Torque wrench

Torque wrench I have none at the moment for my first one what should I get and should it be metric ( recently found out Newton meter was not long shifty cookie) I have to replace hes thing think I need torque wrench to do it right. Also would you get a 3/8 or 1/2 inch wrench

As far as 3/8 or 1/2 just get the size that will fit the rest of your tools. Also, make sure that the torque you need is within the range of the wrench you buy. All of the torque wrenches that I have are marked in metric (newton meters) as well as foot/lbs or inch/pounds.

If I only owned one it would be a clicker type, 3/8" drive, with a range of 10 ft. lb. or so up to 100 ft.lb. or so. That would provide a usable range of about 25 to 75 ft. lb. I have six torque wrenches. The one I use 95% of the time is the one I just described. Get a good one.

I have several different torque wrenches. One that I reach for quite often is in the first link below -

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-micr...SellerId=Sears&prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

At $50 from Sears it is pretty decent and the stated range is 10 to 75 ft-lbs, although the most accurate range is in the 20 to 80 percent of the stated max. These torque wrenches work best if not dropped and are re-set to zero after used.

Another 3/8" torque wrench that might be useful is the one linked below -

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-micr...SellerId=Sears&prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3

It is also $50 from Sears and looks nearly identical to the first one shown. However, the stated range is 25 to 250 inch-lbs (or about 2 to 20 ft-lbs).

At the higher doller end are units from Snap-On. I use one of these; I like the light illuminating when the specified torque value is reached, but at $309, it is not cheap! It has a max range of 25 ft-lbs with the most accuracy being in the 20 to 80 percent of full value.

https://store.snapon.com/Combinatio...sic-25-ft-lb-350-kg-cm-3-8-drive-P634752.aspx

Out of curiosity I obtained some Harbor Freight torque wrenches such as the one below -
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-eighth-inch-drive-click-type-torque-wrench-807.html

This $20 torque wrench has a specified range of 5 to 80 ft-lbs. I did a simple test of this unit against the Craftsman and Snap-On torque wrenches and found that within the 20 to 80 percent range the agreement was pretty good (around 5% or less).

There are digital torque wrench adapters designed to work with ordinary ratchet wrenches. I have a few of these, but haven't spent much time with them. They can be obtained from Amazon and other on-line sources. Harbor Freight carried them at one time. Following are links to some You-Tube videos with more information -

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TjEP1KMBbAY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2ih17t9u6fA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Thanks

Will get the 3/8 clicker for now thanks again for info

A second good one to have is a 1/4" torque wrench for those odd lower inch pound setting one finds on motorcycles.