I’d like to share with you guys a new tool that I recently acquired and I think some of you will be interested in. This is the 1/2” Split Beam Torque Wrench from Olsa Tools.

If you don’t do a lot of research on torque wrenches, you may have never seen one of this design. To be honest, I’m new to it too as this is my first split beam torque wrench. If you’re like me, you’re likely more familiar with the micrometer click type torque wrenches. Micrometer torque wrenches work by adjusting the tension of the spring in the shaft. Split beam torque wrenches, on the other hand, have a spring that’s always under the same tension and is more dependent on something similar to a lever and catch mechanism. A big advantage of the split beam design is that because the spring is always under the same tension, users don’t have to worry about it deforming and contributing to inaccurate readings as possible with micrometer torque wrenches.

With a micrometer torque wrench, the proper procedure for storage is to release the tension of the spring by lowering the torque setting to it’s minimum. That way the spring doesn’t form to its compressed size while it’s not being used and sitting in storage. With the split beam design, there is no such thing. It can be left at whatever torque setting for however long and the spring will not deform.

Another big advantage of the split beam design is the ease of adjustment. With the micrometer design, you typically twist the handle up and down working your way through the torque range. Depending on the size of the torque range, this can take a bit of twisting to get from one end to the other. With the split beam, you’re able to move through the range almost effortlessly. This Olsa Tools Split Beam Torque Wrench has a working range of 50-250 ft-lb and you can get from one end to the other in a few seconds.

To use this torque wrench, you first flip open the safety lock. From there you turn the knob up and down to get to the desired setting. When you’ve achieved the desired setting, just close the safety lock and you’re good to go. This design is very quick and easy to use.

When in use, this torque wrench will emit an audible click when the desired torque is achieved, like other click type torque wrenches.

After owning this torque wrench for a few weeks, I would say that I like it a lot but I have noticed two drawbacks. First, the torque display window only shows increments of 5. This is fine if everything that you torque down requires a torque setting that ends in 5 or 0 but that isn’t always the case. And because all the numbers and lines are so close to each other, whenever you need one of those in-between numbers, it becomes a guessing game as to where to set the torque wrench at. The second drawback is that this torque wrench only measures when used on forward, clockwise rotating fasteners. There is no reverse. This is something inherently attributed to the split beam design so it’s not a knock on Olsa Tools.

Overall, I would give this tool a thumbs up and a recommendation. It seems to be of high quality and functions really well. Not to mention that Olsa Tools offers a lifetime warranty on this thing so if it were to ever become defective, they’ll take care of it.

If you’re interested in trying this tool out for yourself, check out the links below. If you use the one that leads to Olsa Tools’ official website and use the code HT10, you’ll be able to get 10% off of your order.