Torque Wrench – Knowing the basics and types

 

Many times, you might find yourself stuck in situations where you’re not able to understand a lot of terms used by people and you keep nodding and vice versa. Typically, it’s one uncomfortable situation to be in. One such unheard but a useful thing to have in the construction and repair industry is the hydraulic torque wrench. Yes, you’ve got it right! These tools mostly remain in the hand of professionals of the construction, automotive and other such industries. Basically, by torque wrench we mean a wrench designed mainly for applying certain amount of force to an orbit or nut. When non-mechanical people typically hear the word “torque” they would immediately relate it to the term horsepower.

Working of torque wrench
By torque we mean a certain amount of force that rotates something about an axis just like your vehicle wheels, but that term might also refer to anything under that situation, not only about how much power your car engine has.

One more common example would involve lug nuts that basically hold the car wheels. Lug nuts come with specific torque amounts through which they can easily get tightened. In case only too little gets used, these might become loose while you’re driving which would result in an unstable wheel or the wheel even when they’re coming off! If they remain too tight you’ve got the risk of running into something cracking through which you can also have problems in wheel functioning.

Uses of torque wrench
So, if such nuts get applied with certain amount of force through the use of torque wrench, what would be the exact way to know that the right amount of force has been applied?
Basically, here’s when you can make use of the torque wrench as it provides you with the right amount of force required for the job.

Different types of wrenches
Out there in the market you can easily come across different torque wrenches. One main type is the wrench with an inbuilt dial indicator. The dial would indicate how many foot lbs. of torque have been applied. Typically these are the simpler tools that you can have to buy torque wrench amongst all other tools. The model is typically the choice of professional mechanics where accurate measurement remains necessary. Some of these are available with a buzzer or light for indicating when you get the preset torque value.

Anyone who wishes to buy torque wrench of the latest types can select from LCD and LED models as well. The display offers you with precise foot lbs of torque. For these you can typically switch between Metric and SAE as well. For most homeowners and garage mechanics, the clicking type torque wrench would be the tool of choice.

If you’re eyeing upon a certain type of wrench make sure to firstly check all manufacturer specs for the tool. Before applying the torque wrench to use, it’s recommended to double check the torque setting just to be sure. So, the next time if you’re willing to tighten the nuts on your vehicle, it would be wise to keep aside your conventional impact wrench and instead go for the torque wrench. Thus, the torque wrench is a specialized type of indispensible hand tool.

What is a Ratchet Wrench and How Can You Use It?

For tightening nuts in the tire of the car or machine that has nuts, what you need to have is ratchet wrench. There are different types of ratchet wrench that you can have. Try to buy ratchet wrench from the hardware near your place if what kind of ratchet wrench that they have for you. These are very important for they are used to tighten nuts. It also comes in sets and it's cheaper to buy them in sets than buying them individually. So, try to buy ratchet wrench from the nearest hardware in your place if they have ratchet wrench. Below are some of the ratchet wrenches that you can have.

Adjustable ratchet wrench
This is of the most advantageous ratchet wrench that you could have in your home. Since, it's adjustable, meaning that it could fit any size of nuts. There are actually different sizes of adjustable ratchet wrench that you can choose in the market. Try to find the right adjustable wrench that you need. Be very keen in choosing the right size. They also come in different materials. There are high and low qualities of materials. So make sure that you know how to determine between the two.

Flexible teeth ratchet wrench
This is also another type of ratchet wrench that you could have. To make things easier and convenient, try to have these flexible teeth wrenches. Their teeth are made of high-quality rubber which is why it's very flexible. The same thing with other rather wrench, it also comes in different sizes and materials. It's better to have that stainless type of ratchet wrench so it would be rust resistant and it would stay longer.

Ratchet socket wrench
This type is one of the unique types of wrench that you can have. Ratchet socket wrenches are similar to the regular socket that you see. It also comes in sets with different sizes and shapes. So, make sure that you are keen enough to choose that are high in quality so you could fully utilize its use. Try to get those that are rust resistant so rust won't accumulate and destroy them. You could but these ratchet socket wrench at any hardware.

Importance of a Ratchet Wrench
The advantage of having these is that it has several important parts which include an extender arm, adopters, removable joints, and of course, removable socket of different sizes that fit into nuts or bolts of corresponding sizes. Aside from that, this kind of wrench makes it easy to tighten or loosen any nut through reverse movements without removing the wrench from the nut because it consists of the ratcheting mechanism.

Another feature that this ratchet wrenches have is it has a square fitting that could be attached with the ratchet that fits on the required nut or bolt needed. To make sure that it would hold tight on the socket, it has a mechanism spring-loaded ball. But the most important features of these are the universal and the adopters. These two play a very important role. Universal joints have the feature of two joints that are capable of bending almost 90 degrees so that the wrench could actually reach any corner and move in any direction.