Milwaukee Quick Release Bench Vises - Made in USA

Awesome information. Let me know when the vice is in

This is my experience with a great vise and the exceptionally amazing support provided by Joel and staff at Tools for Working Wood. I had not previously owned a quick release vise, but liked what I thought it would provide. When I built a new bench I wanted an American made vise. My first goal is buy Ammerican, and if not then at least not made in China. The Milwaukee is American made and fit my requirement. I bought the 10". Mine arrived without problem. I don't recall any issues with the paint or other superficial aspects of the vise. I felt like it was in very good condition upon arrival. I suppose I could go out now to my shop and try to nit pic it, but to what end. After installing the vise, which wasn't much effort, I had irregular catch of the half nut and engagement of the threads. As a new owner of a QR vise, I wasn't sure what performance I should expect. I tried different lubes, different ways to slide the vise closed, etc. I often had to manually throw the half nut to get it to engage. I eventually called TFFW to see if my experience was what I should expect. I learned that the half nut should engage almost immediately as the handle spins. The person I spoke with contacted Joel who almost immediately contacted me. As a hobby woodworker I felt like I was getting the attention that would be given to a pro. I was impressed by Joel's willingness to spend whatever time was needed to resolve this issue. It was clear that Joel and TFFW "walk the talk" of exceptional customer service. Joel and I talked on the phone a couple times and emailed several times. I shared pictures to illustrate what was and wasn't happening. Joel communicated between me and the manufacturer to test a couple scenarios on the vise, but ultimately Joel and Milwaukee delivered a new half nut to me at no cost (totally free, no shipping). I want to stress how consistently responsive Joel was throughout this process. I was getting gold star treatment that is rare these days. The fact that there was a real person (Joel) who could pick up the phone and call someone in a nearby state is a big part of the success of this experience. After install of the new half nut, my vise works like a dream. First spin. The half nut engages at about 3/4 of a spin of the handle. The half nut disengages each time, without exception. Having a reliable, sturdy and robust vise is central to a quality wood working experience. I'm comfortable with a 5-star 100% recommendation of the Milwaukee quick release vise and importantly a 5-star > 100% recommendation for the service and attention provided by Joel and TFFW.

I own the 10” version of this vise, purchased at Montgomery Ward around 1975. I also have a Record 52 1/2 vise mounted at the other end of the same bench. That vice is a few years newer than this one. The Record is a quick release vice, but no it so easily adjusted as the Milwaukee. In use, they are both very capable, but if I am doing something that requires a lot of repositioning, I tend to use the Milwaukee because the quick adjustment is much easier to use. In short, I think you would have to spend a lot more money to get a “better” vise.

I've had the 10 inch version of this vise for several years as the face vise on my bench. It worked great until about a year ago. Then the quick release nut started to not engage when turning the handle. I finally emailed Milwaukee Tool & Equipment Company. After a suggested fix and couple more exchanges they shipped a replacement nut at their expense; zero cost to me. I swapped out the nut, and now the vise is working great again. It is so nice to work with a company that stands behind their products.

I have got the 10" version for my new workbench build. My old workbench uses an inexpensive Yost vise picked up at a big box store. It is a knockoff of Record 52, and I will review the Milwaukee in comparison with this "lesser" vise. The Yost was about 1/3 the price. Also note that I have been installing this into a 3-1/2" thick oak bench top. One star comes off for the fit and finish. The castings on my vise jaws have small (1/8") chips on the edges, probably a consequence of careless machining. The blue paint was applied over these chips, so this is how these vises are made in the factory. The paint job is somewhat sloppy, with bubbles visible here and there. The retractable stop is a bit sticky because of the thick paint. Also, the paint rubs off on wood, and chips easily. In comparison, the Yost had none of the issues above, and the paint is still intact after a couple of years of use. The second star comes off for some basic issues with design and machining. The back of the back jaw is not perpendicular to the bottom mounting plate (it is off by a couple of degrees), which unnecessarily complicates the install on a thick benchtop (you will need to cut a front mortise that slopes slightly). The mounting holes for the back jaw liner screws are not evenly spaced from the jaw sides: one was 1-7/8 away from the side, and the other was 2-1/8 away. Not a big deal, but it shows the lack of care. These mounting holes were also not deburred. The vise mounts with two 3/8" lags underneath and two #12 screws in front. It will hold, but I would have preferred to have four lags underneath like my Yost. The third star decisively comes off for the quality of the included hardware. The provided 3/8" lags were of the softest steel I have ever worked with. During my install I have accidentally over-torqued one of the bolts and sheared off the head with a small-ish hand wrench. This was a user error, as I was crouched under the bench and miscalculated the applied force. However, something like this should never have happened with a 3/8" lag bolt driven by hand. To fix this, I had to take the top slab off the bench, drill out the bolt shank, and epoxy in an oak dowel. It was a lot of trouble because of a single 25c part. On a positive note, the steel was so soft that I drilled it out with regular HSS black oxide bits in 10 minutes. I ended up replacing most of the load bearing hardware with big box store versions, and had no further trouble. The included instructions are pretty great (I did not need to think about drill bit sizes, or try out random sockets). I also greatly appreciate that the main screw did not come coated in congealed grease, like it did on the Yost. The vise has now been installed and will probably work out fine in the long run. If I could, I probably would have substituted another vise for it, but I already designed my bench around the Milwaukee, and re-doing the front mortise will be too much trouble.

I bought this vise to replace a leg vise on my Roubo-style bench. It is a great, American-made tool. Nothing fancy, just a proven design and lots of steel. It is good to know that, "they do still make 'em this way." It will give me many years of service. I took off a star, because--without any pre-order disclosure--Tools for Working Wood sent this FedEx with a signature required, forcing me to jump through hoops to have someone at home to sign for it. I try to buy from them, since they are my "local" on-line stores, but if this is how they ship things like a "vise," then I will find another dealer that is customer friendly. Its 2019, and we have lots of alternatives.

I have four of these in my classroom and three of them worked perfectly from the start. One of them seemed inoperable initially, but i realized there was just not enough friction on the screw mechanism to shift the 'nut' to the side which is required for the screw mechanism to tighten. I solved the problem with a couple drops of vegetable oil. The vegetable oil became gummy in a day or so and provided the smallest bit of friction for the 'nut' mechanism on the screw. Now it works like a charm. The one true failing of this vice is the end cap. Don't even bother installing it because it will eventually break off. I simply drilled for a 3/8" dowel across the handle wood close to the end and pinned it in place with a screw from the end.

This is a solid high quality vise, excellent machining and tight tolerances. Installation was very easy and the included instructions were helpful. Once installed, the movement is very smooth both with the quick release nut engaged as well as disengaged. The only negative I have seen is that the quick release nut does not always engage, often requiring either the shock of the vise closing, or a second hand to push the nut into place while turning the screw. The nut disengages flawlessly. Overall a great vise and it may just be my own inexperience that prevents it from working perfectly.

Love this vise. I have a 50-60 year old version. The quick release mechanism is probably different, but the vise is a workhorse. You won't go wrong with a Morgan.. I have 2 others that are not quick release.. all are great vises. Heavy duty.

Have the 10 inch version. Very nice vise. Moves smoothly, the jaws align and the quick release mechanism is very nice. Comparing this to the Jorgenson, the fit and finish is a little nicer, the quick release mechanism is a little nicer, the castings are a little thinner than the Jorgenson, but they are also a little cleaner.