Screwed on eBay?

[Itzkwik]

Or does MAC make a cheap line of combo wrenches?
A few weeks ago I bought a set of MAC combo wrenches from Blacknwhitepit. First set of "good" wrenches, i.e. not Craftsman, that I've owned. The set he sent was in great shape, nice heavy weight, etc. The set didn't include the 9/16" or 7/16", so I bought them on eBay from different sellers. Got the 9/16"-same as my others. Got the 7/16" today and its a POS. Only the head is chrome. The body of the wrench is a matte finish. Also, it doesn't have made in USA stamped on the wrench and it weighs about half of what the others do. Almost looks like somebody took a HF wrench and stamped MAC on it. So, does, did, MAC make a cheap import line of combo wrenches?

 

[tweety652]

mac tools are for the most part no longer made in the usa. and that chrome head/ matte body is pretty common for their wrenches. look at the catalog online to see for yourself. btw mac is owned by stanley who also owns proto and blackhawk tools aswell.

 

[blueflowershorts]

i would talk to the seller about that. sounds sketchy to me

 

[Moltar]

mac tools are for the most part no longer made in the usa. and that chrome head/ matte body is pretty common for their wrenches. look at the catalog online to see for yourself. btw mac is owned by stanley who also owns proto and blackhawk tools aswell.

Macs hardline tools are still made in the USA. And I have never seen a chrome head/matte body wrench from Mac. It's not even in their catalog.

 

[Junkman]

I know that in the 1960's Snap-On made some matte finish handle and chrome finish heads on some of the wrenches. Not very common, but it might be the same thing.... a very old or very new wrench. Wasn't there a picture of the wrench in the auction? I look at the pictures much more closely than I look at the written description, since many eBay sellers just don't have a clue as to what they are selling, especially when it comes to tools.

 

[Itzkwik]

The seller's description stated no rust, just nice shiney chrome. Didn't look great in the picture, but I thought it was just dirty. Only had pic of one side of the wrench, so I did not notice the lack of made in USA on it. The lettering style of the MAC name is different than on the other wrenches, just block style lettering. Not being familiar with it, did they change the font type on newer wrenches? Just feels cheap compared to the others.
Not talking a lot of money here, just pisses me off that I didn't get what I thought I was buying.

 

[kartracer55]

Im guessing its a really old wrench if its legit. I have seen old MAC wrenches that have a matte finish on them. Matco had them too.

Jim

 

[wythors]

Ditto on the "old" part. That wrench looks to be 1960's or earlier and is legit.

And yes, Mac's hard parts are still made in the USA.

 

[Jbullfrog]

That is an older Mac. I have a set of salstus wrenches that look like that. I have sold alot of CL series wrenches as well. It is a similar finish to the standard Craftsman wrenches that have a mat finish and a smooth shiny head. If you don't like it, break it and find a truck to exchange it.

 

[ericthewrench]

I have seen a few old MAC wrenches that looked just like that. I would say it's at least 20 years old if not more.

 

[wilbilt]

I'd say 40 years. Clean it up and enjoy it for what it is.

 

[Deafautotech]

i like use old tools that wear by former or past mechanic who work on automotive long time ago. it make me feel like generation to be passing on... but i am first child to be deaf automotive mechanic in my family generation so i had to buy what i can afford....

 

[Itzkwik]

Thanks for the feedback. The finish I can live with. Did the old style wrenches not have made in USA stamped on them?

 

[wythors]

I honestly think that "back in the day", it was taken for granted that tools were made here.

 

[Junkman]

Back then, if it wasn't made in the USA, then it had to be stamped with the country of origin. Today, if it isn't specifically stamped Made in USA, you can safely assume that it comes from some other part of the world where neither you, nor anyone else you know has ever visited. I can remember when "made in Japan", meant junk cars...... today, "made in China" is the epitome of junk....

 

[-lecroix-]

actually, Made in India is worse than Made in China for me ...

 

[Junkman]

Just mentioning India to me is irritating. I got a call on Monday from the "local hospital" with someone who sounds like they are from India, and for the life of me, I can't understand what they are saying. I called the hospital and played back the message for the operator at the switchboard, and she had no idea of who or what it was about. I then called my doctors office and did the same thing, with the same results. No one seems to know who this person is, or what they were calling about, and the number that they gave to call back was only 9 digits, and started with 000! All that I can think about is that it has something to do with the billing for my last stay. If the hospital has outsourced the billing to India, they haven't informed the people in the billing office, nor any one else. I can't wait till they call back and I can ask them to take the marbles out of their mouth, and to speak slowly and clearly. Sorry for the rant, but I can't stand any more of this outsourcing to foreign countries!!!

 

[goodfellow]

Thanks for the feedback. The finish I can live with. Did the old style wrenches not have made in USA stamped on them?

I have several MAC sets like that -- 50's and 60's era. They are matte finish and do not have "Made in USA" on them.

I guess in those days it was assumed that all good tools were USA made

The steel that was used in these tools is of the highest quality -- it doesn't get any better.

 

[eschoendorff]

Just mentioning India to me is irritating. I got a call on Monday from the "local hospital" with someone who sounds like they are from India, and for the life of me, I can't understand what they are saying. I called the hospital and played back the message for the operator at the switchboard, and she had no idea of who or what it was about. I then called my doctors office and did the same thing, with the same results. No one seems to know who this person is, or what they were calling about, and the number that they gave to call back was only 9 digits, and started with 000! All that I can think about is that it has something to do with the billing for my last stay. If the hospital has outsourced the billing to India, they haven't informed the people in the billing office, nor any one else. I can't wait till they call back and I can ask them to take the marbles out of their mouth, and to speak slowly and clearly. Sorry for the rant, but I can't stand any more of this outsourcing to foreign countries!!!

Damn, that's funny but in a sad, irritating way.

 

[justinmc]

The steel that was used in these tools is of the highest quality -- it doesn't get any better.

Yeah I always get pissed if I bust a old craftsman socket or a snap-on wrench, etc. Cause even w/ the snap-on the stuff I get today isn't quite the quality the old stuff was. Yeah it might have a shinier finish but like you said.. the metal content isn't as high of a quality and well, ya know.

on the purchase though. I'd just toss it in the box and enjoy it for what it is. If you need a matching set you can always keep watching ebay for a newer all chrome piece.