Dial Torque Wrench

Dial Torque Wrench
Precision Instruments 0-300 in/lb Torque Wrench (0-25 ft/lb) With ±1% Accuracy
Executive Summary by "Burn" for webBikeWorld.com


This is the torque wrench for those really, really fussy mechanics. Torque wrenches don't get much more accurate than this Precision Instruments 0-25 ft/lb. dial type. It's way too easy to apply too much torque, even with a basic torque wrench, and this goes double for motorcycles, which use soft aluminum just about everywhere.
We have two micrometer type torque wrenches in the webBikeWorld garage in addition to an old beam type torque wrench that we only use for nuts over 75 ft/lbs., but I don't trust them at all.
Some of the cheap torque wrenches don't even list an accuracy figure; others are accurate to within 5% or so. For example, on a 100 ft/lb. torque wrench with 5% claimed accuracy, this would mean that it's only within 5 ft/lbs. when applying 20 ft/lbs. Our Sears Craftsman "Microtork" micrometer torque wrench is supposedly calibrated from 25-250 inch pounds (2 to 20 ft/lbs.) with a plus or minus 4% accuracy at 20% of total capacity, which is 50 inch pounds, or 4.16 ft/lbs.
The micrometer type torque wrenches use an internal spring, and springs are notoriously non-linear in their application of force as they get wound up. The Precision Instruments 0-300 in/lb. dial torque wrench shown here really does look and feel like the precision instrument that it's name implies. The ability to read the dial and the smooth working inner mechanism allow the user to apply a slow, careful application of torque. The 0-300 in/lb. torque wrench is 9-29/32" long overall; 2-11/32" wide and weighs 1 lb., 2 oz. (510 grams). Tool freaks will definitely want this one and the Precision Instruments beam-type torque wrench in their toolbox.