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Thread: Lee Valley/Veritas tools

  1. #1
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    Lee Valley/Veritas tools

    Rob Lee is coming clean again about the supply nightmares he's still facing (email today). We all owe it to him to keep him with a steady stream of orders, even though we probably won't receive them for months. We don't want his business to wither away! Weigh in if you agree.

  2. #2
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    My latest order arrived a couple days ago.

    It wasn't a big order but it filled a hole in my selection of forestner bits and brad point bits. Plus a lifetime supply (hopefully) of the inexpensive brushes that are great on the bench for cleaning shavings from planes and applying finish. They are often considered throw away brushes but mine often get cleaned.

    Brushes.jpg

    https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop...s?item=56Z9930

    At less than 80˘ each these are not only less expensive than the ones often seen in the big box stores the handles have a better feel than the roughness of the others.

    Oops! I was looking at the Canadian site. The brushes work out to 60˘ each, that is about half the price for the small ones (1/2") that Lowes & HD used to charge but no longer carry.

    Fill the holes in your drill bit selections and toss a bag of brushes on top of your order.

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 10-14-2021 at 7:34 PM. Reason: Oops!
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  3. #3
    Thanks for the heads up - that email went to my spam folder for some reason and I missed it.

    I think it's accurate to say that buying things that are in stock now will help a company I value stay afloat. Bear in mind that placing orders that we wont receive for months isnt going to help LV's cash flow though - they are a reputable company and dont charge my card until they ship.

    I will go see what's in stock and try to help a little.

    Fred
    Last edited by Frederick Skelly; 10-14-2021 at 9:04 PM.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  4. #4
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    Apr 2017
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    I agree! I am going to avoid Amazon for a while. I will place an order with Lee Valley. They are a fine business and deserve our support!

  5. #5
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    Dec 2016
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    South West Ontario
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    Reached the same conclusion a couple of weeks ago and ordered a few measuring instruments and small Japanese tools that are far better than the ones I have now at less than half the price. They will all be very hard to get for some time and then more expensive. Look at any gaps in your tool chest now.
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  6. #6
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    Fairbanks AK
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    I am finally trying the Lie-Nielsen scissors. I am a closet scissor fiend, I bet they are pretty good. Placed an everything in stock order at Lee Valley too, finally trying the wee little 1.5 inch speed square among other things.

    One product I highly highly reccomend from Lee Valley is the tweezers, the "Sliver Gripper Tweezers." They are $9.50 each, in stock, and they absolutely kick butt. I ordered 8-10 pair a few years ago for stocking stuffers, I keep one pair in my shop, one pair in my truck and one pair in my field pack.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Jones 5443 View Post
    Rob Lee is coming clean again about the supply nightmares he's still facing (email today). We all owe it to him to keep him with a steady stream of orders, even though we probably won't receive them for months. We don't want his business to wither away! Weigh in if you agree.
    LV store is few minutes from my home. I am at the store almost every weekend. Store is open till 6:00PM otherwise I would be there weekdays as well.

    Here, LV is probably the best store in terms of customer service and kind of curated product selection. KMS Tools is the only other tools store I love visiting. Add to that LV has one of the most generous return policy.

    One thing I highly appreciate about LV is that during this tough time, I have not noticed any reduction in number of employees. And, interacting with them, one can tell that they are happy and love what they are doing.

    Most of the items I need are in stock there so did not get effected by the stock problem. I was actually surprised that they had Sawstop in stock, ready to deliver.

    I digressed.

    I agree, orders should keep flowing. Will add that buy what's in stock.

  8. #8
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    I doubt they're to the point that we need to start a GoFundMe page yet, but any excuse to buy tools is a good one.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    I doubt they're to the point that we need to start a GoFundMe page yet, but any excuse to buy tools is a good one.
    Good point Tom. I do not have calipers and am looking at Lee Valley. As a Neanderthal I feel like I should start with the basic vernier caliper, but the digital ( blind man ) caliper looks convenient. My vision is still pretty good, but at 63 I am not getting any younger. Is the digital significantly easier that I should forego the vernier?

  10. #10
    If you're anything like me, the Veritas manufacturing seconds sale in October is your main tool-buying event of the year...

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rainey View Post
    Is the digital significantly easier that I should forego the vernier?
    I’m 72. Had and used a dial caliper for years, then I picked up a Mitutoyo digital caliper at an estate sale filled with machinist’s tools. The dial caliper was sold on Craigslist within a week.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stephen Rosenthal View Post
    I’m 72. Had and used a dial caliper for years, then I picked up a Mitutoyo digital caliper at an estate sale filled with machinist’s tools. The dial caliper was sold on Craigslist within a week.
    Good enough for me Stephen, digital it is.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rainey View Post
    ... Is the digital significantly easier that I should forego the vernier?
    Yes! But... check on the type of battery and the shutoff mode of whatever you get. I'm not a big user and it's really frustrating to find your calipers dead every time you dig them out for use. And it's infuriating to find they use some obscure, hard to find, and expensive battery.

    For most word working tasks I find the simple non-battery non-vernier calipers have enough accuracy for my needs. (Wood will move, make the parts match and don't worry about the last 0.001" )

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stephen Rosenthal View Post
    I’m 72. Had and used a dial caliper for years, then I picked up a Mitutoyo digital caliper at an estate sale filled with machinist’s tools. The dial caliper was sold on Craigslist within a week.

    67 and went the other way. bought a dial caliber and the digital doesn't get used. too damn hard to figure out what size it is when it reads out in 128ths of an inch. much easier to see that it is 5/8's close enough majority of the time
    Now have multiple dial calibers at home and one at work
    Ron

  15. #15
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    My dial caliper is my friend. At 71 years the dial is still easy to read. One of my fears is of spending money on a digital caliper since so many of my electronical things have died over the years. It would be an inconvenience to get it out to find the battery is dead since the nearest place to by batteries is about an hour and a couple gallons of fuel round trip.

    My Lufkin caliper reads in 32nds one scale and 64ths on another. The 64ths scale is often hard to see without a magnifier. The 32nds is easy and can usually extrapolate 64ths +/- by were the line falls between the 32nds markings.

    It doesn't take much brain work to figure if and what numbered drill size is needed or if the fractional box of bits needs to be used.

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 10-16-2021 at 4:37 PM.
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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