Veritas Plane Iron Question

[Brian Eaton]

Good morning -

I recently ordered a cap iron/blade from Lee Valley for my #6 plane. When I received it the cutting edge was out of square by approximately 1/16th (checked with 3 different squares registered against both sides of the blade) so I contacted Lee Valley who promptly sent a replacement. The replacement iron I received was equally out of square (even the bevel on the cutting edge was skewed). Am I wrong to expect that I should receive an iron with a squared cutting edge? It just seems to me that I should not have to regrind a quality blade fresh out of the package. I also initially ordered a #5 cap iron/blade and it was fine out of the package.

Please note - I have no interest in starting a thread discussing Lee Valley or Veritas's quality, reputation, etc. so please withhold those kinds of comments. If anything, I'm purposefully mentioning the company name to highlight that they have been quick to respond and help resolve the situation. My experience thus far with Lee Valley has been great, and all of the other products I've purchased have been of the highest quality. I have no doubt that they will make it right, whether that it sending me another blade or refunding the purchase, and this will not dissuade me from doing business with them in the future. I just want to confirm that I'm being reasonable to expect a square edge out of the package.


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[William Fretwell]

I have had a Lee Valley plane blade a little off square, I just sharpened it square. I put my 90 degree edge on and let the rest of the bevel catch up with subsequent sharpening. I always sharpen my new tools out of the box, some require considerable work. I’ve never had a good working edge out of the box, but I am rather fussy!

[Brian Eaton]

William,

I have had to square all of the new-to-me blades on the old stanley's I've bought, which is fine. Never having bought a new blade I just wasn't sure what to expect, especially since the no. 4/5 blade I also purchased was DEAD square.

[chris carter]

I've bought three Veritas irons and all were perfectly square (I checked when I bought them). They were ready to go out of the box (although I reground them anyway because I don't like secondary bevels and prefer a hollow grind). I don't think it's at all unreasonable to expect a square iron, particularly from a "premium" company like Veritas. I think you should tell them the second one was out of square because there could be a lot more. I remember when I bought a drill press years ago and the table wasn't true. I contacted the company and they sent a replacement table and it wasn't true either. So then I called again with one of those "you're not gonna believe this but..." calls. It went up to the manager in charge of manufacturing and he called me back saying he personally went and tested different ones to make sure and it turned out that a whole slew of them had the same problem and he pulled them all. He thanked me. So I think you should let them know. If you want to wait for another one or just fix it yourself to save time is up to you, but I'd let them know.

[Hasin Haroon]

It's been hit or miss for me, I've had some blades from Veritas arrive perfectly square, some a little bit off square, and a couple ridiculously off square. I've only returned one that was way off square, otherwise I just use the lateral adjuster to adjust the blade projection. Of course this is only okay for bench planes mostly - for most joinery planes you need that square edge.

That said Veritas is always good with replacing anything that you are not satisfied with, so I'm sure their CS will make it right if you are against grinding it or just using it.

[Jim Koepke]

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My approach even with the first blade would be to square it up and get back to work.

As Chris mentioned, Lee Valley would likely appreciate a call to let them know they may have a set up problem.

jtk

[glenn bradley]

I would square it up and use it BUT, I would let them know so that they are aware of the QC issue. I have done this in the past with non-critical "defects" like this and they always seem to appreciate it.

[Rob Lee]

(Banging head against wall ....)


Likely the same batch....they are ganged up and ground...so if one is off, then 20 are off. It happens....

I am honestly more disappointed we sent a second one. That shouldn’t happen, and I will be addressing this with staff.

We’ll put it right, of course....

Rob

[Brian Eaton]

(Banging head against wall ....)


Likely the same batch....they are ganged up and ground...so if one is off, then 20 are off. It happens....

I am honestly more disappointed we sent a second one. That shouldn’t happen, and I will be addressing this with staff.

We’ll put it right, of course....

Rob

Rob,

thank you VERY much for responding to this post. I had no doubt that Lee Valley would take care of things. The customer service rep I’ve been emailing has been very helpful and courteous. Your company is one of the finest companies I’ve ever done business with and will keep doing business with. I’ve got a wish list a mile long on your website and eargerly look forward to when I have an opportunity to make another purchase!

[Chris Fournier]

(Banging head against wall ....)


Likely the same batch....they are ganged up and ground...so if one is off, then 20 are off. It happens....

I am honestly more disappointed we sent a second one. That shouldn’t happen, and I will be addressing this with staff.

We’ll put it right, of course....

Rob

And having spent tens of thousands of $$$ at Lee Valley I can say that problems were infinitesimal and when there was a problem they were dealt with like I had bought a Mercedes Benz not a table saw blade stabilizer. I have been in the sales business both corporate, industrial, and retail for most of my life. Lee Valley is the gold standard! Simple as that. And not this year or five years ago, I'm talking from my experience - 30 years ago. World class.

[David Silverson]

That is exactly my experience at my local Ottawa store and I think I could match you in money spent. And,I'm not done yet.

[Frank Martin]

And having spent tens of thousands of $$$ at Lee Valley I can say that problems were infinitesimal and when there was a problem they were dealt with like I had bought a Mercedes Benz not a table saw blade stabilizer. I have been in the sales business both corporate, industrial, and retail for most of my life. Lee Valley is the gold standard! Simple as that. And not this year or five years ago, I'm talking from my experience - 30 years ago. World class.

I have been buying from Lee Valley only the last 16 years and my experience is exactly same as yours. They are indeed the gold standard.

[Wojciech Tryc]

Same here, one of the best retailers I have ever dealt with.

[Steven Mikes]

I bought a LV tennon saw that was warped vertically (still pretty new to sawing so took awhile to convince myself that it was the saw's problem and not mine that my cuts were mistracking horribly!) They sent a replacement with no questions asked and paid for return shipping on the defective saw.

[Brian Eaton]

Got a call from a customer service rep today and he mentioned that they had spoken with Veritas and, as Rob mentioned, there was a bad batch. He said he personally pulled and inspected a blade and it would be shipped UPS Red and arrive tomorrow. That’s some great customer service!

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks for the conclusion Brian. It is always appreciated when folks finish the story.

jtk