Some Companies Just DO IT RIGHT - Lee Valley

[peter halle]

Me?  I bought a Veritas Stainless Steel 35th Anniversary Limited Edition Marking Gauge.  The only other marking gauge I have ever owned was a wooden piece of ---------work.  Great price, I won't wear it out, and it looks good too.  If you place it close enough to Festool green it picks up a green reflection - so that is even better.

Hope you have more than one bathroom your house.  Just saying.  [blink]

Peter

 

[skids]

Me?  I bought a Veritas Stainless Steel 35th Anniversary Limited Edition Marking Gauge.  The only other marking gauge I have ever owned was a wooden piece of ---------work.  Great price, I won't wear it out, and it looks good too.  If you place it close enough to Festool green it picks up a green reflection - so that is even better.

Hope you have more than one bathroom your house.  Just saying.   [blink]

Peter

[thumbs up]

 

[upscale]

Lee Valley said that the feeler gauge was supposed to have a knurled nut on it not a hex nut and that they just became aware the gauges were being shipped with hex nuts.  Now who else would go to such lengths for such a small purchase?

More than once, I've had a similar experience. The last one was after I purchased a bolt/nut size/thread id kit. Apparently, the master instruction list of sizes (or something like that ~ can't quite remember) was missing from the kit. Lee Valley gave me a full refund and told me to keep the kit.

You can't beat service like that.  [thumbs up]

 

[ridgenj]

Skids. I ordered a heavy Veritas MFT Clamping Kit and it arrived within three days.

Like you, I am looking at the Veritas  Bench Plane and I don't even know how to use it, but they are just cool.

Cheers
Luis

 

[JuliMor]

I've been a Lee Valley customer since the early 90's.  A lot of the things I've bought I've been very happy with.  Their "green" line of cutting tools - not so much.  In one of my earliest purchases I bought a dovetail router bit set.  The bits burned the wood.  I purchased the same kind of set from CMT and they cut beautifully. 

A few months ago I bought a tool for drilling European style 35mm cups for cabinet door hinges, hoping the jig would make the task easier.  It had a "green" cutter.  I hoped they had improved their "green" line but was again disappointed. I took out an old Freud bit and compared the two.

I called them and they sent me a replacement. Same thing. So I sent the whole thing back, along with the samples of the cuts, to do whatever they want to do with it.  They do have great customer service and a lot of great products and I have continued buying from them.  Just no more "green stuff". 

 

[Kev]

I've been a Lee Valley customer since the early 90's.  A lot of the things I've bought I've been very happy with.  Their "green" line of cutting tools - not so much.  In one of my earliest purchases I bought a dovetail router bit set.  The bits burned the wood.  I purchased the same kind of set from CMT and they cut beautifully. 

A few months ago I bought a tool for drilling European style 35mm cups for cabinet door hinges, hoping the jig would make the task easier.  It had a "green" cutter.  I hoped they had improved their "green" line but was again disappointed. I took out an old Freud bit and compared the two.

I called them and they sent me a replacement. Same thing. So I sent the whole thing back, along with the samples of the cuts, to do whatever they want to do with it.  They do have great customer service and a lot of great products and I have continued buying from them.  Just no more "green stuff".   

How did they feel to the touch comparatively when you started the cuts? The one on the right looks more like tearing than cutting !  [eek]

 

[JuliMor]

I didn't do the fingernail test but the LV bit looked fine.  Since I had already tried to sharpen the LV router bits years ago and the edge didn't hold, I didn't mess with the jig bit.  And if I was going to return it, I didn't want to alter it.  What I also found out is the pressure you have to apply with their hinge cup jig is fairly substantial.  Or maybe it was just the bad bit. 

I ended up sharpening my old bit, making a table for my little drill press, and drilling the hinge cups on the drill press.  With the new table, it was a lot easier plus I made a little chip containment piece that helped direct the dust and chips into the DC hose.  That little piece helped the DC collect all the waste.

I've got a lot of great tools, hardware and parts & pieces that I've bought from Lee Valley over the years and I've always been happy.  The green cutters just seem to be an exception to the rule.