Big Sky Euro

I would like a torque wrench for christmas. My main use is wheels, but I would like to have it on hand to deal with engine bolts as well. My dad has a craftsman, but has issues with the locking mechanism. Most of my sockets are 3/8", but I can always get an adapter. I'm not looking to break the bank, just would like something that would work and be dependable. Things I'm wondering about:

Brand?

Arm Length?

Torque Range?

Drive size 1/2" or 3/8"?

Here is one extreme end for you. I have two Snap-On Tech Wrenches, witch are digital in ft-lbs, in-lbs, and N-m. These are great wrenches, and I use them a ton. The heads are +/- 15 degree flexible. they beep and vibrate when you reach the correct measurement, and don't click. the nice thing about the digital display is you have a real time readout of how much you are pushing on it, so you can watch the numbers climb right to the dot. On the down side, they are spendy. the 3/8" runs $332.00 and the 1/2" runs $349.00 I realise that this is way out of reach for most people, I could only afford them cause I made weekly payments to my Snap-On dealer. And Snap-On tool are the best in the world.


Specs: http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp ... ir=catalog


Specs: http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp ... ir=catalog

I use the 1/2" for wheels all the time, and it works really well.

Very cool, but I need the weekend warrior edition. Old school twist setting and click is good with me.

I picked mine up at Harbor Freight, which is a discount tool store. They have tons of tools for the average joe, many of which have a generic brand name but do the job just fine, if not the same as other brand name tools.

It's a 1/2" with the old skool turn and lock style measurement and it came with the hard case - I think it was around $30. I'm not positive on the range or size, but it's not the small one, and it's not the larger one. It works fine for what I do, and I'm not building rockets or anything. It's a solid build and doesn't feel cheap...in fact it's exactly similar to the ones we had when I worked in bike shops, and we used them really often and they were accurate.

For the shade tree mechanic I recommend it.

Edit: Here it is from their website: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/D ... number=239

HF also has any and all adapters you would ever need - you don't have one in Bozo do you?

I have two from Craftsman, they are the Digitorque or whatever with the plastic handle and the little windows.
I have had no issues with them, had them for several years.

I got moine at advanced auto...

Its the twist and locking one lifetime warranty... and was only like $25... good for wheels and easy to reach places, but I would get the smaller one too if you plan on doing engine or small apps.

I am sure any of those would also work for you, I was just showing you the extreme end(And I was showing you my torque wrenches, cause I love them)Just make sure that you always store them at no torque, no matter which one you chose....