Comments on: Hands-On: MAC Tools’ Foose Special Edition Tool & Box Set

By: Marvin

Marvin — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:31:19 +0000

Cornwell Hardline Tools are still made in the USA in Ohio. Thay are top quality, have a better warranty and are priced better than Mac, Matco, and Snap-on. Just setting the record straight!!

By: Kyle Marshall

Kyle Marshall — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:03:42 +0000

Hey so if anyone out there can help me out that would be great…I have the foose box and everything, and someone stole my keys so I now have no keys for my box, if anyone can help me out as to where to find replacements that would be great…Any info e-mail kwm9602@live.com

By: Jerry L

Jerry L — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:52:31 +0000

Mac profit? They’re in the red! Has been for four years now. My neghbor, a district manager for Mac has his resumes out…word is they’re about to fold. Half of their corporate office is now under the rule of Proto. They’ve lost more distributors in the past year than they’ve recruited. Statistically, one one Man Man in ten will ever make it past their first year after leaving the mac tool school.

By: Millard Grubb

Millard Grubb — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:17:25 +0000

I am indeed a critic when it comes to making a blog. I can say that
this one is very much well organized. The information was well delivered.
We totally can understand right-away what the message you are going to
convey to the readers.

What esle, This is a great post! So just keep up the good work and tell
the work the latest gossip, information, updates or everything under the sun
with mac. Here also a good thing about mac is that users also can earn money
or make money with there mac . Isn’t it great!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

By: CommonSense

CommonSense — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:58:08 +0000

Some of you guys really crack me up. It’s so narrow minded when mechanics get their undies all wadded in their crack if the tool in their hand is not Made in the U.S.A. It’s okay for your cell phone to be made in China, that high end TV you always wanted to be made in China, the computer you shopped for, the appliances that cook your food, even keep your “Bud” cold in that “frosty Dallas Cowboys mug” all made in China or Taiwan. No doubt your wardrobe is 90% made in China/Taiwan and other overseas countries. Probably have the parts and sub assemblies in your car – including the that Kicka$$ stereo, GPS, all made in China/Taiwan but when it comes to a chunk of metal, forged, shaped, polished and placed in your hand…it better be made in the USA or else… Some of you guys are really missing the point, or Snappy has you brainwashed and deep in your pockets…

By: Redbob

Redbob — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:50:57 +0000

Chinese-made is Chinese-made.
If you want good quality tools, you look for “Made in U.S.A.” on them.

Would you want someone working on your house/car/motorcycle if you saw a bunch of cheap junk in his toolbox?

By: Dustin

Dustin — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:07:02 +0000

Grace,

Mac had these specially made from their Stanley division a few years back. They produced a limited number of these and that was it. Mac has talked about bringing them back but with all the recent lay-offs at their HQ, things are looking bleak for any return, and even for us mac men…

By: grace

grace — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:31:29 +0000

hey everyone i need help i want to order the Mac tools’ Foose Special Edition Tool and Box Set but i can’t find the item number anywhere does anyone know where i could look it up?

By: Jerome

Jerome — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:38:43 +0000

ABBAS,

Try going to http://www.grainger.com. They have all kinds of tool boxes. As for this Chip Foose, the local Stanley-Proto rep made mention that Stanley is coming out with this again…same tools but no logo or branding. If you look closely, the ratchets are identical to Stanley ratchets. Price will be in the 200’s.

By: ABBAS BHANPURAWALA

ABBAS BHANPURAWALA — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:17:41 +0000

i am interested in purchasing empty metal tool boxes consisting of 3 and 5
compartments sizes 17″ long and 21″long. please give pictures and details
of sizes available and the prices.qty reqd-500-each size.

By: Justin

Justin — Thu, 01 May 2008 20:40:09 +0000

I have one of these. I was fortunate to pick on up from the Stanley/Mac tool site at Liquidation.com a year ago for $239.00.

They go up to 1″.

By: zach

zach — Thu, 01 May 2008 13:35:20 +0000

yea the pic leads you to believe that the socket sets go up to 1″ but the artical clearly states that the set only go up to 7/8″. so which one is it?

By: Sehmus Tas

Sehmus Tas — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:32:34 +0000

Thank you for the information. But could you please tell me, where I can get something similar, big tool boxes??
It is very important to because not much people sell tools like that.
Thanks for your effort……

By: MacManBill

MacManBill — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:10:31 +0000

Sehmus Tas,

These sold out over a year ago.

By: Sehmus Tas

Sehmus Tas — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:15:02 +0000

Hey you guys…
I´m from Germany, maybe i´m too blind to see, but i can´t find the price for that big tool box. Or better said, can one of you tell me where i can buy such a box??? I need it very soon for work.
That would be so great. Thank ya

By: Gary

Gary — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:31:30 +0000

Facom was acquired by Stanley Works last summer. Part of the deal was let SK go off and do their own thing. I’ve been able to find the Facom tool line at Grainger.

By: WA MAC

WA MAC — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 14:18:02 +0000

Facom is now owned by Stanley Works. Some of the Facom tools are starting to be sold with MAC branding.

By: Teacher

Teacher — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:56:52 +0000

Actually SK is no longer owned by Facom. SK is totally American owned.

By: aaron

aaron — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:28:56 +0000

Chip Foose fan or not, this is an awesome set. I wish stanley would make some more. I too got this at a trade show (in Orlando) last year for just over $300. I use them every weekend from honeydos to restoring my 1969 GTO and they’ve performed as well if not better than my Snapon and Craftsman tools!

By: JD

JD — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:30:48 +0000

I just realized the only difference between the foose set I bought and the one pictured is that mine does not have the white mac tools decal on the box yet the box and tools inside are identical!

By: JD

JD — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:52:56 +0000

I must say this chip foose set is real sturdy and held up better to rust than my Mac tools. My son left some out in the back yard while working on his bike. When I finally found them, my Mac knuckle saver” combo and adjustable wrench had rusted under the chrome plating but the foose dikes and sockets resisted the weather without any problems.

I bought my foose set at a trade show in Vegas over a year ago by Stanley Works, not mac tools. Reading this post, I got quite a deal - not $699.99 like one post said, I only paid $369.00. They had about a hundreds of sets and I learned they sold even cheaper on the last day so they didn’t have to ship them back.

By: JohnBoy

JohnBoy — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:57:56 +0000

WM Mac…Ditto, well almost. Somehow I think we may have crossed conversations on the internal Mac forum although I didn’t have nearly as much time on them as some. And I mean some…it appeared to be a select 2% of mac distributors who had the time to dwell in the forum while the remaining were out there pounding the pavement to keep their head above water. And even there, the support from mac was always the same words but never any action. I even remember posting a comment on equality tools – which someone else mentioned on tool monger – a dealer who sells mac tools exclusively on eBay for years with no resistance from Mac. The problem is, while we were in back order status, this person had plenty to sell on EBay. And guess what, I actually ordered from him just to keep a good customer happy. Boy was I surprised to have it show up FedEx – from the same location as the rest of my mac orders! Well, I got the shut up and color scolding , the post was deleted and I no longer had access to the forum. What kind of support is this??? Remember when S3 was selling mac tools on their website at half the cost of distributor net? A mistake they claimed? Come on, an item or two may have been a mistake but not when they cataloged and listed almost the complete mac tool line.

The advantage I had over other distributors was my retirement check from the Army and I didn’t finance my truck though Mac’s insane program. Yet, getting up a 4:30 AM to return home by 7:30 PM to unpack a stack of boxes by the barn door, restock and clean the truck, research tools for the customer often had me up past midnight and working through the weekends. Not to mention that unreliable MBA program they leave with you. Yes, I was pulling in the money and even put the local matco guy out of business while placing a huge hurt on Snappy. Heck, Snappy even offered to buy me out twice as did Matco! Yet the money I made didn’t offset the time lost from my family as my kids would say… “daddy’s always working”. Before it was “daddy’s always gone” (deployed).

The thought of going into business and not make a profit for 2-3 years is absurd in today’s declining economy. That’s beyond risk. I will guess you’re in an area of the country that’s doing well and you’re well established. Therefore, you’ll perceive this is a potential lucrative market based on your frame of reference and I’m knocking you for that. We all view the world based on our life history and judge accordingly.

But when I had three DM’s in a row constantly telling me the overall industry has been on a steady decline, confirmed by my Snappy competitor, and with gas continuing to creep to the $4 and beyond mark, dealerships converting to contracting tool stock through Craftsman corporate and SnapOn industrial, and employers who can’t afford to have their techs browse the truck on the are signs that the industry is in serious trouble. Besides, my first DM moved to another division of Stanley and we still stay in contact. The info he tells me know would make your hair stand on end. I’m really glad that I jumped when I did.

Agree, Mac’s training and support was simply nill and since they’ve made no change over the years, well then they don’t care or it’s how they intend to do business. Remember the old but true saying – actions speak louder than words.

For Mac to make any changes that would be well received amongst the technicians across the US. For them to turn this around would require them to do a complete overhaul and outside the box thinking that would drastically separate them from the competition. Frankly, even with a new president, I seriously doubt this will happen. If anything, they will continue to merge their corporate folks with the rest of Stanley until they no longer exist.

By: WA MAC

WA MAC — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 04:00:46 +0000

Even though I am disapointed by the support and quality I get from MAC corporate, I still think the mobile tool business has great potential. I know several tool men who have gone independant with great success. This will be the pattern in the future as MAC, Snap-On, Matco, ect. sell more and more tools made by outside vendors. I can buy the same tools I get with MAC from warehouse suppliers for 20% to 40% less. Most of them offer better and faster warranty and repair service than MAC. I also think truck drivers will have to shorten their payment plans to no more than four weeks to get money back fast enough to keep up with fuel cost alone. ($150 - $160 to fill my truck)
Any one looking to get into this business and be successful needs to have enough money to go 2 - 3 years without making a profit. MAC says you only need $8,000 - $10,000 to get started. This is the number one reason MAC distributors go out of business so soon. They try to pay for a truck, inventory, gas, insurance, plus feed a family and pay for a home from day one. It takes most mechanics a year or more just to build enough trust in a tool man to start buying tools on a regular basis. MAC needs to come up with a way to support new distributors for the first two years and then transition them to full ownership when they have established the route. If MAC made this effort to show they are truly concerned for the wellbeing of each distributor they would last much longer and have more trust in the company.
I think MACs attitude towards new recruits is extremely irresponsible. The training is very poor, and ongoing support is almost nonexistent. I hope this can be turned around and MAC can be returned to past glory, but if it does not happen soon it will be to late. Every potential distributor will have heard the horror stories and recruitment will be impossible.

On a related line I think the state of the mobile tool sales industry would be a great story for Toolmonger. I would like to get a idea of what other brand distributors have to say about their company and what company reps. have to say about the future.

By: Donny

Donny — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:11:45 +0000

Independent like SK? Let’s see. SK is owned by Facom who was recently bought by Stanley who also owns Mac. From what I’ve seen, almost all of the Mac tool line is now made overseas - been catchin my mac man pealing the made in china labels off the boxes and packages. Of course, I’ve also caught snappy trying to scratch out the MIC labels off their Bluepoint line. I tend to agree with an earlier post on the tool trucks going away. The only two tool guys we see are Mac and SnapOn but less often as the price of gas (and their tool prices) keep rising. Both of them are talking about thowing in the towel. Can hardly afford to buy gas to get to and from work never mind buying high end tools these days.

By: Gareth HILL

Gareth HILL — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 22:53:24 +0000

Good Day to you gents i am a former technician in the UK. Just a few questions after reading the posts.

What hand tools do MAC still make in the USA? When i use to purchase from SNAP ON and MAC i found there tools to be of a similar quality although i must say i do prefer SNAP ON.

I gather from reading forums now that a lot of there tools are made abroad and the quality is not as good which is a shame as i used to get excellent service from my MAC dealer.

Maybe the way forward for them is to become an independent company again like SK Tools.

Kind Regards,

Gareth