Which type of torque wrench (needle/"clicking"/other) do you use and why? I'd like to know your preferences and hints

 

For building engines, I dislike the "click" type; I prefer the needle (very cheap and a little hard to read, but very accurate) or the dial type (expensive but very easy to use).

The problem with the click type is that the change in torque torque on a bolt as you tighten it is rarely a smooth linear increase; rather, it usually increases in a series of "jerks", as the threads of the bolt stick to the threads of the block or whatever from friction. You end up with inconsistent torque on the hardware.

 

I use the "click" type. I've used them for many years, and just tend to prefer them. If you are working in a low light area, you don't have to read a scale or dial. It basically boils down to user preferance. I own and really like the design on the Snap-On QD series torque wrenches. You can't accidentally unlock and mess up your settings while using them. You have to lift the collar to change the torque setting.

 

I use the craftsman digi-tork. I like the click type because there isn't any kind of gauge or dial to read (as someone already said). I think its just easier

 

Ive used the needle type. It gets hard to read at times, but you learn to live with it.

my friend has a dial type. As RB said, they are expensive but very easy to use.

 

The Snap-On Torq-O-Meter dial typs are basically a modified beam type torque wrench, and are no more accurate. I used to work in a place that had a certified lab for calibrating gages (including Torq-O-Meters) and they are not easy to calibrate, nor do they maintain calibration any better than a straight beam type. Their big advantage is that the graduations are multiplied by the rack and pinion mechanism of the beam. A careful eye on a straight beam wrench will be just as accurate.

The one exception is the nut driver style Torq-O-Meters, which are quite handy for low torque applications.

RB also points out in the weakness of the "clicker-type" torque wrenches that the threads should be cleaned and lubricated before assembly wherever possible, regardless of the type of wrench used. That lubrication can be a sealant as well.

 

i have a couple of the snap on wrenches with the wheel and thumb screw adjustment. have a couple of the old style adjustable clicker wrenches from snap on and a pair of the dial types in in/lbs from snap on. use differant wrenches fro differant things or applications.

 

I have no prefrence, they all tend to work as I need them to.
I have a 1/2' flex head T-O-M and nobody but snap on is willing to calibrate it makes it a pain to use. Also a MAC dial type that rarely gets use and a few others that I use more often.
I actually was given a AMCO tq wrench by a cusomer that is a funky dial setup that nobody seems to know exactly how to operate.

 

just keeping this thred alive, now I'm curious as well

 

My dad gave me an old-school Ingersol-Rand torque wrench that used to be my Grandfather's wrench. If was his very first, and he gave it to my dad when he retired.

My dad had it calibrated, and it was perfect, although I don't know exactly when my Grandfather last had it done.