Steve B Anderson Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 I just purchased a new Veritas low angle block plane to replace a Stanley that was out of square and flatness that it would have taken a professional grind shop to fix. I have been reading here and other forums that Veritas is one of the best you can purchase. I took the plunge and paid for the Veritas and upon receiving the plane, I put my square to it and it is no better than the Stanley. The sides are not square with the sole and the sole is convex by about 1/64”. So my question is, should I request a replacement or is this the quality to expect from Veritas these days? Thanks in advance for your input Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 Call them. They'll replace it. Cast iron does sometime warp after some time passes. It could have been machined perfectly, but had some stress in it that releases some time later. Machine manufacturers used to leave castings laying outside for a year or more before they machined it, but I doubt many do that any more. I can't think of anyone that stands behind their products more than Lee Valley. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted June 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 7 minutes ago, Tom King said: Call them. They'll replace it. Cast iron does sometime warp after some time passes. It could have been machined perfectly, but had some stress in it that releases some time later. Machine manufacturers used to leave castings laying outside for a year or more before they machined it, but I doubt many do that any more. I can't think of anyone that stands behind their products more than Lee Valley. Thanks Tom - I’m a Machinist by trade and when someone says (Precision Ground) I expect perfection. I’ll give them a call tomorrow and see what they say. Thanks again - Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeset202 Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 I have several of the Veritas planes (low angle and bench) and they are perfect, something went wrong with the one you received. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 Sorry for your misfortune Steve. I bought this plane two years ago and ordered the wood front knob (I know, not the right word) and the threads were striped. I talked to a Veritas guy in Amana last year and he said, definitely let them know. I made a call and no exchange needed, they sent me a new knob. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 10 hours ago, Tom King said: I can't think of anyone that stands behind their products more than Lee Valley. Lie Nielsen is the only one close that i can think of. I will echo the call them and they will make it right. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 I have had to have one plane replaced by Lee Valley. It was quick and painless and they took the trouble to check the replacement plane before sending it. At least they said so and the replacement arrived just fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted June 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 Thanks everyone, I’ll give them a call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 To bad that happened but all whoudl be well shortly... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted June 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2018 Update: after speaking with their customer service department, they want me to send them photos of the square I used setting on a known flat surface and a photo of the square on the sole of the plane. I’m not getting a warm feeling from Lee Valley. I can see their point of view so I went through the trouble of documenting my square accuracy and the defect in their plane. Will update on the outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted June 30, 2018 Report Share Posted June 30, 2018 17 minutes ago, Steve B Anderson said: I’m not getting a warm feeling from Lee Valley. I can understand that but I think they will do the right thing in the end. Still stinks thought. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted June 30, 2018 Report Share Posted June 30, 2018 I have had things replaced by Lee valley, I always send pictures in my email and they always replace right away and apologize for the incident. It sounds totally normal to me that they want a picture... There are people out there that don't know what is flat or square, and they don't know you're not one of them, yet They'll make it right, just send the pictures. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Steve B Anderson Posted June 30, 2018 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted June 30, 2018 24 minutes ago, mat60 said: I can understand that but I think they will do the right thing in the end. Still stinks thought. I hope they will. I’m sure there are people out there that use a crooked stick to check flatness with. They don’t know me or my occupation. I have 26 Years machinists experience and 12 years now on the engineering and process planning side. We machine features on parts that require flatness within light bands. This measurement is beyond what our CMM’s are capable of. I was a little offended when they questioned my assessment of the plane but I understand their point and hopefully the photos I sent them will clear things up 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Steve B Anderson Posted July 2, 2018 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 2, 2018 Ok- I can stop all my whining and crying. Lee Vally has approved the accuracy of my squares and my hand plane inspection process. They are sending me a replacement and agreed to inspect the plane before shipping. Even though I complained a little here on the forum, I definitely feel they handled my request very professionally and with the upmost courtesy. Everyone here on the forum told they would come through and they did. I guess we just had to get to know each other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted July 2, 2018 Report Share Posted July 2, 2018 Glad to hear it worked out! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 I expected no less. Sorry you had some time wasted, but glad to hear you'll be getting a good one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted July 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 1 hour ago, pkinneb said: Glad to hear it worked out! Thanks - Seems everybody but me had confidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted July 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 58 minutes ago, Tom King said: I expected no less. Sorry you had some time wasted, but glad to hear you'll be getting a good one. Thankfully no time lost here Tom. Even though I’m not on a professional schedule like yourself, I still plan weeks in advance. Just an old work habit I guess but it usually keeps me out of trouble. A few hours of upstream planning can save days when it comes time to exacuate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 1 hour ago, Steve B Anderson said: Thanks - Seems everybody but me had confidence. That’s understandable. Glad it all worked out for ya Steve. Now had you been from another state, other than Texas, it might not have been so smooth, just saying 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted July 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 8 minutes ago, K Cooper said: That’s understandable. Glad it all worked out for ya Steve. Now had you been from another state, other than Texas, it might not have been so smooth, just saying Playing the Texas card does help at times 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 Awesome well lets hope that the new one works flawlessly. I get the vent i bought a table saw that had a bunch of chipped paint, trouble was that company needed some convincing to make it right. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted July 4, 2018 Report Share Posted July 4, 2018 Glad it worked out and its great that you new it wasn't right. Myself not knowing much about a block planes would have tried it and wondered what I was doing wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted July 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2018 I would like to get the opinion of the community on this. Is this acceptable sole flatness for a Veritas block plane? This is the replacement sent me that was supposed to be inspected before shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted July 13, 2018 Report Share Posted July 13, 2018 I've got the exact same plane. Never subjected it to that level of inspection but it works better than all of my other planes. I'm not sure that applying machinist levels of accuracy is needed with most woodwork. Is it that much work to flatten the sole from that point ? Having said that an accurate straightedge gets used frequently in my shop. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B Anderson Posted July 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2018 1 minute ago, wdwerker said: I've got the exact same plane. Never subjected it to that level of inspection but it works better than all of my other planes. I'm not sure that applying machinist levels of accuracy is needed with most woodwork. Is it that much work to flatten the sole from that point ? Having said that an accurate straightedge gets used frequently in my shop. It’s not so much that I can’t flatten it, it’s that I’m buying one of the best brands out there and I shouldn’t have to flatten it. Maybe I’m being too picky I don’t know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.