probably be much less accurate at any given torque than the one with the smaller range. When was the last time you needed to torqe something to 250 ft-lbs anyway??? You working on bulldozers??? 150 should be plenty for just about anything automotive related.

i have a 1/2 in husky 25-250 ft. lbs. i just put a 350 together with is, and i like it. i heard craftsman and husky are made by the same manufacurer. all i know is i have broke about a dozen craftsman ratchets and 1 husky. never heard of westward

Send em both back..get a Snap On 3/8TH drive. If you are just using your tools for home use buy everything craftsman, husky, or whatever. But in my opinion you cant bargain shop a torque wrench even for "back yard" use.
all I use is the smaller 3/8TH model on isuzu 2.2 liter Thermo King engines at work. Just in case your wondering if my experience came from a magazine or something.

Chris

Hey Bob ! I have a snap on and a westward and the both work great although the westward is only the smaller 3/8 unit it was only a 1/3 of the price of the snap-on ! I have heard that it is not good practice to use a click type wrench below 20% or above 80% of its scale so for the average 350 chevy rebuild the craftsman would probably be a better choice! You should also check on the cost of recalibration ,they recomend a yearly tuneup on them but for the average hobby guy this sounds over-kill to me as long as your setting is zeroed after useing it! Good Luck!

Snap-On is the way to go, I have a couple. But even a Snap-On clicker needs to be checked once in a while to make sure it's on the money.

If you want a fool proof torque wrench get yourself a beam style, you know the kind with no clicker, no ratchet, dirt simple.

They work and man are they cheap.

Sears sold them at one time.


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www.muncie4speed.com (http://www.muncie4speed.com)
Gold 67
1967 Malibu, 2nd owner.
1971 Malibu, been in the family since new.
There is nothing like rowing through the gears at 7500. Stick cars are so much fun they should be a controlled substance!

I was able to pick up a nice snap-on at a pawn shop for $50. It's clicker 15-100 foot pounds. Had a snap-on guy check it against a brand new one on his truck and found that it was right on.

If chris71 is saying Craftsmans are "bargain
shop" tools, then he couldn't be more ignorant. Craftsman is an excellent name. Obviously chris has never bought Craftsman before or he wouldn't call it bargain.

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Mike A.
North Vernon, IN
'70 Malibu
'70 Malibu convertible (http://genxrodsandcustoms.8m.com/mike.html)

And the wrench the Snap-On guy had on the truck, it was right on because it was new??? It was a standard?

Yep that click must be what sells. I wonder what the did for 70 years before there were clicker wrenches???



------------------
www.muncie4speed.com (http://www.muncie4speed.com)
Gold 67
1967 Malibu, 2nd owner.
1971 Malibu, been in the family since new.
There is nothing like rowing through the gears at 7500. Stick cars are so much fun they should be a controlled substance!