Parts of a Torque Wrench – Click Type and Beam Type

All 11 parts on the diagram

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Click-type wrench 8

Handle Turned to set the torque. It winds the spring in the tube tighter or looser.
Ratchet head The ratchet is in here. It takes sockets, extensions and adapters.
Square drive The socket pushes onto it.
Reversing lever It sets the direction the ratchet works in.
Spring The handle presses on it. At the set torque its force is overcome and the wrench clicks.
Lock Unlocked, the handle turns to a new setting. Locked, the setting stays.
Major scale It gives the larger steps of the setting. The two scales are added together.
Fine scale It gives the amount between two marks of the major scale.

Beam-type wrench 3

Beam It bends in step with the pull on the handle.
Pointer Fixed at the head only. It stays straight while the beam bends.
Scale The tip of the pointer moves across it and shows the torque.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where at least two of these use it. (1) US Navy, Tools and Their Uses, rate training manual (1971), full text at https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED132362 : the deflecting beam, dial indicating and micrometer setting types; the micrometer type scale; unlock the grip, adjust the handle to the setting, relock the grip; the socket goes on the square drive; ratchet handles with a reversing lever. (2) US Army, Use and Care of Hand Tools and Measuring Tools (TM 9-243), full text at https://archive.org/details/use-and-care-of-hand-tools-and-measuring-tools-1983 : a scale torque wrench has a rod that runs parallel to the handle and moves across the scale; ratchet handles with a reversing lever. (3) A maker's operating instructions for a micro-adjusting click wrench, https://archive.org/details/searscraftsmanmicrotorkinstructions : ratchet drive head, grip (handle), housing, major and fine torque selector scales, lock collar, ratchet reversing lever; the handle is unlocked and turned to set the torque, read on a micrometer type scale. (4) A second maker's click wrench instructions, https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-174495 : knurled handle, lock knob, drive, direction switch. (5) A third maker's instruction sheet, https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-174438 : ratchet head, major units and minor units on the scales, unlock and lock the handle, springs inside. (6) A fourth maker's catalog, https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-174321 : square drive, reversible ratchet, scale, handle. (7) Wikipedia, Torque wrench, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torque_wrench : the click type's spring, preloaded by a screw thread, whose force is overcome at the set torque; the beam type's two beams, the indicator beam fixed at the head only and free to travel over a calibrated scale by the handle. (8) The Torque Wrench, Physics of Technology series (teaching module), https://archive.org/details/TheTorqueWrench : the handle (beam) flexes under force; scales and pointers show the torque. (9) US patents 3,165,014 (a torque release wrench: tubular handle, spring, ratchet head, square drive, scale marks) and 2,167,720 (a torque-indicating wrench: pointer, dial, handle), read on patents.google.com. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's tool, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A click-type torque wrench from the side, its tube cut open to show the spring, with the two scales enlarged below. The second drawing is a beam-type wrench, bent as it is when pulled.

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How a click-type wrench is set

Unlock the handle and turn it: that winds the spring inside the tube tighter or looser. The setting is the sum of two scales, the major scale along the tube and the fine scale round the edge of the handle. Lock the handle again. When the pull reaches the setting, the wrench clicks.

How a beam-type wrench shows torque

The beam bends as the handle is pulled. The pointer is fixed at the head only, so it stays straight, and its tip moves across the scale near the handle.

Names only on this page: the torque a bolt needs is given in the manual of the vehicle or machine.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a torque wrench?

A click-type wrench has a ratchet head with a reversing lever and a square drive, a tube with a spring inside, a handle that turns to set the torque, two scales and a lock. A beam-type wrench has a beam, a pointer and a scale.

What makes a torque wrench click?

A spring inside the tube holds a release mechanism in place. When the pull on the handle reaches the set torque, the spring's force is overcome, the handle gives a little and the wrench clicks.

How do you read the scales on a torque wrench?

Add the two. The major scale along the tube gives the larger steps, and the fine scale round the edge of the handle gives the amount between them. It is read the way a micrometer is.

What is the pointer on a beam torque wrench?

A thin rod fixed to the head and free at its other end. It stays straight while the beam bends, so its tip shows the torque on the scale near the handle.