I'm no expert but CDI is a division of Snap On and their torque wrenches don't seem to be quite as expensive.

 

Beam-style torque Wrenches never have to be re-calibrated, and are bulletproof as long as the pointer rests at 0

Cheaper too

 

give that man a cigar - 1600 vs 1300 not bad, eh? We use all from 1/2 down - have not had a need for 3/4 yet.

 

About a few weeks after I started this thread, I purchased a Snap-on torque wrench using my student discount (about 50%). Works great and has a very distinct click when the torque setting is reached. The breakaway when the torque is reached is almost double of the Craftsman that I borrowed from a friend.

And Der MotorSports thanks for using the search features!

 

snap-on stuff is good, glad you had a good experience with one though.

-Ian

 

a little off topic..
but is it true that you shouldn't turn the torque wrench back the other way when tightening? (like you would using normal ratchet)

for example, when you're tightening lug nuts and you need more turns to fully tigthen; you need to take the socket out, re-adjust and then continue to tighten.

 

the absolute top of the line aerospace/dod models actually have no ratchet to enhance accuracy to the nth degree. however, you can get add-on ratchets at a small cost to accuracy. get the straight ones, the extended versions are also quite good but require adjustment to values. better wrenches have factors built in others are a diy calc.

from my understanding, precision makes all the mechanical wrenches for snap-on and cdi does all the electronic ones.