Stanley Black & Decker is launching a new line of power tools – corded and cordless lithium ion – under the Stanley FatMax label. Right now we have no idea how/where it places in the Stanley B&D brand families (Dewalt, Porter Cable, Black & Decker), but we think they’ll be marketed as premium DIY or value-priced pro tools.
It seems that this shouldn’t make sense, but it does. Dewalt launched their hand tool lineup in 2011, and they seem to have been doing well. So why not launch a Stanley FatMax power tool lineup. If we had to guess, we’d think that the brand was created to steal market share from Craftsman, Ryobi, and Kobalt, but maybe it will go up against more pro-oriented brands as well.
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Remember when we said there were tools we knew about but wouldn’t talk about yet? This is what we were referring to. Luckily we just now came across a wealth of new information, so we’re moving forward with the preview. We’re still in need of product details and specs, and will share updates as they come in.
Stanley FatMax Cordless Power Tools (Lithium Ion)
- FMC010LB – 12V 3/8″ drill driver kit
- FMC040LB – 12V 1/4″ impact driver kit
- FMC620LB – 20V compact 1/2″ hammerdrill kit
- FMC640LB – 20V 1/4″ impact driver kit
- There are MORE 20V tools in development
Based on some of the designs of upcoming tools that we’ve seen, we don’t think these are relabeled “lick and stick” tools. Plus, if they were, we would expect a much larger launch. It seems that some of the new designs may be heavily inspired by current Dewalt/Porter Cable/Black & Decker models, but we’re hoping the FatMax tools will offer some distinction.
Stanley FatMax Corded Power Tools
- FME305K – 7-1/4″ circular saw
- FME600 – 2.5A oscillating tool kit
Additional FatMax Power Tools
FatMax air compressors and power tool accessories are also a part of the initial launch. There will also be “FatMax screwdriver sets” in the power tool category, but we’re not sure what that means yet.
Our Thoughts
Stanley Black & Decker has a very clean and clear plan for their brands. While there is cross-over in some cases, many of their parallel offerings are distinct enough to justify their existence under the separate child brands. It may seem a little ridiculous for them to introduce another power tool lineup when they already have three. But whereas Porter Cable and Dewalt are aimed at professional users, only Black & Decker tools are strictly aimed at DIYers and home users.
Enthusiasts and advanced DIYers typically turn towards professional brands for their better features, higher specs, and typically more robust and durable construction. Maybe Stanley B&D is hoping for the FatMax lineup to appeal to this market. With Dewalt hand tools seemingly designed and be marketed as a slight upgrade over Stanley FatMax hand tools, perhaps the FatMax power tools will take a similar position slightly below Dewalt or Porter Cable tools, but on the consumer side of the fence.
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What are your thoughts, and what would you like to see emerge under the new Stanley FatMax power tool branding?
Update: We’ve been told that this may be a Canada-specific launch. Still, we spied a couple of new tool designs that seem to be based off of the Dewalt 20V Max lithium ion battery platform. Even if the Stanley FatMax tools are in fact “lick and stick” Dewalt relabels, we now know additional 20V Max tools are in final stages of development. And maybe we’ll finally see a Dewalt oscillating multi-tool. We’re still waiting for additional details and product specs.
Frankie
You lost a lot of credibility with your stupid April Fools joke. Now I question whatever you post.
Stuart
That’s okay, I forgive you.
ToolRank Chris
I suspect these will be the Canadian versions of the Porter-Cable tools we already have in the USA.
Stuart
Maybe, but it’s hard to tell. In any case, from what I’ve spied, this at least means that there are new 18V/20V PC or Dewalt tools coming down USA pipeline as well. Well, at least one new tool.
fred
I’m old enough to remember Stanley routers (not just the hand plane variety) and circular saws – and a look on eBay under “vintage stanley circular saw” etc. will probably locate one or more. So it comes full circle – and the marketing guru’s probably feel they can cash in on brand recognition and loyalty in certain markets and venues. If this provides some new features or added choice – without diluting the brand or weakening the company – then I guess I’m for it. With corded tools – not too difficult to try a new tool or two out – but with cordless – the disire to stay with a platform that I already have invested heavilly in – will rule out buying anything other than a real game changer – and even then I’d do a cost-benefit analysis.
BTW – Stanley used to market a corded ciicular saw with a traingular shape and a blade that could be exposed at the top or the bottom which gave interesting versatility as well a serious safety challenges
Anthony
i wish this was an april fools joke stuey…..i wont be buying these when theirs so many other options to choose from
James C
I think this is a good thing. Nothing wrong with more competition.
Joe Helms
Are there any specs available for any of these, or do we just have the pics to go by?
It would be a lot easier to compare once we had some good rpm or torque numbers to look at.
And I guess I need to finally get used to the whole 20V marketing thing.
Joe
I can see them lauching in Canada only,because in other countries Black and Decker is a professional line this guy came froim South America forget which country and he had Black and Decker tools labled proffesional kind of felt like repackaged Dewalt but in other countries Black and Decker is huge.
fred
Joe – B&D once was huge here too – witness their late lamented SuperSawCats. But they cheapened the line with a bunch of orange plastic tools sold at home centers (pre- Home Depot) that sold no professional tools.
At that time Dewalt was synonomous with big Professional Radial Arm Saws and not much else
Fred
I would kind of like to see them have more clearly defined brand/product alignments than they currently do. I think the DeWalt hand tools are great, but I really would rather have seen the same tools branded Stanley, since it feels their hand tools have declined greatly in the past few years, as Kobalt & Husky have come up. I think if Stanley had some better offerings, similar to the promises made when they introduced the FatMax stuff, it would be better overall for the consumer & company both.
I think the DeWalt/Bosch/PC products muddy the waters a little with the amount of overlap they offer. I can get a great router with any of those 3 brandings, but will have different accessories, mounting plates, or table compatibility with any of them. This has always been something I wish they would straighten out and get a more clear joint strategy. Certain tools are always going to be necessary by DIY/Home repair or are too disposable to really worry about a high end version, and sanders are at the top of that list to me. When I’m working on projects more often than just 1-2 weekends a month, I will go through maybe 5 sanders a year. It makes sense for a lower end B&D sander to always be an option, but maybe there does not need to be a top end DeWalt option for every product generation. Put one of each kind out with B&D or Skil (also part of the Bosch family), and one of each kind with the PC brand, differentiate them with different options/accessories rather than just higher HP or RPM.
I think maybe splitting up the 12v/18-20v tools into different brands is probably the next logical step. Put out sets of Skil & B&D 12v tools, and keep Bosch at 18v with more variety/specialty tools, DeWalt at 20v with more focused tools, and in this example the PC doesn’t really need to have an ‘also ran’ version.
Now, I know if you’re buying batteries & motors in the thousands, and plastic is cheap, then you can afford to put out 5 different 18v and 5 different 12v tool sets with all proprietary battery types & accessories, but instead of forcing brand compatibility within each name, put out tools that make people want to buy from the Bosch family, regardless if it says Stanley, DeWalt, or whatever else that fits the category the consumer is needing.
Stuart
Bosch/Skil/Dremel are not part of the Stanley Black & Decker group.
Fred
I know there was some recent change with Stanley, but B&D are still part of the manufacture of DeWalt & PC tools unless something has changed that I haven’t heard about.
Not the end-all source, but Wikipedia appears to agree with both of us to some degree. Unless something has drastically changed since 2005 when I interned there, B&D is still a major component source for Bosch family tools, and the sales strategy they use (Primarily for Lowe’s, Ace, & TK) they basically act like one company when dealing with vendors. There is a reason B&D is top end tools in most of the rest of the world outside the USA, as mentioned above. I thought it was obvious this was the reason.
Stuart
Yes, Stanley Black & Decker owns Black & Decker, Porter Cable, and Dewalt. But not Bosch. Bosch is a completely independent entity that has nothing to do with Black & Decker.
Black & Decker may be a component source for Bosch/Skil/etc, but that would be news to me. In any case, B&D and Bosch do NOT act like one company when dealing with vendors. They’re two separate companies entirely.
john
It looks a lot like the Dewalt 20v stuff but with a new low price and colors. Sorry Stanley but the whole ships seems to be slowly sinking.
Kent
I live in Canada and went to one of the major home centre chains, Rona, and they had a 20v impact($199) and a 12v combo drill/impact on the shelves. Got to fondle the tool for a bit and didn’t hate it. Defiantly is better than the porter cable stuff, which it was beside, seems to be on par with dewalt.
Tyler
I was at walmart yesterday. To my suprise I saw the 20v hammerdrill for 69.99
Stuart
Interesting, thanks for sharing! I’ll try to stop by a local Walmart to see if I find the same.
Al
Wally world is doing a re-set in our neighborhood and to my surprise, the Stanley 20V-Lithium Hammer Drill was in the discount section for $50 in a clearly marked un-opened box at $99. Snapped it up to use as a disposable unless it performs better than expected.
Stuart
That’s strange, since their website shows an expanded selection of Stanley FatMax cordless and corded power tools. There’s a corded hammer drill, corded jig saw, corded reciprocating saw, corded drill, a 20V hammer drill, and 12V drill. The listings are “online only,” but with free in-store pickup.
Maybe they’re just getting ready for new Father’s Day-timed tool displays.
Al
anyone know if this battery is interchangeable with another B&D or …?
Brian
I wondered if the Porter Cable 4.0AH battery would work in the FatMax FMC-620
Would be really nice to have a long lasting battery for this FatMax FMC-620
Stuart
Nope. They shouldn’t be compatible. That has been my experience with Dewalt, Black & Decker, and Porter Cable 20V Max Li-ion battery packs.
Kyle
I own the 20vmax hamer drill and I love it. It torques low enough to act like an impact, and the hammer setting will slam thru concrete (when charged!) like no one’s business. The only downside is that the battery doesnt last very long in the cold and after a few months of using every day ( I am an electrician) The battery doesnt last for days at a time any longer. Love the low price, but the battery is only $9 less than the whole package haha.
I want a sawzall and multitool that take this battery badly. Is there another brand this battery will fit in? how about a battery that fits this drill?
Stuart
I haven’t been able check battery compatibility myself, but Stanley Black & Decker create different battery configurations for each of their tools that block cross-brand compatibility.
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Skep
I think Stanley first got into the power tool market when they took over “Bridges” in the 50s I think.
John Crawford
Hi Gang, I don’ t know what everyone else’ experience with the Fatmax 12 volt lithium Ion drill and impact drill are, but I have owned the pair for a year now and I have to tell you that they perform VERY well for what they are. I currently also have a Rockwell 20 volt 1/2″ driver and it takes on the larger tasks very handily, but I use the Stanley for just about everything else.
I do maintenance/handyman work for some property management companies up in Fargo, ND.
On a cool fall day last November, I had to rebuild and old deck 12′ by 12′. The substructure frame and ledger were fine, just lay some new decking and some new handrails, as well as a couple of steps.
I used the 12 volt drill and impact to shore up the frame, then lay down 2 x 10 green treated boards as decking (they wanted commercial strength for the decking and this is what was the order of the day), install the posts and the hand rail.
Mind you, the project did indeed tax the little drills a great deal and I was changing and charging batteries left and right, but to my surprise, the 12 volt combo held up and put that deck together using 3″ screws everywhere. (It was after this I purchased the Rockwell drill). None the less, I am very sold on the product! I would only subject the drills to that kind of work again if I had to, but it was a pleasant surprise to see they were rugged enough to take on such a big task, even if they were not necessarily made for such a job!
For all the talk, as it should be, I would definitely consider purchasing a Fatmax drill combo any day, as well and any other product in the group that Stanley put out and would not be afraid to pace them with anything comparable out there.
While Stanley and everyone else out there is focused on the high voltage stuff, they should not forget the smaller stuff nor leave it behind. I would still use a 12 volt drill for most projects using the larger voltage stuff for tougher projects (like the afore mentioned deck)
With the new brushless DC motors coming out (My Rockwell has that and wow, what a battery saver! Yet very powerful!), it could be very advantageous for the lower voltage drills.
As I have seen it in projects, drill voltage should come in 4, 8, 12, 18 and 24. These should be standard voltages with improvements made for each group. Each group having batteries that can be removed. Each has a purpose in mind (I would not use a 24 volt drill to hang window coverings, it is just too much, a 4, 8 or 12 does the trick just fine. I would use the same class of drills on appliance work, only breaking out an 18 or 24 volt drill if needed. Small electrical work such as circuit boards or T-stats could use a 4 or 8 and be just fine.
24 volt is the top I would use a battery drill, AC current plug in works better in that range and up.
Rabbit trail – Anyway, just saying Stanley, or anyone else for that matter, while pressing on to the higher voltages, should not abandon the smaller voltage stuff.
I am satisfied with my Stanley purchase of the 12 volt drills and actually look forward to the next generation of whatever comes.
Joe
Ridiculous…..SBD need to focus on Dewalt and expand the 20v line rapidly. They loose customers every day that join the M12 family…….too many offerings and time and money wasted……….focus focus focus on 20v and expand 60…put all hands on these Tool lines