And another tool question

Has anybody heard of 'Norbar' torque wrenches? Worth having?

Just wondering as there's one on fleabay which covers the range I
need...

 

Sucking his keyboard for inspiration, Timo Geusch typed:

Had one a long time ago. It didn't let me down, so I'd say they were OK

 

I've actually got one: a click-stop one. Had it for nearly 30 years,
and it seems to work fine, so I'd recommend the brand, yes.

 

Unfortunately this one seem to be a preset one so it's of no use to me.
Guess I'll make use of that teng.co.uk link Gyp mention earlier and add
a torque wrench to the pile.

 

They've been around for years, not heard anything bad about them. Istr
Norbar are (or used to be) the ones with a bendy bar and a quadrant
(actually much less than a quadrant - a bi-octant?) dial on them with a
pointer anchored to the head.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

Teach a man to fish and he and his pikey mates will have the
river cleaned out in a day.

 

Well, this one was a "regular" torque wrench but as mentioned elsewhere
in this thread, it's a preset one so of no use to me.

 

Yeah, just had a look at the likely ones on ebay and it seems to be a
production one for no tampering.

On a related note, I've had a look at an old Snap-On one I picked up for
peanuts at an autojumble years ago - a TQ50A, 3/8 drive 0-600lb/in,
stamped 20Feb 1943, probably used for assembly work in WW2.
**** me, parts are still available.
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/parts/pro_det.asp?Item_id=41777&group_id=10353
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

Teach a man to fish and he and his pikey mates will have the
river cleaned out in a day.

 

Only if it's a low range (5-25 Nm or somesuch) one. I've got a regular
one but I finally gave up and decided to get a low range one as well.

Hrmpf. You're supposed to insult me *after* picking up the monitor...

 

I've a 5 -40 lb 3/8 drive one you can borrow if its any use.
Steve

 

Er, check my posting. Mine's a properly adjustable-click-stop one, not
one of those glorified spring balances.

 

Blimey, they *do* take their lifetime warranty seriously.

 

What does 'preset' mean, exactly. I mean, mine's preset in that you
set the desired torque via the big adjuster, and go from there. Why
not post the auction details?

 

They are very useful. Wind the shaft out to minimum torque and you have
the longest bar in your toolkit for undoing really tight nuts.

 

Set the torque once and then you're stuffed. They're usually intended
for production line use.

 

I used to do the same, still have the kit, and have to agree. Norbar
were always very tight to spec.

 

Well, I'll keep an eye out for a non-preset one then.

 

They are built in Banbury, sold worldwide to the trade and a mate of
mine is their sales manager.

Oh, and I didn't win their aircon maintenance contract last year but my
mate did.

--
Dan L

http://thebikeshed.spaces.live.com/
1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr

BOTAFOT #140 (KotL 2005/6/7)
X-FOT#000
DIAABTCOD #26
BOMB#18 (slow)
OMF#11

 

They are normally adjustable, within a small range, for calibration
purposes. A set once device would have to be disposable as it would
inevitably go out of spec.

Obviously, in a production environment, the mechanism would need to be
tamperproof. Any adjustment would require the use of a special tool and a
calibrated gauge.

--
wessie at tesco dot net

BMW R1150GS

"Wessie is a lovely man with many wonderful qualities" TM Blaney

 

My low-range one is a Norbar. Bloody expensive but seems fine after
somewhere betwen five and ten years. Never had it calibrated though.

 

So where can I get a Norbar?
Halfords? Machine Mart?