Mac Ratchets?

[cody1325]

I am getting ready to warranty an oldish Mac X8R 3/8 drive next week--in addition to being stripped/broken, it was pretty rusty and beat up. I asked the sales rep a couple months back before I re-located it; and he said that he'd try to get it warrantied despite the poor condition. I don't know if you can even get a rebuild kit for it, and he said that replacement was more likely than rebuild for it

I'm perfectly happy with my hodgepodge of decent ratchets (Blackhawk mostly--the easiest to clean and maintain in my view--but SK are great too); so this is likely to be my first tool truck ratchet. Curious on how Mac's ratchets (and sockets) hold up. I've been pretty pleased with my Mac screwdrivers that I bought a few months back when visiting a relative's shop.

 

[Wamsutta]

Where'd you get that ratchet from?

 

[mreisner]

I had a Mac ratchet that the kit was no longer available for and the guy I deal with replaced it with a half inch rotohead ratchet as I needed one that had a quick release on it and that's the only thing he had comparable. I am very happy with it and the service that he gave me. I'm not a normal customer of his I just meet him in a town about 30 minutes away as our local guy is pretty much retired and is hard to track down. This guy that I'm dealing with now is terrific if I text him he lets me know where he's at and if I order something he doesn't have he lets me know where he's going to be and if I can't be there I have a couple of friends that he stops at their shops and he will leave the tool with them. I'm pretty much all snap on but Mac has been cutting some pretty good deals lately and this guy is top-notch service and he has earned my business. Best bet is to be nice to the guy and he will be nice to you.

 

[cody1325]

Where'd you get that ratchet from?

Good question. Even I'm not really sure. When my Granddad was a parts manager for a coal company, Mac came to his work, and he did buy stuff off the truck as-needed. Story goes that it was found in a piece of mining equipment that was getting rebuilt. Could've been one I found on an old neighboring farm we leased (mostly to put up hay on)--but I'm pretty sure that was my Proto 1/2 drive (with an even worse (badly pitted) frame, but strangely still functional and close to mint on the inside.

 

[bob15]

Nothing wrong with that ratchet. Just rebuild it and use it.

 

[KnurledNut]

Trading up would get you a more modern ratchet with higher tooth count and that sounds like the best choice. But if its sentimental and you want to repair it, New Britain made those for MAC. There are several other brands that use the same mechanism that could be donor ratchets, purchased off eBay reasonably.
If thats something that interests you, we can help get you some info about options.

For starters, here is a Blackhawk I own:

 

[bonneyman]

I'm with KnurledNut on this one. Perhaps you could find a donor rat where the guts would interchange, but if you get a newer, higher count tool then there's nothing to cry about.

 

[Fedwrench]

You must be a real good MAC customer, or your sales rep is a saint
That's easily a 50 year old ratchet that's been ridden hard and put up wet. None of my dealers past or present would warranty that. You're a lucky man

 

[3baygarage]

You can probably find a Husky version of this ratchet for a buck at a garage sale, if you want to try and swap the guts.

 

[cody1325]

You must be a real good MAC customer, or your sales rep is a saint
That's easily a 50 year old ratchet that's been ridden hard and put up wet. None of my dealers past or present would warranty that. You're a lucky man

I'm lucky I have a relative that owns a pretty successful shop that I know well--and he does a TON of business with his Mac rep. Wouldn't really try it with my Snap-On guy since in that case, it's a shop I do a lot of business with, but don't know the owner that well.

Next Tuesday, I'll see what he says for sure once I actually present the ratchet. If it's not covered--I'll tear it apart and find a rebuild kit for another New Britain-made ratchet (kept wondering why my Blackhawk 3/8 was a near doppelganger--they were both made in the same factory!). Personally, I love this design, as it's really easy to maintain. Quickest to disassemble and reassemble that I have.

If it is covered (and he alluded also to being able to buy a new one at a discount if it wasn't), I'm definitely going to try one with a higher tooth count. Most of my ratchets are old 30-tooth designs.

 

[vssjim]

If you have to just send it to Columbus Ohio Mac HQ they basically will replace anything to keep customers happy going way above what they would accept from a dealer for returns.