LIDL Torque wrench

rabbit Stew

What do you think, is it worth a punt?
http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20090730.p.Torque_Spanner_Set

Kevin_Herron

Its probably fine but if the job went wrong the first thing you'd do is blame the torque wrench you got from Lidl!

Max_Damage

All of Lidl's tools are TUV approved, which means they have to meet a very high standard of quality set by the German safety monitoring agency.

I've bought a hydraulic jack and axle stands from Lidl before. No problems at all.

carchaeologist

Lidl stuff is grand if you dont use it every day.

Max_Damage

^ Maybe so, but it's good stuff all the same.

carchaeologist

Max_Damage wrote: »

^ Maybe so, but it's good stuff all the same.

True..and its cheap!

Run_to_da_hills

I see alot of tradesmen starting to use their stuff and wouldn't blame them with the amount of stuff that walks on sites. I would be very reluctant to use some of their power tools, ie angle grinders.

Max_Damage

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

I see alot of tradesmen starting to use their stuff and wouldn't blame them with the amount of stuff that walks on sites. I would be very reluctant to use some of their power tools, ie angle grinders.

I'd agree here. They're non-power tools stuff is grand, but for power tools, I'll buy only Bosch / Black & Decker, or whatever stuff the pikies are selling at the auto jumbles! (i.e. Rolson, Boschman, etc.)

Run_to_da_hills

Max_Damage wrote: »

I'd agree here. They're non-power tools stuff is grand, but for power tools, I'll buy only Bosch / Black & Decker, or whatever stuff the pikies are selling at the auto jumbles! (i.e. Rolson, Boschman, etc.)

Most if not all the Black & Decker stuff sold in Ireland is soft, they seem to cater more for the DIY market here, In the States they do a professional range for tradesmen. With Power tools it is worth while sticking with something that will last and not pack in in the middle of a job. Also something that you can get good after sales with parts & service. Blue Bosch is excellent, (Green Bosch is rubbish) Hitachi , Festool or AEG pro range are good and they all have excellent after sales.

I bought a chop saw off the pikies and it ended up burnt out a few weeks later. Never buy a new cordless Makita from them, they are re badged and made in China. There was a spate of bootleg Chinese made "Honda" Gensets going around that we used to christen l "Honda Bosses". .

Blue850

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Most if not all the Black & Decker stuff sold in Ireland is soft, they seem to cater more for the DIY market here, In the States they do a professional range for tradesmen. With Power tools it is worth while sticking with something that will last and not pack in in the middle of a job. Also something that you can get good after sales with parts & service. Blue Bosch is excellent, (Green Bosch is rubbish) Hitachi , Festool or AEG pro range are good and they all have excellent after sales.

I bought a chop saw off the pikies and it ended up burnt out a few weeks later. Never buy a new cordless Makita from them, they are re badged and made in China. There was a spate of bootleg Chinese made "Honda" Gensets going around that we used to christen l "Honda Bosses". .

DeWalt stuff is good but pricey, they're owned by the same co as Black & Decker. Blue Bosch is the tradesman's range, green is for the DIY'er

KTRIC

I bought the exact same wrench yesterday in Louis, the bike accessories store. Its a solid piece of kit, cost me €23.99 in Munich. So not a bad price for Ireland.

mustang68

I bought that torque wrench last time it was in Lidl and it's not bad at all, nice and solid. I'm not sure if it would be up to the job every single day of the week in a mechanics, but for classic car use its perfect.

Max_Damage

I bought a 'Boschman' cordless drill from the pikies years ago and it's still going strong. It's really hit or miss what you get off them.

Makita and DeWalt are good from what I hear, but they are too expensive for me though.

galwaytt

I bought one a few years ago, and for curiousity I put it on a torque wrench analyser (calibration rig), and compared it to a Norbar one.

I have to say, 'No Fault Found'. It did exactly what it said on the tin. Readings were a small bit scattered at the bottom of the torque range, but there again, so are most things. Mid-range, it was just fine.

Generally, I'd ignore the bottom and top 10% of any range, and use the 80% in the middle. If you really need the top/bottom 10%, you need to buy a wrench with a different range.

salamander27

I bought one a few years ago and put it through some abuse (naievely) and eventually broke the ratchet teeth on it. So moral of the story is don't try and take off renault wheel studs with it. Get a long bar instead!:rolleyes:

macplaxton

salamander27 wrote: »

So moral of the story is don't try and take off renault wheel studs with it. Get a long bar instead!:rolleyes:

Indeed, torque wrenches are for tightening. Also remember to take the tension off the setting spring before putting away.