A shear wrench is the electric tool that tightens a tension control bolt and snaps its splined tail off at the design tension, which is why steel crews hire one rather than calibrate a torque wrench every morning. Day rates sit around $60 to $110 for a standard unit. The wearing parts are yours, and they are the line people forget.
The tool tightens and inspects in one motion
An inner socket grips the spline on the end of the bolt while an outer socket turns the nut. When the joint reaches tension the spline shears off, and the snapped tail on the deck is the visible evidence that the bolt was pulled up. That is the reason a hired shear wrench beats an impact gun on structural steel.
Match the tool to the bolt diameter
Shear wrenches are sized by bolt, commonly in three ranges covering roughly half inch through one and an eighth inch diameters. A tool set up for smaller bolts will stall on the big ones and a heavy unit is punishing to hold overhead all day. Tell the yard the bolt sizes on the drawing and how much of the work is above shoulder height.
Sockets are consumables, not accessories
Inner and outer sockets wear and split, and a crew running a few hundred bolts can go through several. Some yards sell them over the counter and charge for what you use, others expect you to supply your own. Confirm which before the truck leaves, because a site with no spare inner socket is a stopped crew.
Power on the deck decides the day
These are corded tools drawing serious current, so the hire is only useful if there is a supply that will carry it. A long undersized extension cord is the usual cause of a tool that keeps tripping. Plan the temporary supply and the cord gauge with the same care as the tool booking.
Questions people ask about shear wrench rental
Is a shear wrench the same as an impact wrench?
No. An impact wrench hammers a nut round and tells you nothing about the tension in the bolt. A shear wrench turns steadily and stops by snapping the bolt tail at a known load, so the joint is tightened and verified in the same action.
Can I rent one for a weekend job?
Yes, and yards that serve steel erectors usually price a weekend as one day out and one day back. If the job is a handful of bolts, ask whether the fabricator supplying the tension control bolts will lend a tool, because some do.
What if the spline will not shear?
Usually the joint has not pulled up tight, often because the plies are not drawn together or the bolt has been left sitting and the coating has changed. Stop and look at the joint rather than leaning harder on the tool, and never grind the tail off to fake a completed bolt.