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Sheet metal tools: Malco

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bonneyman:
In my work as an HVAC technician I'm sometimes called upon to help the install crews if they get backed up. Also, some A/C repair jobs require modifications to existing duct work (i.e. evap coil replacement). Additionally, various small sheet metal jobs come up (vent piping, gutters, shielding, etc.) and those usually fall upon the A/C techs. Thus, having a fairly complete set of quality sheet metal tools is virtually a requirement for guys doing A/C.

During my years as a technician I've had the opportunity to try alot of different brands of metal working tools. Tin snips (or aviation snips as they're sometimes called) are the most prolific. Probably because sheet metal was first widely used on airplanes. IIRC Klenk was the "inventor" of the hand held metal snips we use today. Other notable brands are Pexto, Wiss, and Midwest. I was gifted a trio of snips made by Lenox which are becoming a favorite.

Malco started in the 1950's (IIRC it was 1953, though their new website differs), and what made them really great was that they designed sheet metal tools specifically for the duct work industry. (They now do alot of other trade tools but I'm focusing on the sheet metal stuff). As such their tools incorporated innovations that made them stand apart from other brands. For me, their most remarkable tool was their line of screwdrivers. The alloy steel of the blades were bulletproof, and the handles were made of an indestructible (their advertising claim and my experience bears it out) polycarbonate material that stood up to daily wear and out right abuse. A pukey orange color, they were instantly recognizeable and easy to spot. Very rarely did you leave one on a job, as that ugly orange handle stood out and was hard to miss.
I bought my first one in the late 70's. I used it as a screwdriver, chisel, pry bar - even used it to jump the solenoid on my old car to get it started! it finally gave out in the mid 90's, and I bought a replacement (which I still have, see pics below). Never even thinking they'd discontinue the line, I blindly used the driver until it started showing it's age around 5-6 years ago. It was then that I found out that Malco had decided that they couldn't compete with the Chinese on price with screwdrivers, so they dropped the orange polycarbonate line and outsourced their drivers to China! Now all of their drivers are the same clear acetate (I think) as everybody else. I immediately hit up the 2 dealers that carried Malco tools, in an attempt to grab a few of the orange ones while they cleared out the inventory. No luck - they were gone virtually overnight.
As an avid estate saler I keep my eyes open, and over the past 6 years have found 3 scratch awls. Just recently I acquired a 5 piece lot off of ebay (including styles I never knew Malco offered in the orange handle). I've kept my 20+ year old beater as the one to pound on, but feel very fortunate to have been able to get the other ones. Keep your eyes open, mates. Grab these orange drivers if you see 'em!

OK, enough preaching. let's show the tools!
Here's my HD tool box and an inside shot packed with tools.

bonneyman:
Here's my original driver and my more recent acquisitions. And yes, that old driver did start out the brighter orange - this is no special effects shot!

Actually, this is my second MALCO driver. The original original finally got retired after 20 years of jumping starters and beating through sheet metal caps.

bonneyman:
Here's some snips. Left and right cuts. (They do make a straight what they call double cuts, but I don't have a Malco example of them). I started out with the straight-on snips, and have gotten my share of sliced knuckles. then they came out with these offset styles, which angled you hand up and away form the raw edge. Very helpful.

bonneyman:
A duct stretcher and ear folding tool.
You connect pieces of metal duct together uses special strips of metal called "cleats". There are two kinds - S (slip) and drive cleats. One you slip on, the other you drive on (beat) with a hammer. The S cleats help you to line up the two pieces of duct so you can slide them together, then you install the two drive cleats to lock the pieces together. Because you need two hands (one to hold the drive and the other to hold the hammer), if the ducts are a little too far apart you don't have a spare hand to force them together and hold them there while you pound the drive cleat on. The duct stretcher allows to to do that.
The ear bender is a tool that allows making drive ears on ducts out in the filed.

bonneyman:
Malco hammer.
One of their many fantastic innovations. The handle is made up of a couple dozen leather washers that are slid over the steel spine (one piece steel hammer head/handle  :) ). It's coated with a shellac at the factory. With use the shellac wears off, and over a period of time the leather slowly conforms to the shape of your hand. The hammer gets more comfortable the longer you use it. Extremely noticeable over the many hours a day you use the thing.
Mine doesn't get used that much, so alot of the factory shellac remains. But I think you can see the individual leather rings in the one pic.

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