Learned something about a mac torque wrenches today...

[goodspeed]

So, long story short, I work at an Advance Auto Parts store in Tennessee. One of our regular commercial accounts sold a Mac 1/2" drive torque wrench to our store manager, who immediately tried torquing down headbolts to 200 ft lbs on a diesel truck and broke something in the head.

He brought it into the store, and I disassembled it to see what the issue was. Well, he had broken the tips of two of the teeth on it off.

Well, the commercial account who sold it to him called MAC, and they told him that Performance Tool brand makes their torque wrenches.

I took one of the Performance Tool branded torque wrenches off our shelf that had the same style head, and swapped the broken parts, as well as bottom plate, off the new one onto the MAC. Everything fit and worked great.

I'm hoping that the internals in the handle are different, because I don't know how I feel about 35 dollar torque wrench parts being the same as the 400 dollar MAC one. I even took the wrenches home and mic'ed them, and they came out the same.

Just thought you guys might find that little tidbit interesting.

 

[Hiball]

So, long story short, I work at an Advance Auto Parts store in Tennessee. One of our regular commercial accounts sold a Mac 1/2" drive torque wrench to our store manager, who immediately tried torquing down headbolts to 200 ft lbs on a diesel truck and broke something in the head.

He brought it into the store, and I disassembled it to see what the issue was. Well, he had broken the tips of two of the teeth on it off.

Well, the commercial account who sold it to him called MAC, and they told him that Performance Tool brand makes their torque wrenches.

I took one of the Performance Tool branded torque wrenches off our shelf that had the same style head, and swapped the broken parts, as well as bottom plate, off the new one onto the MAC. Everything fit and worked great.

I'm hoping that the internals in the handle are different, because I don't know how I feel about 35 dollar torque wrench parts being the same as the 400 dollar MAC one. I even took the wrenches home and mic'ed them, and they came out the same.

Just thought you guys might find that little tidbit interesting.

Pictures? I wasnt aware that "Performance Tool" Made anything, I figured they where just a re-brander.

 

[86k10]

I think MAC is a shady company myself. It wouldn't suprise me.

 

[goodspeed]

I'll try and get photos, but the owner of said torque wrench has already taken it home, so that's easier said than done.

The donor wrench is still at work with the MAC gear wheel (whatever it's called), so I'll get some photos of that the next time I'm at work if you'd like.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Part of tool trucks price is convenience. Same reason mini marts are much more expensive than grocery stores.

 

[RV77]

I think MAC is a shady company myself. It wouldn't suprise me.

Exactly and IMO they are only a step up from harbour freight

 

[Hiball]

I'll try and get photos, but the owner of said torque wrench has already taken it home, so that's easier said than done.

The donor wrench is still at work with the MAC gear wheel (whatever it's called), so I'll get some photos of that the next time I'm at work if you'd like.

No biggie... I wouldnt put anything past MAC, Its not breaking news that Tool companies Re-brand certain tools especially in regards to Torque wrenches, Im not aware of any Truck brand who is there own OEM. I suspect the closest would be CDI in regards to Snap on but in the same breath they are a Division of Snap on. On a Side Note.. China is Great about Copying products etc.... Patent Laws need not apply.. LOL

 

[Hiball]

Exactly and IMO they are only a step up from harbour freight

They still make some Damn Nice "Hardline" tools....

 

[goodspeed]

At least with harbor freight I don't have to chase down a truck to warranty a broken tool.

 

[goodspeed]

No biggie... I wouldnt put anything past MAC, Its not breaking news that Tool companies Re-brand certain tools especially in regards to Torque wrenches, Im not aware of any Truck brand who is there own OEM. I suspect the closest would be CDI in regards to Snap on but in the same breath they are a Division of Snap on. On a Side Note.. China is Great about Copying products etc.... Patent Laws need not apply.. LOL

Well what surprised me was that the MAC rep actually specifically told our account that Performance Tool was the company that manufactured the MAC ones.

 

[Sh1thead]

Mac also sells facom (I think) rebrand torque wrenches which I have been happy with ... sometimes it really does pay to do some research.

 

[mikew13]

Another reason why I strongly dislike Mac. They are a far cry from what they used to be. I believe people are getting ripped off by this shady company hiding their huge profit margin by selling tools which cost very little to produce compared to Snap On.

 

[SO/PW newbie]

Looking at their site, it does look like one of their models has the typical Tiawanesse ratchet head on it, (same as the HF and Perf Tools) but it does look like the handle is better.

 

[OEXL16B]

Is this the Performance torque wrench that was on your shelf that you took the parts from?

http://www.wilmarcorp.com/item.aspx?iid=130

 

[goodspeed]

The handle is definitely better in design. No doubt about that. It just doesn't help you when the head breaks. Lol

 

[OEXL16B]

Is this the MAC torque wrench?

 

[goodspeed]

Looks like it. If not, it's a VERY similar model.

 

[OEXL16B]

MAC torque wrenches have always been either made by Proto (which is a division of Stanley) or KD (which is a division of Danaher Tool Group). The round head MAC torque wrenches were always the ones made by KD. The pear head torque wrenches were always made by Proto.

This is what I think happened:

The Performance torque wrench on the shelf at Advance Auto is using a counterfeit Proto ratchet head copied directly from Proto by the Chinese. But the handle portion of the Performance torque wrench is not the same as the handle portion of the Proto torque wrench. My guess is the Chinese got away with copying the ratchet head, but coudn't get away with copying the handle.

 

[goodspeed]

That sounds good and all, but the rep over the phone specifically told us that the mac ones were produced by performance tool. Plus, even the bottom plate that the screws mount to was interchangeable.

I also find it hard to believe that the chinese would counterfeit the outside of the head to the exact same dimensions.

I've owned chinese knockoffs of a lot of stuff, and they're always off as far as dimensions and tolerances are concerned.

But either way, everyone's free to draw their own conclusions. I'm just relaying my experience with you fine folks. Lol

 

[goodspeed]

You are right on the handle, though. They were polar opposites.

 

[Jason280]

Wow, I didn't realize there was that much disdain for MAC tools!

 

[Hiball]

Wow, I didn't realize there was that much disdain for MAC tools!

All tool companies have Rebranded/Imported tools somewhere in there lineup, IMO Mac was probably one of the First ones who took it to the Next Level. Secondly, The Majority of GJ (including me) doesnt need Tool Truck service so they look at Mac prices and the Hatred pours out.. If the tool is Imported x2 on the hatred. I prefer to buy US made tools, Im not against Imports, Being a Import doesnt automatically mean its Junk. Im just not personally gonna Pay Top shelf price for Rebranded/Imports. Case and Point.. Cornwell has there fair share of Imports, There Hex/Torx bits for example. They are Just a bit higher than what you can find it from the OEM but still a bargain if you have access to a Truck that will take care of you and provide you with front door service.

Crazy Internets...

 

[AutoTek]

Exactly and IMO they are only a step up from harbour freight

Yeah right. MAC does rebrand tools like everyone else and does charge too much for their imports but their hardline hand tools are still very nice and WAY better than Harbor Freight tools.....

 

[AutoTek]

At least with harbor freight I don't have to chase down a truck to warranty a broken tool.

No but you might have to return a busted tool several times and time is money. 10 months ago my co-worker bought a 3/8 metric swivel impact socket set from HF just to see how they would hold up, he has had 2 of them go bad, the 14mm cracked twice and the 17mm just flat out came apart in pieces. I've had my MAC set since 1990 used 5 days a week and no problems at all.....

 

[goodspeed]

Well I personally usually stick with craftsman or the older us made kobalt. Not because their tools are higher quality, but because sears and lowes are both pretty close to me, and, even though I have my fair share of bluepoint, snapon, mac, etc tools, I wouldn't even know how to warranty one out. I'm assuming I'd have to send it off or something.

Then again, i've never had to warranty any of the BP, SO, or MAC stuff I own, which also says something.

I'm not a professional mechanic or anything, and I have multiples of pretty much every hand tool in my shop, so, if something does break, i'm not up **** creek, so to speak, but it is annoying when something does fail. Especially when it's a supposed higher quality tool.

 

[Provincial]

I always have my friend with an auto repair shop warranty my Snapon tools. Because he is a regular buyer, the truck takes good care of him. I've tried to warranty Snapon directly from the truck, but have not been satisfied with the customer service. I assume it is because I don't buy stuff from him on a regular basis.

 

[concealer404]

No but you might have to return a busted tool several times and time is money. 10 months ago my co-worker bought a 3/8 metric swivel impact socket set from HF just to see how they would hold up, he has had 2 of them go bad, the 14mm cracked twice and the 17mm just flat out came apart in pieces. I've had my MAC set since 1990 used 5 days a week and no problems at all.....

Until you try the same experiment with a new MAC set, it's an apples to orange anecdote that means nothing.