Comments on: Highly Recommended: Veritas Replacement Irons and Cap Irons

By: VAWoodworker

VAWoodworker — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:39:55 +0000

I have no doubts that LV’s irons and cap irons are excellent quality. Everything that I have seen or bought through LV has been. However, I am puzzled by this:

“2. The blades are thin. The are thicker than stock Stanley blades, but not so thick that you have to file open the mouth of your tool or do other metalwork on the guts of your planes. Veritas found a nice middle ground.”

How about some actual measurements. How does the thickness of the Veritas iron compare to the thickness of the Hock and LN irons? I thought all three used 3/32″ thick replacement irons vs. the 1/8″ thick (or I should say, “thin”) OEM Stanley. Is the Veritas thicker or thinner than the Hock or LN replacement irons?

By: cbf123

cbf123 — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:40:28 +0000

I asked Lee Valley about this…here’s their reply:

“The replacement blades are made with the same slot as used on the Veritas(r) planes. The Veritas(r) blade slot extends down further to allow access to the frog locking screw without having to remove the blade. The replacement blades are made off the same blanking tool, and in turn, had to have the same slot.”

So…part of the reason they could offer it at the price they have is that they reused their existing tooling, which is why the slot is longer.

By: Bear

Bear — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 01:48:12 +0000

I’ve found that the A2 steel is great, but it is difficult to sharpen, but then A2 stays sharp longer. I recently bought a replacement blade and chip breaker from Hock for my record #4 and I invoked the inch-and-a-half rule. If the blade is wider than an inch-and-a-half buy O1; narrower than that A2.

By: JimM

JimM — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:53:26 +0000

I stand corrected. I didn’t find them on LN web site before I ordered the new iron and cap irons, though I am not fond of sharpening A2.

By: chayward

chayward — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:57:27 +0000

L-N makes A2 in 2 1/4″ size.

By: Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:11:18 +0000

I’d try Ray Iles.

http://www.oldtools.free-online.co.uk/

They always seem to have lots of “spares.”

By: Tico Vogt

Tico Vogt — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:05:27 +0000

Hi Chris,

On a Record Jointer Plane I’m missing the dome head screw that holds the lever cap down. It would be good to get one before upgrading the blade/breaker! Any sources on those screws or should I just be a “fitter” and go to the hardware store?

Thanks,

Tico

By: dfdye

dfdye — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 01:58:07 +0000

Fair enough! Looks like I’ll have to try one out since they are definitely a decent bit cheaper than the other alternatives for replacing the blades in my old Stanleys. I’m partial to A2 myself, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask. Thanks for the follow up.

By: John Jesseph

John Jesseph — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:52:58 +0000

Maybe, maybe not. I don’t hold back on grinding, and O1 is not really tough. I just don’t understand why not make best use of the material.

My heirs or the people who get my stuff will be having a tough enough time getting the proper blades and cap irons back where they belong, with as much swapping out as I do.

By: Mitchell

Mitchell — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:40:23 +0000

One of the impressive things about Chris Schwarz is his fairness when it comes to recommending what vendors, instructors and suppliers have to offer. It appears that politics and personal relationships aren’t involved. It is as impressive as it is rare.

Lee Valley Tools is a small Canadian family company that we Canadian woodworkers are very proud of. We think of Lee Valley in the same way American woodworkers think of Lie-Nielsen. It is impressive when we get to read an article that gives this progressive company a fair shake.