I have nothing but glowing reports for LeeValley (no, I
don't work there or know anyone who does). I recently got a
cheque from them... seems they lowered their price of the
WWII (which I recently purchased from them) and sent me the
difference back. Cool.
Dave.
Bob S. wrote:
> It may have sounded like I meant you have to tell Robin personally should
> you have a problem. Not so, the staff at Lee Valley is "empowered" and can
> fix any problem faster than you can imagine and they do it cheerfully. I
> have dealt with them via on-line ordering, phone, and have visited the store
> on a number of occasions while on business trips to Ottawa. They have the
> greatest jobs in the world and whatever it is they do for their employee's
> certainly works - and it shows !
>
> (enough shilling for Lee Valley, Robin - just send the low angle block plane
> to.....)
>
> Bob S.
>
>
I think my wife bought me a few things from them a Christmas or so ago.
Japanese arving knives or something like that if I remember. Seems that
they were pretty good quality but wasn't sure if it all it good stuff or
not. Thanks for the opinion. I get one or two of their catalogs, but not
the big hardware? one or at least I haven't been on the mailing list
since they sent the last one out.
Thomas
Bob S. wrote:
> Thomas,
>
> Do not be afraid to order anything from Lee Valley. They stand behind their
> products 110% and have the best customer service you will ever find - bar
> none Robin Lee is a frequent contributor/mentor here. If you have a
> problem with their products, tell Robin and consider the problem solved.
>
> To answer your question...if it's not high quality, it won't be sold by Lee
> Valley. On the occasion they have something of a special purchase and it's
> quality is lower than what is their normal standard, they state that fact
> right up front. Just read their catalog and you'll see that. What...you
> don't get their catalog? Missing some of the best tool-porn reading
> available on planet earth...
>
> Bob S.
>
>
> "Thomas Mitchell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>Anyone have an opinion on this brand? Never bought one and I think they
>>have a keyhole bit that will work for my cribbage board dilemna.
>>
>>Thomas
>>
>
>
>
Yep I saw that post, but I was looking for practical experience with the
bits. Thanks for posting it.
Preston Andreas wrote:
> Here is a post from Robin Lee in March, 2001 in response to a question about
> Lee Valley's router bits.
>
>
> Hi,
>
> I guess I must have missed your previous post - I do try to respond to all
> inquiries made in rec.ww .
>
> Our router bits are made by a Taiwanese manufacturer, to our specifications.
> This manufacturer makes several quality levels of bits (some really good,
> some not so!). We specify CNC grinding, with either a 400X or 600X finish
> grind - his highest quality level. The factory is ISO 9002 certified.
>
> When you're buying a router bit (or any other product for that matter) what
> you're really buying is the support and service of the company you buy from.
> No one in this business (for the long term anyway) wants to sell you
> something once - we all want you as a customer for a long time.
>
> We feel our router bits hit the price/performance point that provides
> excellent value for the majority of our customers. Are they the best bits?
> It depends on what you're looking for - we're very pleased with them!
>
> As I've said before (in this forum) there are several manufacturers of good
> quality bits - Dimar (Amana in US, made in Israel), CMT (Italy) and Jesada
> (US), to name a few. All of these hit different price/performance points.
>
> In the recent FWW router bit test, at least 5 of the bits (possibly seven)
> from different retail companies came from the same manufacturing plant.
> Some of these were high grade, some were low grade. FWW certainly found
> differences!
>
> As a consumer, it's increasingly difficult to judge who "really"
> manufactures all their bits, and at which quality level. As an example, take
> a bit (say a red one) - do you really know where it's made??? A given bit
> (say 1/4 straight) may come from two or more factories, in two or more
> countries within a short period of time - just depends on who quoted a lower
> price for that run!
>
> Sorry to be so long winded, but there's no easy answer to your question!
>
> Cheers,
>
>
> Rob Lee
> VP Marketing
> Lee Valley Tools Ltd.
> "Thomas Mitchell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>Anyone have an opinion on this brand? Never bought one and I think they
>>have a keyhole bit that will work for my cribbage board dilemna.
>>
>>Thomas
>>
>
>
>
"Thomas Mitchell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Yep I saw that post, but I was looking for practical experience with the
> bits. Thanks for posting it.
I've used a few of them. Good results so far. I did trash a 1/4" cutter,
but it was me, not the bit that was the problem. The slot cutter and
rabbeting bit have performed as well as I'd expect. I'll buy them again.
Ed
Thanks Preston -
Don't have to find that post again now!
Cheers,
Rob Lee
Lee Valley
"Preston Andreas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Here is a post from Robin Lee in March, 2001 in response to a question
about
> Lee Valley's router bits.
>
>
> Hi,
>
> I guess I must have missed your previous post - I do try to respond to all
> inquiries made in rec.ww .
>
> Our router bits are made by a Taiwanese manufacturer, to our
specifications.
> This manufacturer makes several quality levels of bits (some really good,
> some not so!). We specify CNC grinding, with either a 400X or 600X finish
> grind - his highest quality level. The factory is ISO 9002 certified.
>
> When you're buying a router bit (or any other product for that matter)
what
> you're really buying is the support and service of the company you buy
from.
> No one in this business (for the long term anyway) wants to sell you
> something once - we all want you as a customer for a long time.
>
> We feel our router bits hit the price/performance point that provides
> excellent value for the majority of our customers. Are they the best bits?
> It depends on what you're looking for - we're very pleased with them!
>
> As I've said before (in this forum) there are several manufacturers of
good
> quality bits - Dimar (Amana in US, made in Israel), CMT (Italy) and Jesada
> (US), to name a few. All of these hit different price/performance points.
>
> In the recent FWW router bit test, at least 5 of the bits (possibly seven)
> from different retail companies came from the same manufacturing plant.
> Some of these were high grade, some were low grade. FWW certainly found
> differences!
>
> As a consumer, it's increasingly difficult to judge who "really"
> manufactures all their bits, and at which quality level. As an example,
take
> a bit (say a red one) - do you really know where it's made??? A given bit
> (say 1/4 straight) may come from two or more factories, in two or more
> countries within a short period of time - just depends on who quoted a
lower
> price for that run!
>
> Sorry to be so long winded, but there's no easy answer to your question!
>
> Cheers,
>
>
> Rob Lee
> VP Marketing
> Lee Valley Tools Ltd.
> "Thomas Mitchell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Anyone have an opinion on this brand? Never bought one and I think they
> > have a keyhole bit that will work for my cribbage board dilemna.
> >
> > Thomas
> >
>
>
It may have sounded like I meant you have to tell Robin personally should
you have a problem. Not so, the staff at Lee Valley is "empowered" and can
fix any problem faster than you can imagine and they do it cheerfully. I
have dealt with them via on-line ordering, phone, and have visited the store
on a number of occasions while on business trips to Ottawa. They have the
greatest jobs in the world and whatever it is they do for their employee's
certainly works - and it shows !
(enough shilling for Lee Valley, Robin - just send the low angle block plane
to.....)
Bob S.
Here is a post from Robin Lee in March, 2001 in response to a question about
Lee Valley's router bits.
Hi,
I guess I must have missed your previous post - I do try to respond to all
inquiries made in rec.ww .
Our router bits are made by a Taiwanese manufacturer, to our specifications.
This manufacturer makes several quality levels of bits (some really good,
some not so!). We specify CNC grinding, with either a 400X or 600X finish
grind - his highest quality level. The factory is ISO 9002 certified.
When you're buying a router bit (or any other product for that matter) what
you're really buying is the support and service of the company you buy from.
No one in this business (for the long term anyway) wants to sell you
something once - we all want you as a customer for a long time.
We feel our router bits hit the price/performance point that provides
excellent value for the majority of our customers. Are they the best bits?
It depends on what you're looking for - we're very pleased with them!
As I've said before (in this forum) there are several manufacturers of good
quality bits - Dimar (Amana in US, made in Israel), CMT (Italy) and Jesada
(US), to name a few. All of these hit different price/performance points.
In the recent FWW router bit test, at least 5 of the bits (possibly seven)
from different retail companies came from the same manufacturing plant.
Some of these were high grade, some were low grade. FWW certainly found
differences!
As a consumer, it's increasingly difficult to judge who "really"
manufactures all their bits, and at which quality level. As an example, take
a bit (say a red one) - do you really know where it's made??? A given bit
(say 1/4 straight) may come from two or more factories, in two or more
countries within a short period of time - just depends on who quoted a lower
price for that run!
Sorry to be so long winded, but there's no easy answer to your question!
Cheers,
Rob Lee
VP Marketing
Lee Valley Tools Ltd.
"Thomas Mitchell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Anyone have an opinion on this brand? Never bought one and I think they
> have a keyhole bit that will work for my cribbage board dilemna.
>
> Thomas
>
probably one of the best places to buy sight unseen that you will ever find.
Local old-fashioned Hardware store service and top quality.
"Thomas Mitchell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Anyone have an opinion on this brand? Never bought one and I think they
> have a keyhole bit that will work for my cribbage board dilemna.
>
> Thomas
>
Thomas,
Do not be afraid to order anything from Lee Valley. They stand behind their
products 110% and have the best customer service you will ever find - bar
none Robin Lee is a frequent contributor/mentor here. If you have a
problem with their products, tell Robin and consider the problem solved.
To answer your question...if it's not high quality, it won't be sold by Lee
Valley. On the occasion they have something of a special purchase and it's
quality is lower than what is their normal standard, they state that fact
right up front. Just read their catalog and you'll see that. What...you
don't get their catalog? Missing some of the best tool-porn reading
available on planet earth...
Bob S.
"Thomas Mitchell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Anyone have an opinion on this brand? Never bought one and I think they
> have a keyhole bit that will work for my cribbage board dilemna.
>
> Thomas
>