For some of us here at Sump (mentioning no names) it took years to really appreciate the value of good tools, and even now one or two of us (still mentioning no names) need occasional reminding. That's because we're "amateurs", and amateurs (in the cruellest sense of the word) tend to do thing the amateur way. But try removing, say, the crankshaft pinion on a Triumph T120 without the correct crankshaft pinion extractor, and you'll see what we mean. Or try fitting pistons to a Triumph Trident without a decent set of ring compressors. Or try to manage without a pair of circlip pliers on a high-gear bearing or a front fork leg when only circlip pliers will do. And don't even think of valve removal without a spring compressor. Cylinder head bolts are, okay, slightly different. You can always clamp a head onto a barrel without a torque wrench. But your "mechanic's feel" simply isn't good enough if you want even-pressure on your gasket at the correct torque. And when it comes to a 500 mile re-torque, what are you gonna do? Guess? We've tried that in the past. And it worked. For a while. But a torque wrench is simply essential equipment, and naturally you should always buy the best you can afford if you plan to spend any significant amount of time at the operator's end. And good tools last for years, do the job right, and save you time, temper and cash (both in the long run, and often the short run too). And this pre-set Venhill Fractional Torque Wrench looks like one of those good tools that even (if not especially) amateurs like us ought to have in the toolbox. Oops. Did we say "toolbox"? What we meant was, even amateurs like us ought to have a kit such as this on the shelf with the other precision measuring tools and equipment (and pretty much all good mechanical work involves measuring at some point or another). And as if you need reminding, that's what this is: a piece of precision measuring equipment designed to tighten those critical nuts and bolts without over-tightening them. 
So what's in the box? 1 x Interchangeable torque handle with a 5-25Nm scale 1 x 1/4" ratchet head 8 x torque spanners (across the face): 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 7/16", 1/2", 9/16", 5/8" & 3/4" The kit comes in a moulded plastic case that secures reasonably well, but would inspire more carrying confidence if it was maybe a little tighter. The torque handle looks and feels like it knows what it's doing and will go the distance (i.e. years or decades). But we don't have any specialist equipment with which to calibrate the device, so like all these things, you just have to take the numbers at face value. If it's any consolation, it claims to be plus-or-minus 4 percent accurate, and that's about normal. The torque scale is calibrated in Newton-metres (on one side of the handle) and kilogram-centimetres (on the other). And if you need to convert that to lbs-ft, which you probably will if you're working on old British or American bikes, the kit does supply a conversion chart. Using the torque wrench Firstly it all feels nice and solid. The torque handle operates smoothly without the graunching and notchiness typically found at the cheaper end of the market. The torque spanners fit easily into the handle, but there's a small irritation here. Or maybe irritation is a bit strong. Let's just call it an idiosyncrasy. The torque spanners are held in situ by a spring loaded pin. That's unlike a conventional socket set where the individual sockets are located with a spring-loaded ball. Consequently, no special tools are needed to remove the sockets. They push on, and they pull off. Simple. With this torque wrench, however, it requires a small prodding device to release the torque spanners. The device is included, or you could more or less use anything from an Allen key to a small screwdriver. It's just one of the quirks of this particular device and probably makes little or no difference in practice. But if you're in a hurry and are switching constantly between torque spanners, you've got another little process to deal with.  Should you be hurrying with a torque wrench? Absolutely not. But in the real world, that's how it goes.
It's no big deal, and it might well be that a simple spring loaded ball device might be more inclined to release the spanner end when you don't want it to. Or maybe the designers had some other reason to do it the way they did. And with that in mind, the torque spanners will fit the handle even when the locking device/pin is 180-degree out of sync. In other words, you could fit the torque spanner unsecured with the locating pin facing the opposite way. Ideally, the designers would have had the spanner fit in one way only. Or, better still, each spanner would be secured on both sides. It wouldn't much bother us in the workshop where we're inclined to use a torque wrench as a hammer if that's all that's close to hand. But for the purposes of this review, we're kinda obliged to look at this device fully. And there's one more point here. The sockets on a conventional socket set tend to fit tightly. But these torque spanners are a looser fit in the handle. That might not make the slightest difference in service where you would apply force in one steady direction and wait for the required pre-set correct torque click. But the looseness reminds you that this isn't top-end stuff where fit is generally pretty snug. Then again, a top end torque spanner kit costs considerably more. And as we said, in practice our criticism/observation isn't a problem. It's just what it is. Where this type of torque wrench scores over some other socket-ended torque wrenches is that it will often creep into spaces that might otherwise be inaccessible (such as head bolts on a fitted engine, for example). But if you need to use the handle with conventional sockets, Venhill has thought of that and has included a standard 1/4-inch socket ratchet drive head. This ratchet head isn't very big, note, and it certainly wouldn't handle a 3/4 socket in place of the 3/4 torque spanner. But it would suffice for the smaller stuff around the bike. 
Taking care of the torque wrench Ideally, torque wrenches need to be calibrated after a few thousands uses, or maybe every year or two. In practice, however, no one outside of the aviation industry is likely to do that. It would probably be cheaper to throw the tool away. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be used thoughtfully, and maintained judiciously. So keep it in the box when not in use. Keep the torque spanners in their individual "beds" (or whatever the hell those box slots are called). Keep the torque wrench on its lowest setting when in storage. Keep it dry. And don't use it as a hammer. And here's another tip. After a spell in storage, set the wrench on the highest setting, fit the biggest torque spanner (3/4"), and put it to work on a convenient test bolt held in the vice or something. You can do that by gently cranking the handle until it clicks a few times (in the usual way demanded by this type of pre-set device). Just a few cranks will do. Don't wear it out. That will help shift some lubricant around the inner mechanism and get the handle primed. Then set it to whatever setting you need, and put it to work with the right size spanner. It's a small maintenance ploy. But it adds up, and there's no sense in using a "sleepy" torque wrench. And if you don't know how to use a pre-set torque wrench, either read the instructions, or search YouTube. Or take a guess. It will become clear. In conclusion This looks like a decent enough kit, and we'd certainly get fairly regular use out of it for those critical mechanical jobs. It's not as cheap as the cheapest on the market (which we strongly don't recommend), and it's not the most expensive in this broad price range (say £60 to £140). We'd like to see it manufactured with a tighter feel, and we could live without having to use a tool to remove the torque spanners. But if you're any kind of home mechanic, and haven't got a torque wrench, you do need one. It's as simple as that. At the very least, you'll learn to be more considerate of threads, especially aluminium threads. And beyond that, you'll reduce the chances of damaging an otherwise perfectly good component simply because you got a bit heavy handed. And if you're a professional, you'll probably already have one or more torque wrenches in your workshop. But you can never have enough tools. Are we right? Incidentally, we didn't know what the hell "fractional" meant (probably because we're not as smart as we sometimes think we are), but Venhill reckons it simply means "inch based"; i.e, 3/4-inch, 3/8-inch or whatever. In other words, just think "imperial". The bottom line? Know your threads. Look after those threads. Torque them accurately whenever the manufacturer advises it. This device will do all that, we're sure. The price? Venhill is asking £76.88 excluding VAT, or £92.26 when the government has had its share. That's not unrealistic, and we haven't found anything heavily discounted (not that we're in the business of damaging retailer profits). So talk to Venhill when you're ready. And if you've got metric fasteners on your bike, the VT82 Torque Wrench Kit will sort you out. www.venhill.co.uk | 
