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What kind of Torque Wrench?

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Kestrel

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What kind of torque wrench should I use for action screws, scope mounts/rings, etc? Is it the kind you can get at Home Depot? Where would I get one?

Thanks,
Steve
 
I don't use a torque wrench for those sorts of things, to date. However, if I were to start, I would get one at Sears calibrated in inch-pounds. Sears Craftsman hand tools carry a lifetime warranty.
 
I've got one I got from the MAC tool man that is in inch-pounds, works very well, but not everyone has a MAC or Snap-On truck coming to were they work. As Car Knocker said, Craftsman may be your best bet.
 
Don't EVER lend a torque wrench, don't EVER use a torque wrench to loosen something, don't EVER let someone else even use your torque wrench under your supervision. Store the wrench in the box it came in, lightly oiled. Keep it from climatic swings and moisture. Basically treat it like it is a very high dollar target gun and your torque wrench will last forever with no need for calibration or repair. Lend it out once and you cannot trust it.

Craftsman makes a decent torque wrench, probably the best for the money on the market.
 
Most of the torque wrenches used for auto repair and such are calibrated in foot-pounds. You need inch-pounds, and a relatively wide range of inch-pound settings at that. For rifle action screws, you generally need 65 inch-pounds, but for scope mounts and rings, you need as few as 15 inch-pounds. I was unable to find a single wrench with that great a range of settings. I ended up buying a Seekonk non-adjustable 65 in-lb T-handle wrench for action screws ($70 at Brownells), and a Seekonk 2 - 36 in-lb torque screwdriver kit from Premier Reticles for $130. Expensive, yes, but these are precision tools, certified as being calibrated to industry standards, that I expect to own forever
 
I discovered that Remington had gone to Allen-head screws for holding receiver and floor plate together. That makes it easy: Weld an extension onto an Allen wrench, making a 12" leg. Then, just hang a five-pound weight on the end. Voila! 60 inch-pounds!

:), Art
 
One other tip on torque wrenches when you are done using them back them off. I also believe in having them calibrated every couple of years. I prefer the click type to any other. I guess thats because thats what my old man showed me how to use when I was knee high to a grass hopper.
 
Harley Davidson service manuals call for a lot of torque settings in inch-pounds, which is why I went out and bought a good wrench for that low level of torque.

If you're serious, don't bother with the $19.99 cheapo wrenches. A good torque wrench will be at least $75 (quadruple that for Snap-On).

If you don't know a Snap-On dealer, go over to K-Mart and ask the service guys when their S-O sales rep comes around. Best tools on earth, and worth every penny.
 
Craftsman hand tools may be warrantied, but the torque wrenches they sell are not.. (1 year)..

The accuracy on the Craftsman torque wrenches are no better than the $15 harbor freight specials.. (probably because they are the same wrench with different stickers)..

I know snap-on makes a nice screwdriver style torque wrench (dial type, not clicker) that's runs something like 5-75 in/lbs.. might be just the ticket (but be prepared to pay..).

Leo
 
Aw, Shaivong, a five-pound sack of sugar and a piece of string, and I've got the USDA weights/measures boys doin' my calibratin' for me!

I gotta check out that SnapOn screwdriver-type clicker!

:D, Art

For car stuff, those clicker-types have the advantage of the ratchet and speed. But they don't do any better job of torquing than the old po'-boy needle-indicator type. :)
 
The only thing I will add, because I'm a moron, is make sure you get it in INCH POUNDS! I purchased a FOOT pounds torgue wrench and immediatly striped the alan wrench heads on a old savage I have.

Little mistakes like that can take forever to repair.
 
I bought a very nice click-type torque wrench from Home Depot for $54. I believe the brand name is "Husky". Don't depend on the sales clerk at Home Depot to know about inch/lbs. You'll probably have to find it yourself.
 
I called McMillan for the proper torque on the screws for their stocks and the guy said 45-50 LBS. for their stocks.....I had also heard about 65 LBS, and he said no.......When my stock arrived, I had a Craftsman torque wrench and it worked fine.......
 
"I had also heard about 65 LBS,..."


65 in/lbs is for H-S Precision stocks, eg., Remmy VS, etc., with the aluminum bedding block.
 
Go for the ones made by Snap-On. The Snap-On trucks are usually making their rounds in auto dealerships and shops every week, ask a mechanic and he will give you a phone number for a local Snap-On rep. If he doesn't have it in his truck/inventory, he can special order it for you and while you're at it, ask him for the latest catalog, they have 'em in their trucks along with the price list.
 
When a Calibration Engineer/Metrologist/NIST-tracable, BTW (having to deal with the subject), we dealt exclusively with Mountz.

We tended towards in-oz, (had some in-lbs applications - theory still applies .... but their drives (manual or electric) were the only way to go - accuracy & repeatability. No others made the grade - sorry.

Oiling a torque driver & you better always have the exact same amount of lube, no out-gassing/no migration - nothing - or your applied torque changes. They're designed to work with no lube, BTW, for that very reason - lube changes = so does your torque value applied.

Likely, anything that'll repeat within a +/- 5 ft-lbs will do the trick enough for bedding screws though Art's hanging a 5 lb weight off a foot-long works just as well, as will just "getting the feel of it." Anything short of stripping the threads while having "decent enough" torque works plenty good.

& anybody thinking that "anything's forever" & you don't need to re-calibrate has no inkling of the matter.

Whatever - just make sure your bullets impact correctly afterwards, huh? ')l
 
when I worked as a engineers mate on a tug, the company bought some of those click type wrenches and we started blowing gaskets and dropping blowers off engines , then we found out the click types are about as accurate as a hammer, so we bought the dial types from Snap-on , gads these where expensive but repairs went down and rebuilds lasted longer , when I work on cars and bikes I only use the dial types , cost 250-1k+ depending on the range , the click types are not accurate at all if some stockboy drops the box. its cost more to be recalibrated than to buy one . you can buy a inch pound needle type at a small engine repair store or snap on. it will last longer .
 
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