Draper Torque Wrench - any good?

[El Saxo]

Just saw this offer (http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=15609) which I thought looked like a pretty good price, although I guess you get what you pay for, considering some of the other wrenches on the site are £100+. Anyone had any good/bad experiences with Draper tools?

I'm going to start servicing the bike myself to save some dosh, and I figured I'd need a torque wrench, but can't really spend a fortune.

What do you reckon, a good buy?

[yorkie_chris]

I've got one, and it seems well put together, easy to set it accurately and such.

[Stu]

That's only up to 60 lb ft you will need another torque wrench to cover the higher values up to 100 for the wheel nuts etc.

I like my http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cht141-1-2in-drive-torque-wrench/path/ratchets-torque-wrenches-2

[yorkie_chris]

The higher torque ranges are far less important IMO, so you can get away with a cheaper 1/2 drive one.

[El Saxo]

That's only up to 60 lb ft you will need another torque wrench to cover the higher values up to 100 for the wheel nuts etc.

I like my http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cht141-1-2in-drive-torque-wrench/path/ratchets-torque-wrenches-2

:confused:

I might have missed something, but the site says the wrench goes up to 80Nm and the Haynes book says 65Nm for the axle nuts, so I thought the range of the wrench would be ok? Does it make a difference whether you measure in Nm or lb ft? Sorry if that's a dumb question - I just want to make sure I'm buying the right tools for the job.

[yorkie_chris]

Yes, loads.

If you get the units wrong then you're in danger of stripping things out, I always work in Nm.

1 lbf.ft = 1.356 N.m

[Stu]

I don't know, could well be wrong would need to check at home (get easily confused by all these different scales :roll:)

[yorkie_chris]

(get easily confused by all these different scales :roll:)

Definately worth checking and getting to know what's what, as it gets really expensive if you mix them up, the other way round could be painful too.

[Cam_73]

I got the 1/2" drive at 210 Nm.

Decent enough tool for DIY, use is occasional so it should last long enough.

If you're a DIY'r you don't need Norbar or anything like it.

The 80Nm is a bit low for some of the bigger fasteners on the SV like wheels etc.

Decent build, easy to set and use.


Cheers

[yorkie_chris]

The problem you may find is that the big un's don't go low enough for simple DIY stuff.

Like the cam bearing caps, they're only 10N.m iirc, I've not seen a 1/2 drive one go that low.

[El Saxo]

Yes, loads.

If you get the units wrong then you're in danger of stripping things out, I always work in Nm.

1 lbf.ft = 1.356 N.m

Ah ok, I think i see what you're saying - Nm is the metric measurement whereas lb ft is imperial, right? Two different units for measuring the same force?

I think I'll order one of those wrenches then, according to the Haynes book it looks like it should cover most of the torque settings for doing general servicing.

[neio79]

Got one from Argos 28-well over 100 Nm range, used it to put my frame sliders on the Kwak, easy to use and set, well put together and does the job good enough.

And bfore anyone says ah but yes it a cheap chinease import, its not its built by a German tool company and has all the TUV standards on it etc. German buils quality is good enough for me!!

[yorkie_chris]

Two different units for measuring the same force?

Torque is a force acting at a distance, 1 pound of force.foot is like having a pound of force on a foot long lever. 1 Newton meter is a force of 1 Newton on a lever a meter long.

[dizzyblonde]

this guy ^^^ is doing mechanical engineering at Uni
I trust his explanations, tis why eee's fixing my bike.....no ideea wot he's on about half the time, cause its all gobbledeeegook, but he does know what hes on about





sometimes!!!!!!:-)

[flymo]

Just saw this offer (http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=15609) which I thought looked like a pretty good price, although I guess you get what you pay for, considering some of the other wrenches on the site are £100+. Anyone had any good/bad experiences with Draper tools?

I'm going to start servicing the bike myself to save some dosh, and I figured I'd need a torque wrench, but can't really spend a fortune.

What do you reckon, a good buy?

Yep, I have one of these and its an excellent tool to have, good quality too. I buy a lot of Draper kit. Pretty rare that you'll need anything much bigger in my experience. When you do, get another one to cover the bigger torques.

Good value, go for it.

[El Saxo]

this guy ^^^ is doing mechanical engineering at Uni
I trust his explanations, tis why eee's fixing my bike.....no ideea wot he's on about half the time, cause its all gobbledeeegook, but he does know what hes on about





sometimes!!!!!!:-)

lol, I used to live with a couple of Mechanical Engineering students when I was at uni - I used to walk in on some of their conversations when they were doing uni work / revision and think they were speaking another language! :lol:

Thanks for the replies everyone. Have just ordered one of those wrenches, will be doing the service in a couple of weeks (waiting for payday!), so I might be posting a few more questions! :D

[embee]

They're fine. Another in the range got a good rating in Autoexpress (http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/59648/draper_3001a.html) tests.

Have fun!

[northwind]

Yep, and most wrenches are least accurate at the ends of their range, particularily cheaper ones. I used to have one of those Draper ones, it was decent enough, never broke any bolts at least... Cost me ?7. But then it just stopped working for no apparent reason.

[yorkie_chris]

think they were speaking another language! :lol:

We are, but it's just a ploy to make non-mechanical engineer types think we're really clever when we're just talking about birds and racing.

[ELR4ever]

I've got that one too, works great. Borrow a big one from your mates for the heavier jobs. :thumbsup:

[kwak zzr]

draper tools are good quality, ive had a socket set now for 20 years and its all still in very good condition, id buy draper.