# Lee Valley Cyber Monday deals



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

just thought I'd point it out if anyone might be interested - Lee Valley is having a cyber monday sale on mfg. seconds at some very attractive prices ($50 -$100 off of best seller hand planes)

http://www.leevalley.com/en/home/cyms.aspx?c=

first come first serve, those sell out fast like hot buns.


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## JohnChung (Sep 20, 2012)

Do check the fine print "Seconds"...... But yes it is a very very nice plane.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

yup, see my post - "mfg. seconds"

I got a LV 'seconds' before, and unless someone pointed out the blemish, you wouldn't know it. the savings are quite nice.


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## CL810 (Mar 21, 2010)

Thanks Sharon for the heads up. I purchased a dovetail saw I've been thinking about buying and just hadn't moved on. Sure wish I could have justified buying the large shoulder plane at $165 - love their medium shoulder plane.


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## bobasaurus (Sep 6, 2009)

I saw the ad this morning and placed my order immediately. I bought the finer dovetail saw, the block plane, and the jack plane. Their factory seconds are nearly indistinguishable from the regular production line (I bought a few during last year's sale).


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

yup. I'm a bit more concervative. I got the medium shoulder plane last time around and actually worked real hard to find the 'blemish' until I gave up and assumed some small discoloration was "it" - worked flawlessly as all their high end stuff does. this time I got the jack plane which I have been considering for a long time. I guess it's time to retire my Stanley (not into collecting, and definitely not duplicates) after I test drive the veritas version.

I must say, I'm surprised that some products are still available. only the shoulder plane is sold out atm.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I wanted a set of skewed block planes for ever but the $400 price tag was way to hard to swallow. Merry xmas to me.


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## jap (Oct 10, 2012)

i got the dovetail saw and jack plane, i also didn't have to pay for shipping(i did store pick-up)


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## 12strings (Nov 15, 2011)

Thanks for this…I Just ordered the 14 TPI Dovetail saw ($45 vs. regular price of $68…plus $10 shipping, of course).

I've been eyeing these saws for a while…it will be my first high-quality dovetail saw (or any saw that cost more than $20, for that matter). I'm looking forward to using it.


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## JohnChung (Sep 20, 2012)

It was the blemishes that stopped me from ordering. I don know to what degree is the blemish. From your previous purchase, what kind of defects were there?

I have quite a few LV tools. My priced piece is the DX 60 but that has some dings on the top near the knob screw ….... But it has been japanned on that spot. It does not effect functionality at all BUT at cosmetic view it is not a perfect rounded edge. At least all the screws and sole are perfect. No dings at all.

I maybe over reacting but paying top dollar for tools is like expecting the perfect body…...... Plane body.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

The "scratch and dent sale" is a common marketing
ploy. The seller may invent defective items or intentionally
damage packaging in order to fulfill the flood of orders.

It allows steep discounting (which stimulates orders
like no other tactic) without undermining the 
credibility of "regular price". For a maker/seller shop
like Lee Valley, price credibility is a very important
thing they want to hang on to.

The upshot for buyers is that items sold as "scratch 
and dent" may be in name only. In any case,
I doubt Lee Valley will refuse any return, ever.
They are a good co. to buy from: honest 
in selling pitches and fair in their dealings.


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## Purrmaster (Sep 1, 2012)

If I had the dough I would have snapped up that block plane in a second. I would guess Veritas' "seconds" are better than many others firsts.


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## RobLee (May 19, 2009)

Hi -

A quick comment about Seconds. Every production process involving complex assemblies (like planes) inevitably results in seconds. Usually - this is a small scratch on a finished (ground) surface - either from handling, or from a loose grain of sand during grinding. Other seconds may be a result of casting porosity, or pinhole voids - just the nature of cast iron… but something we "reject".

The last thing we want to do is sell any tool with a functional problem - seconds are all functionally perfect.

You'll note that the seconds on offer this year are different than the ones last year… it literally takes two to five years to accumulate enough seconds to sell. I'd be happy if we never made any…. 

Cheers -

Rob


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## JohnChung (Sep 20, 2012)

Rob,

Thanks for the info. It was casting porosity and pinhole voids are what I am particular with the plane body. Looking back at my DX 60, I would say it is none of the above but the edge of the top body is not a perfect edge but a little ding. Anyway it was japanned over which I am okay with.

Do keep up the good work with the handplanes! Looking forward to my next LV BU Jointer.


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## Kreegan (Jul 10, 2012)

I ordered a few things from Lee Valley yesterday, but none of the sale stuff lol. I'd hazard to say that a Lee Valley second would be higher quality than 95% of what's on the market.

Rich


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Loren* I have to strongly disagree. this is not a ploy (in general, and specifically LV in this case). every production line comes across products that simply cannot be put on the shelf to be sold as 'firsts' as when someone purchases a brand new product and notices a dent or a scratch on the finish - will return it - and rightfully so. these seconds are usually sold locally, or to employees (not sure about LV… am generally speaking about production here), or similar scenarios.

I am in big favor of seconds as I am more interested in the features and functionality of the products and less about that "perfect" finish - especially for tools I'd use constantly and will most likely get scratched from time to time anyway.

Actually - when speaking specifically about LV planes, I think most people that buy them (and I have to exclude myself from this list) actually WANT that perfect finish on them and are willing to pay the full price for those (which are better priced then competitors as far as I can tell so far).

*Rob* - Thank you for offering the official note and stopping by, and thank you for the fine products and excellent customer service throughout the years.


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## Ripthorn (Mar 24, 2010)

I got the block plane (put one in my cart on Friday, and decided to hold off until Monday, lucky me!). I wanted the PVM-11 blade, but I am sure I will be perfectly happy with A2, as I would rather spend more time sharpening less frequently than the other way around.

Jap - According to something Rob Lee said during last year's cyber monday deal, they can't do in store pickup and have to cancel the order since everything has to come from the main warehouse. Of course, that may have changed over the last year, but just thought I would throw that out there (you may want to contact customer service just to make sure you didn't miss out!).


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*JohnChung* - to answer your question RE the 'blemish' - the one I "think" I found on the shoulder plane was something in the casting - a small area (pin head) that was differently colored from the rest of the casting on it's side, I assume that during the forging process there was some foreign material in the metal around that area… that's all I could find. that said- each 'reject' is different and the 'blemish' could be different things. seeing the production line of hand planes, there really isn't anything MAJOR that could be presented there as a 'blemish' - it's not a returned product that was damaged during shipping for example.


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## JohnChung (Sep 20, 2012)

PurpLev - Thanks for the update. I am sure the shoulder plane HAS served you well indeed  My tool of choice for tenons.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

I received my bullnose plane today. I think I found the very minor pitting that put this in the seconds category. It is the two dots on the lower right of the side:









Here it is close up.









I can't feel it with my fingernail. I write software for a living. If our QA department was this picky, nothing would ever ship!

I made some shavings and I love this plane already.


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## live4ever (Feb 27, 2010)

Chuck, you got ripped off. Golly, I hope my seconds aren't that TERRIBLE! 

I think I should have gotten the bullnose. It occurred to me how frequently I'm always trying to clean up stopped rabbets and dados.


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## blackcherry (Dec 7, 2007)

Well put PurplLev I just can't agree more with the sec. concept. after a year in the shop your first will become sec.'s. Just about everything I own in my shop came from Craigslist or from someone who just didn't understand the can of worms there were opening. Case in point a local Dr. thought he was going to have a wood shop and purchase a ton of Festool product one year late in steps Blkcherry and walks away with a vac system, router, and accessories for 1/2 the cost. Each unit had just a few hours of use, the bag in the vac was spot less along with the filters, some of the router bit still had the protective wax on. I will no longer purchase today's manufacturer planes when experience has shown that a plane of the early 1900-1945 will perform as good at a faction of the cost. I personally have LV planes in my collection which I use for those gnarly grains and oh yea my LV block plane my most go to user. A scratch or a ding will never deter when money could be saved for more important endeavors…Blkcherry







Here my most recent second.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

So, the box is sitting on my kitchen table. 2 new Lee Valley skewed block planes. But my wife won't let me open it. Some ''they're Xmas presents'' crap.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

Don,

You should explain to your wife that skewed block planes need access to fresh air or they go bad. After about a week in the box, the disintegration begins. The clock started ticking the moment they were packed for shipping.


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## jap (Oct 10, 2012)

they're going to rust Don if you don't open them soon,


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## CL810 (Mar 21, 2010)

Today I received the dovetail saw I ordered Monday from the seconds sale. I'll take Lee Valley seconds anytime.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

here is my blemish (I think…I mean thats the only thing I could find):









it IS a blemish - irregularity in the material. it's not a pit, or a low spot, just discoloration of some sort.

otherwise pristine:


















worth the savings? ...it is to me.


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## blackcherry (Dec 7, 2007)

PurpLev Nice low angle jack and by the way is that a metal lathe in the back round looks to be vintage.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

I believe that a good company's seconds are far better than the best produced by many others. Such companies will never knowingly sell something with their name on it that isn't functionally perfect.

Another example is Starrett. I live about an hour from the factory. Five or six years ago, they would have a sale of seconds one day every month. I have several measuring instruments from that time that were about half price. I have never figured out what the defects were.


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## 489tad (Feb 26, 2010)

Mine can in yesterday too. Bullnose plane has a sand blemish and the shoulder plane has skuff marks. Well worth it.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I almost went for the bull nose to Dan. I didn't want to push my budget. Maybe next year.


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## 489tad (Feb 26, 2010)

Don I can't wait to use them. They are beautifully well made tools. Ya, my budget is in the crapper.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Wilson*: yes, this is my clausing lathe. a pleasure to work with:

http://lumberjocks.com/PurpLev/blog/28362

https://sites.google.com/site/metworx/clausing-4902

*Chuck*: that is very true. a company that is willing to put their name behind their 'seconds' says a lot about that company as a company, and on the quality of their products.

To add to this, I'd say that I've ordered a brand new item from LV a few years ago and it came with a similar 'blemish' on an aluminum extrusion (it was a scratch mark). it was not a Veritas item so not manufactured/inspected by LV, just an item sold by them. I contacted LV about this, and received a complete replacement within 2 days. my point is, if one pays full price, there should not be any marks on the item, and at the same time LV customer service is always superb.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I've got their medium shoulder. I love it. (but then I love almost every plane I have)

Purp, I'd like to hear how you like the bevel up compared to bevel down.

I'm more of a vintage guy, so from looks perspective I lean toward LN for new planes, but I have to admit the LVs work very well, and sometimes price is the driving factor.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

I'll sure to write up a proper review once I put some mileage on this plane and will compare it to my stanley #5. this one is definitely heavier and wider, but since my main goal is to use it for shooting joints this would be a major benefit.

while I like vintage, I also am very practical and love seeing new design approaches and 'adding' new features that make things easier/efficient/etc and I find most LV/Veritas tools to incorporate this into their product which makes them my favorite. but I do realize this is a very personal thing.


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## JohnChung (Sep 20, 2012)

PurpLev, 489tad and the rest.

You sold me. Next year I would be ordering seconds….. Need to slow down my LV collection… Hopefully
the bullnose and the skew block plane is on sale next year


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

John,

According to Rob Lee in comment #12, you are not likely to see any of the same tools on sale as seconds next year:
You'll note that the seconds on offer this year are different than the ones last year… it literally takes two to five years to accumulate enough seconds to sell.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

that is true. none of the things offered this year was available last year. actually this year the hand plane selection was quite good.


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## jap (Oct 10, 2012)

i'm picking up my seconds LA Jack and 14tpi dovetail saw on saturday,


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## JohnChung (Sep 20, 2012)

The selection was great! Oh well, just keep on waiting and waiting…......


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## jap (Oct 10, 2012)

I picked up my LA Jack and 14tpi dovetail saw, and searched for the defect but i could not find any


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## bobasaurus (Sep 6, 2009)

Okay, I just got in my order today. Here is a picture of everything (all factory seconds):










And then I took everything apart for cleaning and lubing/waxing:










If you look close, you can see the sole of the jack plane has a blemish and an area around it where the grinding looks different:










I'll check later to see if it's actually flat… if so I'm good, otherwise I may have to return it (if I can). The block plane has a couple very minor imperfections in the finishing of the sole, but otherwise seems fine:










The dovetail saw has small scratches on the blade, spine, and handle, but it will still work perfectly:










Overall, I'm pretty happy other than the jack's sole flaw. I'll report back later on how bad it is… fortunately, it's just on the heel of the plane so it likely wouldn't affect performance even if it's a little concave.


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## oldworld124 (Mar 2, 2008)

Just got my large shoulder plane today and cannot find anything wrong with it. The sole is true. No blemishes. Nothing. 
Great deal for those who took advantage of it.


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## Holt (Mar 15, 2011)

I got the medium shoulder plane a few years back. It was listed as a "second" To this day, I cannot tell what was lacking. Guessing your mileage may vary, but I'm going to be looking for saws this Cyber Monday <g>


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