Veritas Sliding Bevels no longer available?

[Hilton Ralphs]

I see that the Veritas Sliding Bevel gauges are no longer available.

317235



Anyone know of a imminent replacement perhaps?

[Harold Burrell]

I see that the Veritas Sliding Bevel gauges are no longer available.

Anyone know of a imminent replacement perhaps?

No. No replacement.

It is my understanding that bevels are now illegal in Canada.








(DISCLAIMER: The above statement is neither factual, nor meant to be political. It was merely an attempt at humor...albeit, weak.)

[Brian Holcombe]

Luckily you can turn to Chris Vesper :D

[glenn bradley]

Interseting. I'm very glad I got one when they were available. There are crtinly other quality ersions around. Primary feature other than accuracy is operation and how well the design works with how you do. If you don't need one-handed operation your choices widen.

[ian maybury]

I'm a big fan of the quality of Veritas and Lee Valley products and their way of doing business in general Hilton - but I bought one of those bevels a year or two ago which turned out to have problems with poor quality die casting and machining inaccuracies in the locking system. (apparently confined to one batch) It's possible they may have experienced some problems getting consistently reliable supply, as the person I contacted didn't seem very confident that they could guarantee that a replacement would be better. They couldn't have been better about the matter.

Suspect it's hard to beat the relatively budget (judging by mine functionally 100% but perhaps less than fancy) Shinwa sliding bevel: http://www.finewoodworking.com/tool-guide/product-finder/shinwa-sliding-bevel-no-780.aspx Don't know if they do a smaller 100mm one….

[Barry McFadden]

Are these not sliding bevels? http://www.leevalley.com/en/home/Search.aspx?action=n

[Robert Engel]

This isn't it? (http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,42936,50298&p=43508)

[John Schtrumpf]

Made in Canada.

The initial shipment of the 4" Mini Sliding Bevel is expected to arrive by early July 2015.

[ian maybury]

A little confusing, but maybe rational enough. It seems as though this variety has been discontinued http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32593&cat=1,42936,50298,43508 (written in red at the top of the page), but the link at the bottom goes to another page with a slightly different address (at end) showing a slightly different (colour anyway) bevel with the July 2015 message: http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=73195&cat=1,42936,50298,43508&ap=1

Wonder if the replacement is coming from the same source, or if it's just a product change?

Robert's link by the way shows that LV offer the Shinwa aluminium bevel too.....

[Tony Zaffuto]

Why not a vintage Stanley #18 bevel? Come in three sizes, locks from a wing nut on the rear of the handle that does not interfere with anything.

[Jim Koepke]

Why not a vintage Stanley #18 bevel? Come in three sizes, locks from a wing nut on the rear of the handle that does not interfere with anything.

My second #18 Stanley bevel was recently acquired for $1.50. There are a lot of other Stanley sliding bevels in my accumulation.

The Veritas bevel is nice, but all of mine combined were at a lower price.

jtk

[Malcolm Schweizer]

A little confusing, but maybe rational enough. It seems as though this variety has been discontinued http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32593&cat=1,42936,50298,43508 (written in red at the top of the page), but the link at the bottom goes to another page with a slightly different address (at end) showing a slightly different (colour anyway) bevel with the July 2015 message: http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=73195&cat=1,42936,50298,43508&ap=1

Wonder if the replacement is coming from the same source, or if it's just a product change?

Robert's link by the way shows that LV offer the Shinwa aluminium bevel too.....

wow, Sweet! Did the old one have resin empregnated wood and bronze/stainless hardware? I like this bevel.

[ian maybury]

So far as the text on both pages seems to say Malcolm there doesn't appear (unless i've missed something) to be any change apart from the darker colour. (?)

[Randy Karst]

Exactly Tony; the vintage Stanley #18 bevel is wonderful (I use two of the sizes regularly)... and it can be had much cheaper. Having said that, I like the Veritas, I just couldn't pull the trigger on it given the higher cost. A Chris Vesper sliding bevel would be real nice as Brian suggest but...

[Steve Voigt]

My second #18 Stanley bevel was recently acquired for $1.50.



Jim,

YOU SUCK!!! :D

Another vote here for the Stanley #18. Even at fleabay prices they are not too expensive, and they work great.

[Jim Koepke]

So far as the text on both pages seems to say Malcolm there doesn't appear (unless i've missed something) to be any change apart from the darker colour. (?)

Look at the catalog numbers. One is also listed as a charcoal handled sliding bevel.

jtk

[Kent A Bathurst]

No. No replacement.

It is my understanding that bevels are now illegal in Canada.

(DISCLAIMER: The above statement is neither factual, nor meant to be political. It was merely an attempt at humor...albeit, weak.)

Weak is not very good. Funny is much better. You get props for funny.

They came south and burned the White House on August 24 1814 - coming up on the 201st anniversary. They gotta be willing to take a few, ya' dig? ;)

[Hilton Ralphs]

Here's the low down.

The 'new' Veritas Sliding Bevels only show up if your selected country is Canada.

If however like me and probably most of you, the selected country is USA then you will only find reference to the 'old' version. The link at the bottom of the page just gives this error "No page record for Page Id: 73195".

So it looks like your northern brethren are secretly stocking up on new gauges, ready for an all out assault from all angles. I think there's a saying; better the bevel you know.

[ian maybury]

Looks like you got it Hilton. Searching with the new part number brings up nothing on the international or US pages either. Seems like we perhaps inadvertently got past the distinction the site makes by pasting in the link to the Canadian page posted by the guys earlier.

Wonder what the plan is?

[Brian Holcombe]

They're only allowed to use maple.

...and now that Maurice's post vanished my joke makes no sense.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Sorry about that Brian! I was cruising the Canadian site, and couldn't even find it there, so I deleted. Good one, though!
for all those scratching their heads, I commented that they may not have the ban on exotic hardwoods.
As a side note, Canadian police are cracking down on those who get high from toasted maple fumes.

[Rob Luter]

Agreed. I have a nice bunch of #18 bevels in assorted sizes. All were acquired for cheap. In my opinion, there's no better locking system than is used on the #18

http://home.comcast.net/~kvaughn65/stanley_18.jpg

[Brian Holcombe]

If it's anything like the Vesper one then it's impressive. After having used the wing nut style for years and hating them, moving onto the bottom thumbscrew style has been an enjoyable step forward.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Here are my two favorite bevel gages right now.
the smaller one was made for me by Tom Calisto, of Chapel Hill NC. The other one is a Miller Falls Buck Rogers.
317421
I love the one Tom made, for its weight and feel. The locking mechanism is rock solid, and the ebony looks great, particularly the button on the knob. They are both great. Lament that I never picked up the LV version.

[ian maybury]

I hadn't seen the Stanley before. The Shinwa is remarkably similar: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shinwa-Japanese-8-Sliding-Bevel-Gauge-w-Aluminum-Base-Stainless-Steel-Blade-/130929401336

[Ray Selinger]

I've never seen a Stanley #18, in 45 years. So I think either the Shinwa or Veritas might be a good deal. I found the wing nut Stanley, which I bought about 45 years ago, to be a bit of a pain. So I broke down and bought a Veritas a few years back.

[Tony Zaffuto]

I have one of each size made by Stanley (8",10" & 12"), along with duplicates with the patent date. Best bevel ever made!

[Randy Karst]

Getting high on toasted maple fumes? Wow, there is a new one - go figure.

[Randy Karst]

Maurice,
Those are two very nice looking bevel gauges; the Tom Calisto looks a little closer in design to the Vesper. I searched his website but no there is no pricing; wondering how it stacks up compared to the Vesper cost wise?

[Maurice Ungaro]

Randy, cost wise, Tom's bevels win. His production runs are sporadic, but Tom is a busy guy, and his work is top notch. Just drop him a line. When he was making up the run mine came from, I had a choice of woods. I picked the ebony, well, because why not? I'd love to have another one in a different wood, so when working on a project that requires two different settings (like compound miter dovetails), I'd have two tools set up for the job.

[Reinis Kanders]

My Shinwa locks better than Veritas. Veritas blade can be moved with a bit of an effort, Shinwa is solid.
Veritas is pretty though.

[ian maybury]

:) Can't resist offering a slightly mischievous observation at this point which may or may not be appreciated! Apologies in advance if not.

As Reinis i've been posting about finding the Shinwa product to be rock solid, accurate - and cheap. It's not a fancy hand made tool in the traditional mould using fancy woods and brass, but boy does it get the job done and deliver at the bang for the buck level. Until Reinis there's not been a single 'me too' type response, while everybody seems hell bent on going for stuff with atmospheric street creed - be that the Stanley ('olde cred'), the handmades ('handmade cred'), or whatever.

I'd love to hear what the thinking is on stuff like this is, as it's a preference that seems to pop up quite often….

[Maurice Ungaro]

For me, I like stuff that works, and if it's pretty, all the better. I like aesthetics in design. My ebony & brass bevel, admittedly was a splurge. I know the maker, was moving away, and wanted to obtain one of his when I could. I also had the good fortune of living close by to an incredible vintage tool store. There I purchased my Miller Falls, as well as an older Stanley (teak, brass & steel) with a nice thumb lever that is tucked out of the way. Really, my flashy Miller Falls was less that the price of a new Shinwa. I've been playing with this hobby for only 15 years, and over that amount of time, things just come my way. I try not to hoard tools. Other times, after meeting a tool maker, I like to support their work and enjoy their product. Of course, my wife says I have too many hobbies, but then again, I was 42 when we got married, so my bachelor ways were pretty well entrenched!

[ian maybury]

Thanks Maurice. I guess we don't here have old tool stores (there simply weren't enough about i suspect, and our climate tends to heavy rust anyway), and I didn't have mentors to show a way. It's not that i don't appreciate and respond to really nice looking stuff in highly tactile materials like brass and nice woods, it's just that i ended up focused primarily on functionality and build quality. The stuff that works well seems to end up looking nice anyway.

This isn't referring to your bevels, as it's not always easy to tell where the line falls until you get a tool in your hands - and there's times anyway when it's just plain nice to buy a really appealing item or two.

There's seems very often in the more general sense though to be a population for whom spending on tools is necessarily about buying better function - it instead seems to head off into wanting to have the item for other reasons. Words like tradition, collection, ownership and emotion come to mind. As in the case of really high end wood planes and Japanese chisels - it's not that they don't necessarily work very well, but it just gets into territory where it's hard in the context of trying to kit out a shop with good quality user stuff to afford to go. Then there's the matter of feeling afraid to use some of these tools for fear of marking them up….

It's actually an interesting question for a company like Veritas in respect of the bevels discussed. How far do they go beyond function to deliver the 'look and feel' which may be a significant factor in selling a product too?

[Maurice Ungaro]

Interesting question, Ian. I'm sure Rob Lee would chime in on how their design process evolved. I do have a fair amount of Lee Valley tools, because of their functionality, durability, aesthetics and quality. Of course, all that is to say that one can do fine work with lesser tools. For me, tactile feel is something I look for.

[ian maybury]

I'd suspect Maurice that Lee Valley tend on stuff like their planes (i have several) to go for top functional performance - but not so much beyond that. It as you say ends up being beautiful looking stuff...

[Mike Allen1010]

No. No replacement.

It is my understanding that bevels are now illegal in Canada.

(DISCLAIMER: The above statement is neither factual, nor meant to be political. It was merely an attempt at humor...albeit, weak.)


Harold, I LOVE your very clever sense of humor! Personally, I'll take all laughs I can get and very much appreciate all those you regularly provide here in the Cave!!! I come to SMC to escape from humorless, self-important people, and you are one of my favorite posters.

Cheers, Mike