Torque wrench and screwdriver brands

[soulpatch]

I am curious what folks are buying.
I would rather buy quality once than replace poorly made tools.

I live and work in the tropics of Mexico and so I must plan my purchases accordingly.

Since I do PV solar and most of my work is in inch pounds I am concerned about tools that lose significant accuracy at the extremes of their ranges.

I'd love to hear what you all consider a solid tool.

I am not afraid of spending a few pesos!

 

[chris1971]

I am curious what folks are buying.
I would rather buy quality once than replace poorly made tools.

I live and work in the tropics of Mexico and so I must plan my purchases accordingly.

Since I do PV solar and most of my work is in inch pounds I am concerned about tools that lose significant accuracy at the extremes of their ranges.

I'd love to hear what you all consider a solid tool.

I am not afraid of spending a few pesos!

Snap On

 

[infinity]

German Company available worldwide:

http://www.wiha.com/en-int/

 

[Ponchik]

German Company available worldwide:

http://www.wiha.com/en-int/

I have two torque screw drivers for ft-lbs and in-lbs from WIHA and am very happy with it. The price is very reasonable.

 

[Carultch]

Since I do PV solar and most of my work is in inch pounds I am concerned about tools that lose significant accuracy at the extremes of their ranges.

I've seen torque wrenches on job sites with a manual that gives the wrong formula for converting from ft-lbs to in-lbs. The factor was 16, rather than 12. It confused the hell out of me to figure out what was going on.

 

[kwired]

I've seen torque wrenches on job sites with a manual that gives the wrong formula for converting from ft-lbs to in-lbs. The factor was 16, rather than 12. It confused the hell out of me to figure out what was going on.

16 ounces is one pound, maybe some confusion from that aspect?

 

[highlegdelta]

I have cdi industrial which is snap on industrial line.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[kwired]

Some people may laugh at Sears, but their Craftsman line of hand tools has always been good stuff. Most of their power tools aren't that bad either.

 

[big john]

I've replaced all my Craftsman ratchets with Blackhawk, they're what Craftsman used to be: Well built, precision, made in USA.

The Craftsman stuff you get now is pretty much the same as Harbor Freight Pittsburgh brand.

 

[K8MHZ]

16 ounces is one pound, maybe some confusion from that aspect?

I don't think torque is rated in inch ounces.

1 foot lb = 12 inch lbs.

 

[jumper]

I don't think torque is rated in inch ounces.

1 foot lb = 12 inch lbs.

I am gonna guess kwired was just offering a (WAG) possibility of why a spec said 16 instead of 12.

Pretty sure he knows the correct conversion factor.

 

[petersonra]

I've replaced all my Craftsman ratchets with Blackhawk, they're what Craftsman used to be: Well built, precision, made in USA.

The Craftsman stuff you get now is pretty much the same as Harbor Freight Pittsburgh brand.

I ran across a guy one time who designed hand tools for a living, pretty much free lance.

He said that there is a factory in the US that makes most of the tools for the big names including Stanley and Craftsman and some even bigger names in the hand tool business. They are all made on the same machines from the same stock by the same people. The only thing different is the finish and markings.

 

[kwired]

I've replaced all my Craftsman ratchets with Blackhawk, they're what Craftsman used to be: Well built, precision, made in USA.

The Craftsman stuff you get now is pretty much the same as Harbor Freight Pittsburgh brand.

I have older set of Craftsman I can abuse it more then I can cheap socket sets you buy at general hardware stores or big box stores. Activities like find the right OD socket to use as a drive punch so to speak - my Craftsman sockets stand up to that - the cheap ones don't.

Haven't bought any in recent years other then a replacement socket or two if I should lose one. Haven't actually broken any but have broken some cheap ones.

I am gonna guess kwired was just offering a (WAG) possibility of why a spec said 16 instead of 12.

Pretty sure he knows the correct conversion factor.

Pretty much correct here.

I ran across a guy one time who designed hand tools for a living, pretty much free lance.

He said that there is a factory in the US that makes most of the tools for the big names including Stanley and Craftsman and some even bigger names in the hand tool business. They are all made on the same machines from the same stock by the same people. The only thing different is the finish and markings.

Not too surprised to hear that, a lot of things are that way, even some cheap models may come from the same line, just built with different specifications.

 

[Fulthrotl]

I am curious what folks are buying.
I would rather buy quality once than replace poorly made tools.

I live and work in the tropics of Mexico and so I must plan my purchases accordingly.

Since I do PV solar and most of my work is in inch pounds I am concerned about tools that lose significant accuracy at the extremes of their ranges.

I'd love to hear what you all consider a solid tool.

I am not afraid of spending a few pesos!

these guys are what i use....

http://www.cditorque.com/

they were bought out by snap on, and still make torque tools under their
own name, or you can buy the snap on flavor of them, for about double the price.

i've got a 3/8" & 1/2" digital torque wrench by them, and they are excellent.
i'd trust anything they make.

amazon sells them if you can't get them locally.

 

[vinod]

PROTO one of the best brand... but little expansive.

http://www.protoindustrial.com/en/Pages/Proto.aspx

 

[norcal]

I've replaced all my Craftsman ratchets with Blackhawk, they're what Craftsman used to be: Well built, precision, made in USA.

The Craftsman stuff you get now is pretty much the same as Harbor Freight Pittsburgh brand.

Craftsman is a tarnished brand, your comment is close to what have been saying for a while, rather sad situation for a brand with such a long history in American garages.

 

[soulpatch]

Thanks for the replies

Thanks for the replies

I appreciate the feedback.

I am a big fan of spending a little more upfront rather than replacing something more frequently.

I just looked at some proto stuff and I talked to a guy who runs an electrical plant and he tells me I am going into NASA type work that I don't need tools that are 2% accurate.

I just want to walk away knowing that all my connections are meeting the industry standards.

 

[Johnnybob]

I don't think torque is rated in inch ounces.

1 foot lb = 12 inch lbs.

Torque is rated in. lb. and ft. lb.. Most terminal blocks (allen bradley that I am most familiar with) are 4.5-14.5 in. lb. I actually have a 1/2 inch drive torque wrench that is in in. lb., Nor real useful.
Sorry K8MHZ, I read your post too fast lol didnt catch the in. oz. pitch.

 

[GoldDigger]

In the case of really small components in-oz are also used. But I have never seen ft-oz.