MIMF

Just got a notice from them yesterday and a link to their online catalog. Still a little thin, and there is obviously some overlap between the luthier stuff and their regular woodworking offerings, but given how much I love Veritas tools, and that I find that most of the stuff that Lee Valley sells to be of high quality, this is interesting.

They also opened a retail store just across the river in Windsor that I've been trying to ignore - I don't need the temptation. A few years ago, Marcy and I went to their store in London ON. That was a dangerous trip. Marcy's a gardener, and their gardening stuff is just as nice as their woodworking products. We each kept egging on the other to get what they wanted, and ended up having to worry whether we'd exceed the duty-free limit coming back into the states!

I do hope they offer a printed catalog of their luthier tools.

Uh oh! Lee Valley head quarters and main store is just down the street from me. This could be dangerous.

Well you will save commuting time Andy

This link gives an overview of their dedicated guitar making products.

I noticed that if you search for luthier on their site a few more items pop up too.

Added to my browser favs.

Holy smokes!
Their prices are high!

Dan Smith wrote:Holy smokes!
Their prices are high!

Lee Valley in my experience carries only very high-quality tools. If it's something that they have designed and is being made for them (or something being sold under their "Veritas" brand name) I can almost guarantee that the item is worth the money.

Not having done any comparisons of items they sell vs identical or comparable items available from StewMac or LMI, I can't say if they are over-priced for that category of product.

I've been buying from Lee Valley since the 1980's. About five or six years ago, I bought a Veritas plane that went down in price a month or two later. I was kicking myself for not waiting a while longer.Two or three weeks after, I received a cheque for the price difference. I have never regretted buying a tool from them and I still buy things every few months.

Brent

I'm a huge, huge fan of Rob Lee and Lee Valley tools.
IMHO, the prices are higher, but I've never regretted buying anything Veritas or Lee Valley.

FWIW, a few favorites include:
LA Jack plane (does most everything needed in lutherie imho)
Peasant Chef Knife (like a Sabatier, but with better steel and heat treat and much cheaper)

Three of my favorite planes are Veritas - their skew block plane, their standard low-angle block plane (which I've used as a smoother with the optional handle, front knob and a high-angle blade) and their small shoulder plane. An absolute joy to use. I wanted their bevel-up jack plane too, but Marcy got me one from Lie-Nielsen instead. Not quite as nice as the Veritas model (no set screws for positioning side edges of the blade) but still, a super-nice plane!!

I have stuck with Lie-Nielsen for "specialty" planes, I have their Small Bronze Block plane, Violin Makers Plane, 212 scraper Plane, and Model Maker's Squirrel Tail Plane..... They will all outlive me several times over and are a pleasure to use.... My Bench Planes are all old Stanley/Record planes with Hock blades.