Not all Milwaukees are as they seem...

[Mark Cooper]

On Saturday I bought a vise from J & L Industrial (good people, by the way, and usually very good prices to boot). I paid the extra $ to get an American-made vise from "Milwaukee." It was painted red, it said "Milwaukee Tool & Equipment" on the side, so I thought I was buying good product.

I was not. What a piece of shit this thing is. The jaws don't clamp-up within a quarter-inch of parallel, the pipe jaws are out of alignment in the vertical plane, the paint job is a combination of runs, drips, and completely missed spots, and there's so much slop in the handle you could feed a troop train for a week with it.

I wondered why I couldn't find a vise on Milwaukee.com...I figured they were so embarassed about the quality that they abandoned the line.

Turns out this vise is made by _this_ outfit:

line: In an earlier post on a different topic this week, I maligned the quality of Milwaukee ELECTRIC Tool Company, the Milwaukee we all know, calling them something like a "red Ryobi." It was an honest mistake, but a mistake nonetheless, so apologies to them and theirs, and anyone who read my bad information.

Below the bottom line: If you ever see a vise for sale that looks like a Milwaukee, run away...it's a piece of crap.

[AL]

There is another company called Milwaukee Hydraulics which makes floor jacks and similar lifting equipment. They're stuff is very good. They paint them red too.

[Robatoy]

No worries. I had a similar situation when I found a "Milwaukee" Paint stripper ( heat gun / hot air) in the paint department at Home Depot. It is branded as Milwaukee, but not the same typeface/font in their logo. I bought it on the recommendation of a friend of mine and it turned out to be a great tool. The warranty and repair documents all point to Wagner (the worthless airless painter people). Could have just as easily gone the other way like it did in your case. Shit happens, and thanks for the heads up.

[BillyBob]

the vise picture. I just bought an old workbench that has a Morgan vise on it. Of course its the 40 year old variety. Its heavy and appears to be quite precise. It clamps like nobody's business. Obviously they don't make 'em like they used to.

Bob

[Robatoy]

Unlike Mark's vice which clamps like somebody's business.

I think

[Phisherman]