Torque Wrench

stevie_b

apologies if this has been asked before, but can anyone recommend me a torque wrench? something small along the lines of 3-15nm. (the cheaper the better!)

Thanks

blorg

I have this one which works very well. Mr Skeffington recommended it.

gman2k

It looks like the cheaper the better does not work in the land of bike torque wrenches.
ParkTool are the benchmark, but a good one will be pricey.
The feedback of the BBB set is poor with people here, but the ratings on CRC are quite good.
You could try ebay for a bargain?

CheGuedara

I've the BBB one and never had any problems with it to date in any case

stevie_b

cheers lads, the norbar one looks good and i had heard about it beforehand. looks like it'll cost at least 60-70 quid for a decent one.... better than cracking a frame i suppose.

The tax man

CheGuedara wrote: »

I've the BBB one and never had any problems with it to date in any case

+1

victorcarrera

stevie_b wrote: »

can anyone recommend me a torque wrench? something small along the lines of 3-15nm. (the cheaper the better!)
Thanks

Here is what I use for torque settings up to 15 Nm.

http://cgi.ebay.ie/POCKET-SPRING-BALANCE-5Kg-weighing-scales-fishing_W0QQitemZ180446508103QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Tickets_Travel_Luggage_CA?hash=item2a03733447

Heres how.
1. Put a mark on whatever lever tool you are using at 1 Foot from pivot point. If the lever is not long enough stick a small length of pipe over it.
2. Convert Nm to ft/kg by dividing by 3.
3. Tighten fastner by hand and torque with spring balance to appropriate ft/kg value.

You can use whatever length lever or units of force (Kg or lb) you like, just make sure you amend the conversion correctly. I chose the above units as I use a 12in ratchet with attachments for everything.
The above scales are graduated in 100gm divisions so it is accurate to 0.3Nm.
If you feel the need to recalibrate it simply hang a couple of Litre bottles of water from it. 1L = 1Kg
I came up with this idea as I already have a torque wrench which only goes down to 12Nm and is not very accurate at the lower settings and I doubt I would use it more that 10 times a year. So rather than invest in another one I used an old spring balance my father used for weighing fish.
Best of luck with it.

CheGuedara

victorcarrera wrote: »

Here is what I use for torque settings up to 15 Nm....

I'd hate to see the damage you could do using only a few household items. I suspect...

+

+

+

victorcarrera

=

Ryaner

CheGuedara wrote: »

I've the BBB one and never had any problems with it to date in any case

Same here. Case will be handy for travelling too.

tunney

gman2k wrote: »

It looks like the cheaper the better does not work in the land of bike torque wrenches.
ParkTool are the benchmark, but a good one will be pricey.
The feedback of the BBB set is poor with people here, but the ratings on CRC are quite good.
You could try ebay for a bargain?

The BBB one isn't fantastic - the heads aren't quite right, and I've stripped lots of bolts with it.

Avoid.

RobFowl

I agree with Tunney, Avoid

I've the BBB one and stripped bolts with it a few times.

The torpque setting slips quite easily.

Morgan

victorcarrera wrote: »

Here is what I use for torque settings up to 15 Nm.

http://cgi.ebay.ie/POCKET-SPRING-BALANCE-5Kg-weighing-scales-fishing_W0QQitemZ180446508103QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Tickets_Travel_Luggage_CA?hash=item2a03733447

Heres how.
1. Put a mark on whatever lever tool you are using at 1 Foot from pivot point. If the lever is not long enough stick a small length of pipe over it.
2. Convert Nm to ft/kg by dividing by 3.
3. Tighten fastner by hand and torque with spring balance to appropriate ft/kg value.

You can use whatever length lever or units of force (Kg or lb) you like, just make sure you amend the conversion correctly. I chose the above units as I use a 12in ratchet with attachments for everything.
The above scales are graduated in 100gm divisions so it is accurate to 0.3Nm.
If you feel the need to recalibrate it simply hang a couple of Litre bottles of water from it. 1L = 1Kg
I came up with this idea as I already have a torque wrench which only goes down to 12Nm and is not very accurate at the lower settings and I doubt I would use it more that 10 times a year. So rather than invest in another one I used an old spring balance my father used for weighing fish.
Best of luck with it.

I'm impressed (and kind of stunned).

victorcarrera

CheGuedara wrote: »

I'd hate to see the damage you could do using only a few household items.

They say God loves a trier but hates a chancer. So I don't think he likes me because this kind of tinkering has got me in to and usually out of more trouble than I care to remember.
I nearly set fire to a very important part of Dublins infrastructure once by doing a temporary repair on a generators diesel pump flooding the basement with diesel. I contained the impending disaster however by borrowing the cleaners "sucker upper" machine he used for washing floors.

@ Morgan. "Impressed and stunned".
My other hobby is motorcycles. Sometimes an engine repair can cost more buying the specialized tools than the spare parts, so I always try to work around having to buy the expensive tools first.

stevie_b

victorcarrera wrote: »

Here is what I use for torque settings up to 15 Nm.

http://cgi.ebay.ie/POCKET-SPRING-BALANCE-5Kg-weighing-scales-fishing_W0QQitemZ180446508103QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Tickets_Travel_Luggage_CA?hash=item2a03733447

Heres how.
1. Put a mark on whatever lever tool you are using at 1 Foot from pivot point. If the lever is not long enough stick a small length of pipe over it.
2. Convert Nm to ft/kg by dividing by 3.
3. Tighten fastner by hand and torque with spring balance to appropriate ft/kg value.

You can use whatever length lever or units of force (Kg or lb) you like, just make sure you amend the conversion correctly. I chose the above units as I use a 12in ratchet with attachments for everything.
The above scales are graduated in 100gm divisions so it is accurate to 0.3Nm.
If you feel the need to recalibrate it simply hang a couple of Litre bottles of water from it. 1L = 1Kg
I came up with this idea as I already have a torque wrench which only goes down to 12Nm and is not very accurate at the lower settings and I doubt I would use it more that 10 times a year. So rather than invest in another one I used an old spring balance my father used for weighing fish.
Best of luck with it.

thanks.... norbar it is then (i hated physics in school. i think it was partly due to the fact my physics teacher, who was a man, rode a girls bike)