Hello folks. If you work on your own car, may I ask if you have a favorite brand and model of torque wrench? It can be one that you use for wheel lugs or it could be a model for things like cylinder heads or EV contact posts in a receptacle or EV charger junction box. If you have a brand you trust, please lay it on me. Photo for fun.
The next generation is being trained!
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Heās 23 now, and he does his own oil changes and basic maintenance. Heās also helps with tire testing for our Car Talk Best Tires content. Very proud.
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Iāve tried several over the past year and th3 hf one. I find going without suits me better as a novice. For 50 years Iāve just tightened bolts by feel and just donāt like relying on a torque wrench. When I was twelve I broke a head bolt using a breaker bar but havenāt broken one since. Flame away but thatās me. I only work on my stuff.
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Actually, I understand completely. Without a doubt, an experienced touch can be very helpful. Thanks for replying.
My Craftsman 1/2ā drive torque wrench has served me well for over 50 years.
Tester
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I do a lot of cylinder head work so I need accurate torque for head bolts and rocker arm studs. I prefer not to guess on bolts going into alum heads.
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I was happy enough with my Tekton micrometer style click torque wrenches. When they were stolen I replaced them with Tekton dual beam style which seem fine too. I havenāt used the new ones much yet.
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Mine is only about 30 yrs old. But Iām still using it. And itās no sub for a real calibration check, but I do check it once in a while using a digital fish scale (which I check against various other things of known weight). That one is marked for ftlb.
When I wanted an inlb I just bought another Craftsman. That oneās more like 15 yrs old and doing fine.
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There are specialty torque wrenches for plumbers for neoprene sleeves - 5 foot-pounds. I couldnāt find a āregularā torque wrench that went that low, and one uses them on PVC/ABS pipes, so one canāt tighten too much.
I have a Harbor Freight Ā½-inch I bought for lug nuts but also use it on my bicycle. Itās important to tighten the crank arm just right. I did it by feel forever, over-tightened once, breaking the crank arm, undertightened once, ruining both the crank arm and bottom bracket. I donāt trust feel anymore, especially as my strength wanes.
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.My Craftsman beam type 1ā2. 3/6 and 1/4 inch ate between 55 and 60 years old but it is hard for me to bend over and see through reading glasses to tighten lug nuts so I bought a1/2ā click type from harbor freight for that purpose. Works well and a couple of pounds either way on lug nuts is not important. I would not trade any of my old c Craftsman tools for NE ones. My experience with the new Craftsman tools is that the steel is garbage. If I am going rto buy Chinese made tools, the old American name means nothing to me.
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Iām now reminded of when my wife needed some dental implants. The metal studs that they stick in the jaw bone are installed with torque wrenches - measured in Newton centimeters. I forget the exact value the oral surgeon told me about, but it wasnāt many N/cm, and one N/cm i about .08 in/lb. I donāt think Iād buy a Craftsman for that one. 
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I have several torque wrenches in various sizes. I also still have my original beam style. They are all Craftsman brand tools.
I donāt use torque wrenches for many fastening jobs but just the ones I think are super critical. Engine internals, manifolds, heads (especially TTY), wheel bearings etc. The rest I have done by feel for decades.
Speaking of tools for medical purposes- perhaps 30 years ago, I was developing respiratory gas analysis equipment for use in many applications including OR anesthesia. I sat in on many surgeries, right alongside the surgeons and anesthesiologists. Open heart and other thoracic surgeries were tough at first but the absolute worst were stuff like hip replacements. Truly medieval type of work. The first thing to note are the same type of roll around tool boxes mechanics use to store tools. And guess what? They are stuffed with the same tools. Including the same Sawzall I use at home. Only it is sterilized and wrapped in plastic bags with just the blade sticking out. Same for drills etc. I wonāt go into gory details but many of the same cutting, drilling, tapping operations you might do for workā¦except on bonesā¦
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I recently had a crown created by a dentist using CADD and a CNC mill. It was fascinating and learning how she did it helped me stay distracted.
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Thatās crazy! I one installed a zip line at home. A big one. It came as a kit. The kit wanted the little cable retainer nuts to be torqued to a surprisingly low rating. My neighbors didnāt have a little torque wrench that could go so low, so I built a torque arm for the little wrench and guestimated the pulling force. Nobody died!
I forgot I do have a light weight beam type that I have had for years. Just mainly for small engine stuff. I like it because I can see the level of tightening by the movement of the beam instead of waiting for a click.
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That is funny cause years ago my business (shop) partner had watched a documentary on knee surgery and said WTH, I could do that and I already have all the same tools!!! 
9:53am cst
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40+ years ago, a relative of mine brought home a video of heart transplants from her hospital. They started the operation with a 6" circular saw going right up the patientās sternum. I said I have a circular saw like that. She replied: āBut those are all stainless steel, costing $600.ā
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I have a no name 1/2 beam type that is 50 years old. Not sure where I bought it.
I have a beam type 1/4 inch drive bought from Amazon. The old place I use it is to set bearing preload on ring and pinions. Imagine a 1/4 to 3/8 adaptor and a 3/8 to 1/2 adaptor to fit a socket big enough for the pinion nut.
1/2 and 3/8 ths click type from HF.