Mgnu
Well-known member
Would also love to know this answer. Was about to spring for all new ratchet set, and a new flex head ratchet set. I was going to cheap out and go Gearwrench, but if Proto comes out with em, I'll wait and save up.
Coming Soon Mac Tools Fine Tooth Pear Head Ratchets.
- Thread starter Bryanthegreat
- Start date
Would also love to know this answer. Was about to spring for all new ratchet set, and a new flex head ratchet set. I was going to cheap out and go Gearwrench, but if Proto comes out with em, I'll wait and save up.
Spudland_Dave
Well-known member
I hear what your sayin..BUT IMHO, in terms of coarse tooth ratchets I'd have to say that the MAC design was probably one of the smoothest/most trouble free rats ever...I can understand why they didnt replace it sooner. And if anything this is a blessing in disguise...if MAC would have released this 5 years ago it probably would have been some import. This is a design everybody should be happy with.
I know I will have my name on the list to get one ASAP.
From what I gather from my MAC Guy, I am not so sure there will be a Proto Version. From what he told me, alot of Franchisee's got VERY upset and bent about the air Impacts being rebranded Proto...they were told it wouldnt happen again. Look at the 20V Cordless Impact...no secret its got some Yellow blood in it, but it will be a MAC Exclusive, dont wait for a yellow one.
I think what will happen is as new revisions/versions are released you'll see todays flagships being "rebranded" for the other market.
Farmall450
Well-known member
Brownsfan
Well-known member
I really wish I had a Mac dealer. I really want to try some of their stuff.
Despite what your guy thinks in my opinion its essentially a certainty there will be Proto versions. Probably just fewer models {no comfort grips for one), similar to the 88s between Armstrong and Matco.
Dealers should just be happy they're getting some nice new domestic made products after some pretty stagnant times. Personally I think its fantastic, even if its at the expense of shared R&D with Proto.
Not for nothing but most guys in automotive garages probably haven't even heard of Proto and Proto doesn't have a truck where you can hand your tools over for replacement/rebuild. If those guys were all about saving money they wouldn't be buying off the truck in the first place.
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bobcatdan
Well-known member
From what I have seen, proto and Mac share very little. Their tool boxes are basically the same and there is a handful of tools, but overall they are pretty separate.
Spudland_Dave
Well-known member
Possible...I couldnt say for certian either way...but the way he said it was the future within Stanley/MAC/Proto was going to be more like SO/Williams in that the new/latest/greatest would be rolled out as MAC...then in a few years time once the newness is wore off or they release a new version then they will share the older version with Proto.
I'm merely the middle man here...to be fair, the only reason I believe my guy as much as I do is he has Proto/Blackhawk/etc.. on his truck too..I can get the MAC or Proto 1/2" Air Impact off his truck no problem.
I've never seen a Proto box...is it a TECH or Macsimizer?
bobcatdan
Well-known member
Proto rebadges pretty every box series Mac offers. They also have a several different drawer arrangement for box style. Proto offers up to the 67" double bank. They are probably the best kept tool box secret out there.
Actually a number of Proto boxes look to be made by Waterloo.
Many sockets are identical across the brands, MAC has adopted Proto's wrenches, Proto has MACs newest impacts, both have the new screwdrivers. Both have benefited from injections of Facom. I could go on but actually to cut straight to the point both lines are made in, quite literally, the same buildings so naturally many things will be shared.
Consolidating production between the brands was one of their goals during MACs past financial woes.
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Conductor562
Well-known member
Interesting.. That Bevel around the housing edge is similar to the GW Xp's and I believe Apex has a factory in Dallas.
SBD has a hand tool factory in Dallas too. They new ratcheting combos are made there.
bobcatdan
Well-known member
Proto offers their version of mac's economizer, tech and macismizer. Proto offers many more options in the 26" line then Mac. Proto and Mac also share the new road box. I will agree that over the last few years, more and more is being shared between the two, but for everything that is the same, there is more that is different, at least right now. In the future with Mac looking like they learned their leason with out sourceing and today's lean production methods, I can see the lines blurring more. As to the new ratchet being sold under the proto name, only time will tell.
Conductor562
Well-known member
Now keep in mind this is coming from a Proto junkie, but the suggestion that Proto gets Mac's previous gen stuff once Mac is done with it is just not true. Experience tells me Mac gets about a 6 month head start on shared products.
There are lots of products geared toward the automotive market that Proto doesn't offer, likewise there are lots of industrial geared Proto products Mac doesn't offer.
Proto is a big name, top tier, industrial market king. I'd bet the farm Proto pulls in more more money for SBD than Mac does. Between the military, government, and damn near every industrial outfit in America, Proto is the bread and butter of the SBD hand tool lines, make no mistake about it. That's a lot of the reason why Mac was seemingly kicked to the back burner for the last several years. There is a new focus coming on Mac, but it isn't coming at Proto's expense. Rest assured of that.
There are lots of products geared toward the automotive market that Proto doesn't offer, likewise there are lots of industrial geared Proto products Mac doesn't offer.
Proto is a big name, top tier, industrial market king. I'd bet the farm Proto pulls in more more money for SBD than Mac does. Between the military, government, and damn near every industrial outfit in America, Proto is the bread and butter of the SBD hand tool lines, make no mistake about it. That's a lot of the reason why Mac was seemingly kicked to the back burner for the last several years. There is a new focus coming on Mac, but it isn't coming at Proto's expense. Rest assured of that.
rockinacummins
Well-known member
Those are cool! I'm impressed. Mac may still have a little life left!
Spudland_Dave
Well-known member
Conductor...we are both speculating (Fun Discussion BTW)...I hear what your saying and it could very well pan out that way...BUT SO/Williams apparently has no problem with the "old stuff is Williams"...you want a Dual80..no problem we'll sell you one with a SnapOn rollmark on it. I'm looking at it from a "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" perspective. What you say is true of the past...with all the changes, will it be the future?
From a Marketing perspective, theres no real benefit to offering the latest & greatest ratchet to a huge industrial corporation...all the purchasing dept cares about is ordering X amount at Z price and cutting a PO. For the same reason Green/Orange/Special colored tools mean nothing to Tool Cribs and such. You may convince a Technician or tool junkie like us here we need the new 400 tooth Green Handled triple flex Ratchet but industry doesnt really care. They may care about COO to satisfy some union rules, or contract rules, etc.. but thats all.
Maybe SBD will do the same...who really knows. Either way we can all agree there are some changes going on...and I think we can all agree they are looking to be going in a positive direction.
From a Marketing perspective, theres no real benefit to offering the latest & greatest ratchet to a huge industrial corporation...all the purchasing dept cares about is ordering X amount at Z price and cutting a PO. For the same reason Green/Orange/Special colored tools mean nothing to Tool Cribs and such. You may convince a Technician or tool junkie like us here we need the new 400 tooth Green Handled triple flex Ratchet but industry doesnt really care. They may care about COO to satisfy some union rules, or contract rules, etc.. but thats all.
Maybe SBD will do the same...who really knows. Either way we can all agree there are some changes going on...and I think we can all agree they are looking to be going in a positive direction.
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Conductor562
Well-known member
I agree, great discussion.
You're right, Industrial customers don't care about the latest, greatest, ratchet, and as a result this may be one tool where we see the trend of shared hardline stuff vanish.
Mac has been SBD's ******* stepchild for the last several years. Like an 800 pound gorilla they fed just enough to keep alive. There certainly appears to be a wind of change starting to blow though. SBD can't really expect to keep selling people the exact same tool they can get from Proto for half price and nobody ever catch on. Mac seems to be trying to turn things around though. They actually sent some of the new cordless line out to our blog for review, which was unheard of for a truck brand in the past (Check it out HERE if you like).
I like Mac. I recently purchased the TD117COMBOS T&D Set and the SPMR357B ratcheting screwdriver set, both of which I feel are some of the more comprehensive sets on the market.
I really hope Mac gets back on track. God knows it's about time.
Spudland_Dave
Well-known member
Precisely...especially when virtually every phone in the US has internet capabilites...
Speaking of cordless impacts I've got my eyes on the BWP050 MAC 20v Cordless 1/2" impact...not so much because I want one, but more along the lines of that is currently an exclusive design...if we see a Yellow one this year, we will know I was wrong.
In regards tot he AWP050 Air impact...there ARE some slight differences between the MAC & Proto..my driver illustrated them all to me when I was hassling him about buying a Proto for less then the MAC..small trivial things like Trigger guard, tether provisions, and a couple others. in the end tho...the guts and performance are the same.
There seems to be some grain of truth to the no poaching the other brand sales...you would have thought it would be SIMPLE for SBD to mold a 20vMax Dewalt in MAC red, but they didnt...was just on the MAC truck yesterday and no problem buying a 20V max drill off the truck, BUT its yellow and says DeWalt...pricing was competitive.
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Conductor562
Well-known member
The Mac cordless stuff is nice, much nicer looking than the stuff that typically comes off the truck too. I'd bet next year we see it top 1000 ft. lbs. of breakaway torque like the IR and Milwaukee Fuel though.
As for the air guns, you also get a rubber boot with the Mac, but there isn't one available for the Proto at all. The tethering ring is removable though. I have mine on there, but you never notice it.
As for the air guns, you also get a rubber boot with the Mac, but there isn't one available for the Proto at all. The tethering ring is removable though. I have mine on there, but you never notice it.
1950mercury
Well-known member
I think proto will sell them. They sell the new mac screwdrivers that came out not to lonh ago they are just a different color. The only advantage to buying mac is the easy warranty if you have a truck coming buy every week
KamiCrit
Well-known member
Its been a month, any news on this?
superautobacs
Well-known member
According to driver, ETA is fall of 2014
Brownsfan
Well-known member
I wonder if Proto will have a version of this as well. I just bought a set of the Duratek screwdrivers for WAY less than the MAC
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Go to mactools.com download the full line catalog, go to the ratchet section, you'll a couple of pages dedicated to these 90 tooth ratchets complete with part numbers.
Are those 45 tooth proto ratchets a fairly new design? I have 3/8 and 1/4" proto fine tooth ratchets with red Mac style handles. They are a bit older, and I like the ratchet feel, but the damn reverse levers have a mind of their own, if you spin the ratchet too fast, it will change direction.
Cool to see Mac finally has a new ratchet design. My Mac guy barely deals with their ratchets anymore. He mostly sells SK and gear wrench.
For a while I was grabbing proto stuff because most of it was identical to Mac but cheaper. I have proto 3/8 metric long Allen sockets which look the same as my Mac short ones. I have a few proto ratchets which use Mac rebuild kits too... And my Mac guy has no problem fixing them for me.
When are they going to bring some facom stuff onto the Mac trucks? Facom has some great stuff
Cool to see Mac finally has a new ratchet design. My Mac guy barely deals with their ratchets anymore. He mostly sells SK and gear wrench.
For a while I was grabbing proto stuff because most of it was identical to Mac but cheaper. I have proto 3/8 metric long Allen sockets which look the same as my Mac short ones. I have a few proto ratchets which use Mac rebuild kits too... And my Mac guy has no problem fixing them for me.
When are they going to bring some facom stuff onto the Mac trucks? Facom has some great stuff
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
The proto premium pearhead 45 tooth ratchets have been out for more than a few years now. The red handled Proto ratchet you're talking about came from the 1990's. It was a copy of Mac's Big Dawg line of 60 tooth ratchets. I'm not really sure why they weren't more popular than they were.
Actually, there's more than a few Facom items found on today's Mac truck. palm control ratchets, precision torque combination wrenches (Facom 440 series), digital torque wrenches, and some specialty tools are a few of the Facom clones branded Mac available.
The precision torque are facoms? Wow, I saw a set and and thought they were just another Chinese tool.
Where does Mac get their current ratcheting flex wrenches? I had he old square beam (import) ones and my 12mm stripped out. I warrantied it and they gave me a totally different style wrench, which kind of resembles those precision torque wrenches
Where does Mac get their current ratcheting flex wrenches? I had he old square beam (import) ones and my 12mm stripped out. I warrantied it and they gave me a totally different style wrench, which kind of resembles those precision torque wrenches
Conductor562
Well-known member
The proto premium pearhead 45 tooth ratchets have been out for more than a few years now. The red handled Proto ratchet you're talking about came from the 1990's. It was a copy of Mac's Big Dawg line of 60 tooth ratchets. I'm not really sure why they weren't more popular than they were.
Actually, there's more than a few Facom items found on today's Mac truck. palm control ratchets, precision torque combination wrenches (Facom 440 series), digital torque wrenches, and some specialty tools are a few of the Facom clones branded Mac available.
I never understood why the 45T Proto Big Dawgs never caught on either. They were discontinued in 2009 IIRC, and the repair kits were gone by 2011 or so.
If I were betting, I'd guess the 90T Mac's are a dual pawl version of the current 45T Proto XL premium pear heads. If so, these will be killer rats. The XL's are smooth and tough as nails.
Well if you used the big dawg/proto ratchet, you would see why people don't like them I think. Like I said, on mine, if you break the fastener loose then free wheel the ratchet by spinning the socket or extension, the pawl switches direction for some reason
Conductor562
Well-known member
I only have 6 or 7 of them, but never had that issue. Most of the issues with them were related to the spring, but surely that's something that could've been fixed. They were nice ratchets when they worked.
AustinG
Well-known member
1950mercury
Well-known member
Coming in 2014.....its August has anyone been able to buy one yet
97tbird
Well-known member
nooope. I keep asking my MAC guy and he has no clue.
Maybe they can't decide on a price point??? I wonder if the existing ratchet line up will drop in price once the new ones are available. Then again those might get discontinued eventually hence is why I have a small hoard of rebuild kits stashed away.
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
It would be nice if on the updated web site, the pictures of the new ratchets and the text description actually matched. 
I fear there might be production/functionality issues. I can't really think of another reason to delay their release. Price point wouldn't be an issue since they would need to keep it close to what their competition sells for.
I don't think they build anticipation any higher.
I fear there might be production/functionality issues. I can't really think of another reason to delay their release. Price point wouldn't be an issue since they would need to keep it close to what their competition sells for.
I don't think they build anticipation any higher.