SEALEY 3/8” TORQUE WRENCH MICROMETRE (7-112Nm/5-83lb-ft)
WHAT IS IT?
A tool to correctly torque nuts and bolts to a specific value.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
How strong are you? Pretty tough, right? But just how tough is tough? The point is your power is unique to you, and it’s pretty hard to measure accurately just how much power you’re putting through a spanner, ratchet or Allen key when you’re getting down and dirty in the workshop. Let’s assume you’ve been hitting the spinach hard. It could mean that you’re prone to over-tightening bolts, which could pull threads or, worse, snap bolts. From a mechanical point of view, that’s not good news. Neither is being as weedy as a daffodil; if you don’t tighten something tightly enough it will just come undone, drop out and cause your motorcycle to fall to bits.
You’re probably wondering why I’m making such obvious assertions, but the point is that these kind of reasons are why torque wrenches are so necessary.
Quite simply, a correctly calibrated torque wrench allows you to accurately tighten a fixture to a specific value, all the time, every time. Exactly how, you’re wondering? Well, there are quite a few types of torque wrenches, but the most common systems use a ball detent and a spring that’s compressible to a certain value… say 12Nm, for example.
When the operator achieves greater pressure than the required 12Nm, the spring is overcome and the ball part of the mechanism clicks out of its retaining socket, culling drive, meaning no more pressure is being put through the tool. In essence, a torque wrench is designed to fail, rather than continuing to allow pressure to crank through to a nut or bolt, like a spanner or ratchet would.
Simple enough, eh, but how do you set the pressure? On an item with a mechanical system, such as this torque wrench, you just twist the bottom of the tool and it will climb the shaft, ramping up the pressure on the spring. This Sealey tool measures pressure in pound-foot and Newton metres, with guides on the stem of the main shaft indicating what pressure you’re achieving with every rotation. You can climb as little as 1Nm at a time, and this tool starts from as low as 7Nm, which means it’s ideal for even the smallest of fixtures.
When you’ve reached your desired figure, you stop twisting and begin ratcheting the tool until it begins to click – indicating you’ve reached that pressure. It couldn’t be any simpler, or accurate.
IS IT ANY GOOD?
I’m still pretty new to this product, but I’m surprised at how often I’m pulling it from its box and giving it a tussle. Here’s the thing, life before owning a torque wrench was actually a lot more simple, effortless… and generally harmful to nuts and bolts. I’ve never had the foggiest as to how tight or not I’ve tightened anything, and I’m ashamed to admit that. Regardless of what you’re working on, tightening something to its specific value is pretty fundamental, which is why this tool has already had a good seeing to. It’s a solid unit, very easy to operate and offers a good range of torque values. I chose this tool with a 3/8” drive as I figured anything bigger would be pretty overkill for the typical 3-5mm threaded bolts on bikes, and I’m glad I’ve done so. I’ve also invested in a 3/8”-1/2” adapter so I’ve got the ability to torque larger nuts, such as the 36mm spindle nut on my GSX-R. It is pretty long, which is good for leverage, but means you can find yourself limited in tight spaces. But hey, smaller options are available, but you won’t get the strength or versatility of this tool. It’s already proven a great asset, offering peace of mind at every turn. As an added bonus, it comes with a tough, plastic carry case, which keeps it safe when it’s not in use. What more do you want?