Milton

If you were driving down a dusty road in the Midwest and pulled in to a gas station to check the air in your tires, this is the filler gauge you would expect to find there. It is solid, and repairable if need be.

 From their website:

Company History

Milton Industries, INC., is a family owned privately held corporation founded in 1943. Several members of one of the founder's family are active in the business today.

The first two high quality items manufactured by the company were the '699 Air Chuck' and the '500 Series Inflator Gages'.  These products are still prominent in our growing line of approximately 1500 sales units, which includes about 300 NEW recently added sales units.

Milton Industries is one of the few independent manufacturers left in the Tire Hardware Industry and our name is synonymous with quality and durability.

Milton manufacturers Air Line Accessories and Fittings for the Industrial, Commercial, Automotive and Farm Markets.

miltonindustries.com

Korky

I don't know much about this company, other than the fact that they manufacture in the US and produce a product that is far superior to the similar aftermarket part that is manufactured overseas. Last summer, I had a running toilet, so I went to my local hardware store to by a replacement flange stopper. (An aside... the toilet was manufactured in the US in 1936 and still functions as it should.) So, I bought the only stopper available, which was manufactured in Taiwan. It worked for a few months, but the stopper started to get partially sucked into the flange, causing the toilet to run again. I resorted to removing the tank lid occasionally and resetting it so that it would form a proper seal. Lately, it began malfunctioning much more frequently, so I set out to find a better replacement part. Enter Korky.

I was able to locate a stopper today at a local plumbing supply house that was supposed to serve the same function as the one I bought last summer. Both products claimed to service American Standard flanges, and the stopper size requirement for this toilet brand has always been the same. However, upon inspecting the two parts side-by-side, there are notable differences. First, there is a size difference of approximately 1/8 of an inch. Second, the Korky is made of a thicker rubber. The larger diameter and thicker rubber of the Korky both contribute to a better seat, with less flex, so the stopper can no longer be sucked into the flange. Long story short: it took a well made part manufactured in the USA to keep a 76 year old American made toilet working like new.

http://korky.com/

Inspiration

I like things that last, that are made to high standards, and feel good about purchasing things that support a way of life I believe in. While it often requires more effort and money to buy American made goods, the rewards are well worth the effort. I plan to keep and share a record here of my purchases of goods that were made on our soil.

"If we purchase a ton of steel rails from England for twenty dollars, then we have the rails and England the money. But if we buy a ton of steel rails from an American company for twenty-five dollars, then America has both the rails and the money." 
                                                       - Abraham Lincoln