MAC Tools

Table of Contents

Introduction

MAC Tools is a full-service tool company formed in the mid 1940s, with operations going back to 1938.

Company History

MAC Tools was formed in 1945 with an unusual structure, which was basically a marketing cooperative of three closely held but quasi-independent companies.

The earliest component of the triad had been founded on July 11, 1938 as the Mechanics' Tool & Forge Company in Sabina, Ohio. The founders of Mechanics' Tool & Forge included Ralph McPherson, its first president, and Otto Tucker, its secretary. Ralph McPherson had worked previously at the McPherson-Huff Tool Company in Sabina.

The second component, the Clinton Tool Company, was founded on October 30, 1944 to manufacture sockets and drive tools.

The third component was founded in 1945 as Mac Allied Tools and operated in Akron, Ohio.

What's in a Name?

No article on MAC would be complete without an argument on the origin of the name. The "MAC" name could be seen as an acronym for "Mechanics Allied Clinton", but a more colorful origin story can be found in an interview with Otto Tucker, one of the founders of the company.

On September 2, 1967 the Wilmington News-Journal published an article on Tucker on the occasion of his retirement at age 79, and the article includes a recollection by Tucker of the events leading to the MAC name.

Sabina, Ohio was also home to the McPherson-Huff Tool Company, and in 1940 McPherson-Huff suffered a devastating fire at its factory. (The article says the fire was in 1941, but the actual date was January 4, 1940.) McPherson-Huff was forced to close temporarily while the factory was being rebuilt.

In the aftermath of the fire, Mechanics' Tool & Forge bought the damaged but salvageable inventory from McPherson-Huff, cleaned and retempered them, then offered them for sale. Since McPherson-Huff was commonly called "MAC-Huff" for short, after selling MAC-Huff tools the company decided to keep the "MAC" name for its own line.

After its factory was back in operation, McPherson-Huff continued to supply tools such as chisels, punches, and screwdrivers to the MAC line.

Hand Forged Production

One of the hallmarks of MAC's early production was the use of hand forging, a process by which steel is shaped by repeated blows of a power hammer under relatively low heat. This contrasts with drop-forging, in which a red-hot billet of steel is forced into a die with a single blow of a drop hammer. Advocates of hand forging maintain that the repeated blows and lower temperature are better at refining the steel grain structure, resulting in stronger tools.

One of the best known proponents of hand forging was Cornwell Quality Tools, a company in Mogadore, Ohio in operation since 1919. Some early MAC tools closely resemble Cornwell tools in design and construction, suggesting that MAC was strongly influenced by the earlier company.

"Tool Truck" Service

MAC Tools is one of a small number of tool companies to offer "tool truck" service for professional mechanics. The direct sales model used by MAC Tools is another consequence of the 1940 fire at McPherson-Huff, after which about 20 salesmen left their former company to work at Mechanics' Tool & Forge.

A Corporate Name Change

By the early 1960s Mechanics' Tool & Forge had changed its name to MAC Tools, Incorporated, and Clinton Tool had apparently been absorbed into MAC Tools. Mac Allied Tool maintained its separate management, however.

Divorce and the Formation of MATCO

In 1979 MAC Tools and Mac Allied Tool severed their relationship. After the split, Mac Allied Tool was reformed as the Matco Tool Corporation and subsequently operated as MATCO. MATCO offers a full-service line of tools to professional mechanics, complete with "tool truck" service.

Acquisition by Stanley

In 1980 MAC Tools was purchased by The Stanley Works, a conglomerate with roots in the hardware industry going back to 1843.

Stanley followed up with the purchase of Proto Tools from Ingersoll-Rand in 1984.

Stanley went on to expand its tool operations with the purchase of the National Hand Tool Corporation in late 1986, which included the Husky and Blackhawk brands.

MAC Tools continues today as a division of Stanley, and interested readers can find further information on the company and its products at the MAC Tools [External Link] web site.

Patents

Trademarks

Manufacturing Dates

MAC began marking a date code on tools in 1975, using a code consisting of a letter followed by a number in the range of 1-4. Since this site is mostly interested in older tools, we won't have much occasion to refer to the date code system. However, the absence of a date code will at least be useful to identify tools made before 1975.

For tools without a date code, we will try to develop guidelines for estimating the manufacturing date.

References and Resources

Photographs and observations of particular tools are based on items in the Alloy Artifacts Collection.

Catalog Coverage

Product information can be found in the catalogs summarized in the table below.

Early Tools

Early MAC tools were frequently marked for the company's Sabina, Ohio location.

We have a number of examples of early MAC tools and will expand this section as time permits.

Combination Wrenches

C8 11/16 Combination Wrench

Fig. 1 shows a MAC C8 11/16 combination wrench, stamped "MAC" with the model number and fractional sizes on the shank, with "Sabina, Ohio" and "U.S.A." on the back side.

The overall length is 8.3 inches, and the finish is cadmium plating.

Box-End Wrenches

B99 3/4x7/8 Angled Box-End Wrench

Fig. 2 shows a MAC B99 3/4x7/8 angled box-end wrench, stamped "MAC" with the model number on the shank, with "Sabina, Ohio" and "U.S.A." on the back side.

The overall length is 11.7 inches, and the finish is cadmium plating.

B5 1/2x9/16 Short Angled Box-End Wrench from Wrench Set

The next several figures show individual box-end wrenches acquired as part of a five-piece set in a leatherette tool roll, followed by the full set itself.

Fig. 3 shows an early MAC B5 1/2x9/16 short angled box-end wrench, stamped with "MAC" and the model number on the shank, with one fractional size at the left and the other size on the back side.

The overall length is 6.3 inches, and the finish appears to be cadmium plating.

B7 5/8x11/16 Short Angled Box-End Wrench from Wrench Set

Fig. 4 shows an early MAC B7 5/8x11/16 short angled box-end wrench, stamped with "MAC" and the model number on the shank. The wrench is also stamped with the fractional sizes, with one on each side.

The overall length is 6.9 inches, and the finish appears to be cadmium plating.

B9 3/4x7/8 Short Angled Box-End Wrench from Wrench Set

Fig. 5 shows an early MAC B9 3/4x7/8 short angled box-end wrench, stamped with "MAC" and the model number on the shank. The wrench is also stamped with the fractional sizes, with one on each side.

The overall length is 7.7 inches, and the finish appears to be cadmium plating.

Five-Piece Short Angled Box-End Wrench Set

Fig. 6 shows an early MAC 5-piece short angled box-end wrench set in a leatherette roll, marked with "Mechanics Tool and Forge Co." and "Sabina, Ohio" on the retaining band. The individual wrenches are stamped with "MAC" plus the model number and fractional sizes, as shown in the prior figures.

The overall width and height of the set as shown are approximately 6.4 by 9.2 inches, and the finish of the wrenches appears to be cadmium plating.

The wrench models and sizes are B2 (1/4x5/16), B3 (3/8x7/16), B5 (1/2x9/16), B7 (5/8x11/16), and B9 (3/4x7/8). Note that the two smallest wrenches have 6-point openings, with the larger three have 12-point openings.

Currently we don't have a catalog reference for this set, but the 1951 catalog shows a similar set of offset box wrenches, suggesting a late 1940s or 1950s manufacturing date.

S3 1/2x9/16 Elbow Box Wrench

Fig. 7A shows a MAC S3 1/2x9/16 elbow box wrench, stamped with "MAC" and "S3" on one side, with "Sabina, Ohio U.S.A." on the opposite side.

The overall length is 7.8 inches, and the finish is cadmium plating.

This tool is listed as a manifold wrench in the 1947 catalog, which suggests that it has manyother uses as well.

S9A 5/8 Starter Motor Wrench

Fig. 7B shows a MAC S9A 5/8 starter motor wrench, stamped with "MAC" and the model number on the shank.

The overall length is 11.1 inches, and the finish is cadmium plating, with losses due to wear and rust

Currently we don't have an exact catalog reference for this wrench, but the 1958 catalog lists a very similar No. S9 starter motor wrench.

[I10] 10 Inch Screwdriver

Fig. 7C shows a MAC [I10] 10 inch screwdriver with a wooden handle, stamped with "MAC" on the ferrule.

The 1947 MAC catalog lists this as model I10, with a 1/4 inch square shank of nominal length 10 inches.

The overall length is 14.6 inches, and the finish is plain steel with a plated ferrule.

This screwdriver was likely produced by the MacPherson-Huff Tool Company, which is known to have supplied chisels, punches, and screwdrivers to MAC.

Later Tools

This section will show later MAC tools, roughly from the 1960s onward.

CHLF22 11/16 Flex-Box Combination Wrench

Fig. 8 shows a MAC CHLF22 11/16 flex-box combination wrench, stamped "MAC" and "Sabina Ohio" with the fractional sizes on the shank, with the model number on the back side.

The overall length is 10.8 inches fully extended, and the finish is chrome plating.

The socket of this wrench has a hexagonal broaching (see middle inset), giving it improved gripping on damaged nuts, but restricting its use in tight spaces.

M14CHLF 14mm Flex-Box Combination Wrench

Fig. 9 shows a MAC M14CHLF 14mm flex-box combination wrench, stamped "MAC" with the metric sizes on the shank, with the model number and "USA" on the back side.

The overall length is 8.7 inches fully extended, and the finish is chrome plating.

The socket of this wrench has a hexagonal broaching, giving it improved gripping on damaged nuts, but restricting its use in tight spaces.

Stanley Tools

The Stanley Works is the parent corporation to MAC and a number of other tool companies. Stanley generally lets its subsidiary brands make the tools, but also offers some tools under its own name.

Stanley 86-861 16mm Combination Wrench

Fig. 10 shows a Stanley 86-861 16mm combination wrench, stamped with "Stanley" and the model number on the shank, with the metric size at each end.

The overall length is 7.9 inches, and the finish is chrome plating with polished faces.

Stanley 84-552 10 Inch Straight Pattern Tin Snips

Fig. 11 shows a pair of Stanley 84-552 straight pattern tin snips, marked with "Stanley 84-552" forged into the front, with "Pat. 3971131 U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The patent marking refers to patent 3,971,131, filed by A.Z. Boyajian in 1975 and issued in 1976.

The overall length is 10.0 inches, and the finish is black paint and bare aluminum.

These snips have some unusual construction features. The patent describes the novel use of replaceable cutting blades, which in turn allows the handles to be forged of aluminum instead of steel.

Stanley 84-106 6 Inch Combination Pliers

Fig. 12 shows a pair of Stanley 84-106 6 inch combination pliers, stamped with "Stanley" and the model number below the pivot, with the JIS-Circle and "374078" plus "Japan" on the back.

One handle is also marked with a "91F IP" forge mark (not shown) visible through the adjustment slot.

The top inset shows a side view of the pliers, illustrating the chevron or herringbone gripping pattern forged into the handles.

The overall length is 6.5 inches, and the finish is chrome plating.

The JIS marking allows us to identify the maker as the Igarashi Pliers Company, which received JIS 374078 on August 28, 1974 for class B4614 (combination pliers).

The "91F IP" forge mark is believed to be a date code for 1991, with "IP" indicating Igarashi Pliers.

Stanley 84-139 10 Inch Tongue-and-Groove Pliers

Fig. 13 shows a pair of Stanley 84-139 10 inch tongue-and-groove pliers, stamped with "Stanley" and the model number on the handle, with the JIS-Circle and "385132" plus "Japan" on the back.

The pliers are also marked with a "91E IP" forge mark on the lower handle near the adjustment slot, as seen in the lower right inset.

The overall length is 10.0 inches closed and 10.6 inches fully extended.

The finish is chrome plating with plastic hand grips.

The JIS marking allows us to identify the maker as the Igarashi Pliers Company, which received JIS 385132 on December 27, 1985 for class B4626 (waterpump pliers).

The "91E IP" forge mark is believed to be a date code for 1991, with "IP" indicating Igarashi Pliers.

The hand grips are replacements made of heat-shrink tubing, a convenient and economical way to restore missing grips.

Stanley 84-140 12 Inch Tongue-and-Groove Pliers

Fig. 14 shows a pair of Stanley 84-140 12 inch tongue-and-groove pliers, stamped with "Stanley" and the model number on the handle, with "Japan" on the back.

The pliers are also marked with a "89F" forge mark on the lower handle, as seen in the lower inset.

The top inset shows a side view of the pliers, illustrating the undercut grooves of the tongue-and-groove mechanism.

Note also that the handles are roughly finished with the parting line visible, suggesting that the pliers were originally fitted with plastic hand grips.

The overall length is 12.2 inches closed and 13.0 inches fully extended.

The finish is chrome plating with polished faces.

These pliers are very similar to the pliers in the previous figure made by the Igarashi Pliers Company, and the "89F" forge mark is in the style used by Igarashi. Igarashi is known to have supplied contract production for Stanley, and the similarity in construction and markings makes it very likely that these pliers were also made by Igarashi.

The "89F" forge mark is probably a date code for 1989.

When we acquire pliers that are missing their original hand grips, usually we install replacement grips using heat-shrink tubing. In this case though we held off in order to get a photograph of the forge marks on the handles.