Tegger: Craftsman Torque Wrench writeup

Nice writeup on opening your old torque wrench.

Is it right that the upper nut in the handle was held in place by the
plastic molding of the handle? So there is less chance of it rotating
out of place than the lower nut?

Also, didn't exactly see where the detent feels come from. I guess
from the plastic lock ring area?

The Lowe's Kobalt torque wrenches are also made by Danaher, but do
carry a lifetime warranty.

wrote in news:7d23d43d-aed8-42ad-824b-
:

> Nice writeup on opening your old torque wrench.
>
> Is it right that the upper nut in the handle was held in place by the
> plastic molding of the handle? So there is less chance of it rotating
> out of place than the lower nut?



The upper and lower nuts together clamp together the handle and the
threaded shaft. This is how the wrench maintains its calibration. The
handle and the shaft MUST NOT ever come out of phase.

The upper nut does indeed sit in a matching hexagonal recess in the handle.
Unless the handle should pull down sufficiently to allow the hex recess to
come fully away from the upper nut, the nut and handle will stay in phase.
However...if the lower nut comes loose, the upper nut will be loose as
well, and will rotate relative to the threaded shaft (coming out of phase),
throwing calibration off, which is exactly what happened to me.



>
> Also, didn't exactly see where the detent feels come from. I guess
> from the plastic lock ring area?



If you look closely at the bottom of the wrench's body, you will see a
series of long, shallow slots milled into the body. These are oriented
axially, and spaced radially, around the body. (If they were cut all the
way through, they would make the bottom of the body resemble a military
rifle's flash suppressor.) There is a small nib, or protrusion, on the
inside top of the plastic handle that indexes into the slots. When you turn
the handle, its top flexes sufficient to allow the protrusion to ride out
of one slot and fall into the next, giving the handle that "click" feeling
as you wind the setting up or down.

There are ten slots, of course, one for each pound as you rotate from 1
through 0 up each ten pounds of scale marking.

I'm not sure how the locking ring functions; it never occurred to me to
examine that assembly.



>
> The Lowe's Kobalt torque wrenches are also made by Danaher, but do
> carry a lifetime warranty.
>


That's interesting. Sears' "lifetime" warranty essentially only covers
tools without moving parts, so the torque wrench is not covered.


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Tegger > wrote in
:


>
>>
>> Also, didn't exactly see where the detent feels come from. I guess
>> from the plastic lock ring area?
>
>


I've updated the relevant page on the site to clarify handle "click"
operation. You may have to hit Refresh/Reload in your browser to see the
changes.


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I see the slots now. Looks like
I'll be putting some threadlockers in mine to help keep the lower nut
in place, as it's not worth it for me to send it in for calibration.
$25 plus shipping both ways will cost the same as a new wrench with
the annual sale, and I don't need a laboratory-grade certification.

I wonder if the detents have something to do with the high rate of
complaints about the plastic lock ring breaking (the Kobalt uses a
metal ring without detents). I suppose if the lock ring isn't loosed
up fully before adjusting, the force of turning will be transferred to
the plastic ring. At least that's what I supposed will hold the
setting when "locked".

I was at Lowe's earlier, their Danaher-made torque wrenches say no
hassle lifetime in big letters under the brand name "Kobalt", but the
same 90day/1year in fine print as Sears. Oh well, until I get a $400
Snap On I guess. Thanks again!

Among the excellent articles, torque wrench calibration on motor.com:
http://www.motor.com/article_pdf_dow...article_ID=516





On Nov 23, 12:41*pm, Tegger > wrote:
> wrote in news:7d23d43d-aed8-42ad-824b-
> :
>
> > Nice writeup on opening your old torque wrench.
>
> > Is it right that the upper nut in the handle was held in place by the
> > plastic molding of the handle? So there is less chance of it rotating
> > out of place than the lower nut?
>
> The upper and lower nuts together clamp together the handle and the
> threaded shaft. This is how the wrench maintains its calibration. The
> handle and the shaft MUST NOT ever come out of phase.
>
> The upper nut does indeed sit in a matching hexagonal recess in the handle.
> Unless the handle should pull down sufficiently to allow the hex recess to
> come fully away from the upper nut, the nut and handle will stay in phase..
> However...if the lower nut comes loose, the upper nut will be loose as
> well, and will rotate relative to the threaded shaft (coming out of phase),
> throwing calibration off, which is exactly what happened to me.
>
>
>
> > Also, didn't exactly see where the detent feels come from. I guess
> > from the plastic lock ring area?
>
> If you look closely at the bottom of the wrench's body, you will see a
> series of long, shallow slots milled into the body. These are oriented
> axially, and spaced radially, around the body. (If they were cut all the
> way through, they would make the bottom of the body resemble a military
> rifle's flash suppressor.) There is a small nib, or protrusion, on the
> inside top of the plastic handle that indexes into the slots. When you turn
> the handle, its top flexes sufficient to allow the protrusion to ride out
> of one slot and fall into the next, giving the handle that "click" feeling
> as you wind the setting up or down.
>
> There are ten slots, of course, one for each pound as you rotate from 1
> through 0 up each ten pounds of scale marking.
>
> I'm not sure how the locking ring functions; it never occurred to me to
> examine that assembly.
>
>
>
> > The Lowe's Kobalt torque wrenches are also made by Danaher, but do
> > carry a lifetime warranty.
>
> That's interesting. Sears' "lifetime" warranty essentially only covers
> tools without moving parts, so the torque wrench is not covered.
>
> --
> Tegger
>
> The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQwww.tegger.com/hondafaq/

The only other breakdown diagram of a torque wrench I find is the
Harbor Freight 1/2" clicker. Hand drawn and not properly named parts.
The operations aren't as smooth as the Danaher, but the last time I
checked it was very close. Really not bad for a $14 on sale torque
wrench. Guess it's time to borrow a beam type.

http://www.harborfreight.com/manuals/0-999/239.pdf

"Tegger" > wrote in message
...
> Tegger > wrote in
> :
>
>
>>
>>>
>>> Also, didn't exactly see where the detent feels come from. I guess
>>> from the plastic lock ring area?
>>
>>
>
>
> I've updated the relevant page on the site to clarify handle "click"
> operation. You may have to hit Refresh/Reload in your browser to see the
> changes.
>
>
> --
> Tegger
>
> The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
> www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Interesting info on torque wrenches. I have an old Sear beam type --seldom
used any longer -- and have often wondered how accurate it is. Unless
abused or damaged in some way, I should imagine a beam type would hold its
accuracy over a long period of time or perhaps the life of the instrument?

On Thu, 27 Nov 2008 11:44:49 -0500, tww1491 wrote:

> "Tegger" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Tegger > wrote in
>> :
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>>> Also, didn't exactly see where the detent feels come from. I guess
>>>> from the plastic lock ring area?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> I've updated the relevant page on the site to clarify handle "click"
>> operation. You may have to hit Refresh/Reload in your browser to see
>> the changes.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Tegger
>>
>> The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
>> www.tegger.com/hondafaq/
>
> Interesting info on torque wrenches. I have an old Sear beam type
> --seldom used any longer -- and have often wondered how accurate it is.
> Unless abused or damaged in some way, I should imagine a beam type would
> hold its accuracy over a long period of time or perhaps the life of the
> instrument?

bending beam offer the best accuracy/price ratio. their main drawback is
not being able to see the dial in all orientations, but other than that,
they're great. they can have advantages on things like cylinder heads too
because you can torque and hold - essential when dealing with a blind bolt
hole where lube is slowly squeezing out and would otherwise give a false
torque reading.

tilt-block type torque wrenches are notoriously difficult to keep in
calibration. split beam wrenches are accurate and robust and don't have
any of the tilt-block drawbacks because nothing is loaded when not being
used - they tend to be much more expensive though.

jim beam > wrote in
:


>
> tilt-block type torque wrenches are notoriously difficult to keep in
> calibration. split beam wrenches are accurate and robust and don't
> have any of the tilt-block drawbacks because nothing is loaded when
> not being used



A tilt-block wrench also has no loaded parts when not in use, provided you
dial it back down after use.


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

wrote in
:


>
> Among the excellent articles, torque wrench calibration on motor.com:
> http://www.motor.com/article_pdf_dow...article_ID=516


Thanks for the link. I've added it to the page.


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

wrote in news:da7510a5-3887-4060-8f71-04504977c898
@q26g2000prq.googlegroups.com:

> The only other breakdown diagram of a torque wrench I find is the
> Harbor Freight 1/2" clicker. Hand drawn and not properly named parts.
> The operations aren't as smooth as the Danaher, but the last time I
> checked it was very close. Really not bad for a $14 on sale torque
> wrench. Guess it's time to borrow a beam type.
>
> http://www.harborfreight.com/manuals/0-999/239.pdf



That diagram is pathetic. My 11 year-old daughter could make a better one.


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/