On Thu, 15 Aug 2019 21:49:44 +1000, Xeno
wrote:

On 15/8/19 8:36 am, Clare Snyder wrote:
On Wed, 14 Aug 2019 18:19:18 -0400, wrote:

On Wed, 14 Aug 2019 14:46:44 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at 5:22:37 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I lost the original thread from last year ? ..
but regardless and irregardless ..
I bought a new torque wrench today - after returning my second
Princess Auto $ 50. unit - both fell apart in my hands -
just doing snow tires in the driveway 2 times per year.
The new $ 120. DeWalt is almost a foot longer ooh ;
has a very fancy plastic case ; Whoo-ooh !
But one point that was made in the original thread -
using it to loosen the lug nuts - the DeWalt has
several warnings to NOT use it to loosen !


I Knowing what their purpose is and what they are used for,
I hope you didn't need that warning. About the only time I could see
using one to loosen a bolt would be if you wanted to see if it was excessively torqued.
Even then, not sure if you torqued it to 30 that means it will unscrew at 30,
might take more, but there should be a correlation.
A friend of mine was complaining that a tire shop had way over torqued his lugs.
He went back and the manager took a torque wrench, put it on a lug,
showed him that it clicked at the correct value and said that proved they torqued it correctly......



I used my cheapo to loosen the wheel nuts - but I'm pretty sure
that was not the failure cause - they both had screws loosen off -
in different spots . I suspect that homeowner torque wrenches
do not measure the loosening torque . .
professional tools - perhaps ?
Re-torquing click does not prove that it wasn't
originally over-torqued ... duh.
John T.
Torque wrench reads both directions - has to, otherwize you could
not torque left hand nuts. The "prohibition" against using it for
loosening is the fact that the force released when a bolt snaps loose
is extreme and WILL throw the calibration off in time. If the bolt/nut
is not semi-seized, and comes off easily with no "snap" it will NOT
hurt the wrench - but you don't know how it will come off untill you
try it. That's why the "kits" come with a "breaker bar" - break the
nuts loose with the breaker bar, then run them off with the torque
wrench with the ratchet set to the "off" position. Why else would
they but a reversible ratchet head on a torque wrench????

I have one of these;

https://wbtools.com.au/catalog/produ.../category/103/

Basically a British or OZZIE phenomenon - rarely seen in Canada or
the USA - and definitely NOT reversible (unless it has a "spud" on
both sides - or a "slip through" spud.

Mine is quite old now, 50 years plus, but still works perfectly and is
accurate. It does, however, only operate in one direction. Want to
torque left hand threaded nuts and bolts, you're outta luck. As you can
see, the new models are clearly marked for direction of operation. For
general vehicle work, I have found this more than adequate. For wheel
tightening, I used to have a bi-directional cheapie but that's long
since disappeared once I retired. On wheels it was a pain to use anyway
since it had a scale that was a pain in the posterior to read when
operated on its side.

I was always taught that tension wrenches were *not* to be used for
loosening bolts. The reasons should be obvious to anyone who has, for
instance, loosened head bolts.