Who Makes What - Cordless Tools (Updated for 2020) Who owns your favorite brands and also who makes them? We do a deep dive to get behind the curtain and dis. Mac's Hardware offers a comprehensive selection of tools & hardware for contractors or home improvers, selected using strict quality standards.

1. Mac Cordless Desktop Copy And Paste Tools
2. Mac Tools Cordless Grease Gun
3. Mac Cordless Impact Wrench
4. Who Makes Mac Cordless Tools

The reviewer appreciated that this impact wrench was comparable in power to an air tool and could be used outside the shop.

TheMac Tools BL-Spec 1/2' Brushless Impact Wrench, No. BWP151, is a heavy duty, high-torque tool suitable for the automotive shop professional. This impact wrench has the capability of 1,200 lb-ft of max reverse breakaway torque and 700 lb-ft of forward max torque. The tool features BL-Spec brushless motor technology that provides a long runtime on a single battery charge and no brushes to replace. Manufactured with a glass-filled nylon housing, the BWP151 is built to withstand corrosive automotive solvents and fluids common to the automotive repair environment. A three-speed selector allows for slow reverse and precision forward control in low-rpm speed 1 (0-400 rpm), mid-rpm speed 2 (1,200 rpm) and high-rpm speed 3 (1,900 rpm). Since October 2016, the BWP151 has been made in Charlotte, North Carolina with global materials.

The review

Mac Cordless Desktop Copy And Paste Tools

After using the Mac Tools 1/2” Impact Wrench, No. BWP151, for a variety of jobs both in and out of the shop, Daniel McGuinn, an independent tool reviewer with Real Tool Reviews, appreciated that the tool was easy to use, comparable in power to an air tool and could be used outside the garage.

“The tool was extremely easy,” McGuinn says. “Novice to pro will have no issues. Charge the battery, install the battery, select the power mode and get to work.”

McGuinn used this tool for three months in his work truck for miscellaneous repairs off the jobsite, including flat tires, rotations and equipment assembly. During that time, he noted that he left the battery installed the entire time, and the tool did not drain it when not in use. The power level of the battery remained the same from the end of one job to the beginning of the next. He also appreciated the rubber bumpers around the tool and the battery, which prevented it from sliding around the truck toolbox and protected it when setting it down on asphalt or concrete. “During the testing phase in the truck, we did not run into any jobs it could not complete with ease,” McGuinn says.

In the garage, McGuinn normally uses pneumatic tools because they offer size and weight advantages, and air is readily available in the shop. However, he notes that during a rear main seal and suspension repair, he used the Mac 1/2” Impact Wrench instead.

“’Cutting the hose’ saved us a lot of time and hassle that we would normally run into,” he says. “Having an all-in-one package that runs solely on battery was a timesaver, and the other guys were surprised that it had basically the same power levels as the high-end [competitive] unit that they typically use.”

McGuinn also noted an instance that a customer needed a last-minute tire rotation, but the garage was already full. He was able to use the tool outside in the parking lot to remove all of their lugnuts, rotate the tires and then snug them up before torqueing them with a torque wrench. “The low-power mode is ideal for lower-torque applications where you don’t want to accidentally damage a fastener. But in half a second, it can secure a nut, bolt or lugnut so it will not go anywhere. This was a very quick repair job that ended with a very happy customer,” McGuinn notes.

McGuinn’s only concern was that although the power level of the Mac 1/2” Impact Wrench was at or above most pneumatic impacts, it was considerably larger and heavier than other tools. He found that the convenience of not needing to run air hoses, wait for compressors to air up and not being limited to garage use only was offset by the tool’s larger size and weight.

“If they can pack the entire package into something 50 percent of its current size and retain the power levels, it will be a ‘must have’ for any professional mechanic,” McGuinn concludes.

Who Makes What Tools

Last update: December 17, 2004

The following excerpts were posted on one of the mailing list I subscribe to. I though the information was worth sharing.

I've tried to contact the original authors to get their permission, but did not get any replies to my emails. Since this information is available via one of several archives, I feel that I can present it here. However, the authors names have been removed from the discussions. (If they would like credit - please contact me.)

Someone wrote [in part]:

... but I never could figure out who makes the [Craftsman] hand tools.

To which someone else replied:

I'm not the final word on tools by any means, but since I work in the business, I've learned a little bit about it. Okay, here's more than you ever wanted to know.

Lowes now (as of earlier this year) is selling a line of Mechanics Tools called Kobalt which is made by Snap-On. They are good tools.

Mac Tools Cordless Grease Gun

Home Depot's Husky brand is made by Stanley Mechanics Tools, a division of the Stanley Works. Husky are also good tools and have a good lifetime warranty (they'll even replace your broken Craftsman with an equivalent Husky).

Until 1994 or so, Stanley also made Sears Craftsman tools. Sears Craftsman is now made by Danaher Tools. They beat out Stanley on the contract over price. Danaher also manufactures MatCo Tools, the third largest player in the Mobile Automotive industry (behind MAC and Snap-On). Odds are, if you own any Craftsman tools that are older than about five years ago, they were made by Stanley in plants in Dallas, Texas, Witchita Falls, Texas, and Sabina, Ohio.

Stanley also owns MAC Tools and manufactures MAC tools in the same plants. Now here's the kicker: MAC Tools, Proto Tools (a very expensive industrial brand), Husky Tools, and, (prior to five or so years ago) Craftsman Tools are all made from the same forgings in the same plants. Proto is unique because it goes through addtional testing and certification because it is used by NASA, the military, and industrial customers (including General Motors).

There are three MAJOR players in the USA mechanics tool business: Stanley, Danaher, and Snap-On. Stanley and Danaher (almost identical in sales revenue at about $28 billion each) are the biggest followed by Snap-On. Each of these three manufacture and sell tools under a variety of brands (there are many other brands that Stanley makes that I haven't even named). The quality between these three manufacturers is roughly the same. I know its a bit of a let-down to hear that, but its a simple fact.

There are a hand full of other minor players (Vermont American, etc) and an endless list of Taiwanese import tool companies (some of which Stanley own as well as Danaher to serve the lower end consumer import brands at WalMart, etc). How do I know all of this? I work for Stanley Mechanics Tools, specifically with the Proto Industrial brand. I personally do not think that MAC, MatCo, or Snap-On branded tools are worth the extra markup since they use the same forgings and manufacturing processes that make Husky and Kobalt and pre-1994 Craftsman. Where you need to pay attention are things like ratchets and torque wrenches. There are different specifications of ratchets and you do pay for the difference. Some mechanics require a finer, more precise ratcheting mechanism than guys like me who just bang around in the garage on the weekends.

By the way, Metwrench is basically considered a 'gimick' infomercial tool brand that is not considered as a serious competitor to Danaher, Snap-On, or Stanley. Then again, IBM once didn't see Microsoft as a serious force in the personal computer business. Hmmmm....

Mac Cordless Impact Wrench

Then there was this discourse on FACOM brand tools:

> FACOM has been around forever. French company, says 'American' in the name
> though I forget the whole acronym.

FACOM is Franco-Americaine de Construction d'Outillage Mecanique. French for 'French-American Mechanical Tool Manufacturing'. Got points in my french class for that.

> It's now one of the largest tool conglomerates in Europe.
>
> SK, I think, is an American company that recently has had a large part of
> its stock purchased by FACOM.

FACOM owns S-K outright. You'll notice (if you look through the catalogs from preceeding years) that the tools are becoming more and more alike. The S-K 'pro' screwdrivers are now FACOM ergotwist screwdrivers. The 'tuff1' ratchets are S-K pro ratchet handles avec FACOM innards. FACOM's ratcheting flare wrench now has S-K stamped on the side of it. I don't like it because we could get FACOM tools from S-K dealers for over 10 years, but now they're getting more and more reluctant to give us FACOM stuff, they'd rather sell S-K stuff. Which is why you get S-K catalogs instead of FACOM. If you specifically request (demand) a FACOM catalog, you get their _american_ catalog, which is abbreviated, along with a note to contact Griot's Garage. I've asked a French friend to get me a French market FACOM catalog, as they have all the good stuff that hasn't yet been absorbed into the S-K line. Ultimate Garage is a FACOM dealer as well as Griots, and I've been told (by richard?) they've got a catalog, dunno if it's FACOM's, but I'll order something and find out.

I was also wondering what the deal was with the S-K foundry? Presumably they still make some stuff stateside? No? I know there are others not mentioned, Cornwell has a foundry in Ohio, I think?

I'd kinda doubt that Williams uses the _exact_ same dies for Koalt and Snap-On. I compared the Kobalt combo wrench to one of my Snap-Ons, and they aren't the same. The Kobalt handle is pretty much rectangular in cross-section, and really does hurt your hand when you pull hard. The Snap-On is more rounded. As well, the Kobalt is visibly looser on the fastener. Maybe these are Snap-On rejects? Can't explain the handle differences, though. The breaker bars seem to share the same grip, though, it just seems the kobalt doesn't have those nifty machined indentations at the base.

Who Makes Mac Cordless Tools

I know Stanley owns Mac and Blackhawk (didn't know about Husky), but the Blackhawk stuff doesn't seem similar to the Mac stuff. These look awfully different to be from the same dies, shape wise. So the price difference is different steel in the better tools? Surely they can't be charging Mac prices for better plated Blackhawk stuff?

> FACOM also owns (large parts of) USAG (Italian?) and Beissbarth...

didn't know this. I'd like to find some USAG tools, just to try them.

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