Last week I purchased the large scraper plane for a Maple table I am working on ( lots of tricky grain ). Anyway the rear handle did not sit right on the tool so I called Lie- Nielsen to see if I could get a replacement. The lady I spoke with with very friendly and helpfull and apologized for the problem and said she would send out a replacement. Today I opened the mailbox and there was a package from Lie- Nieslen. I had just spoke to them on Thursday or Friday and was not expecting the replacement for at least a week. This is truly a great company. I own a number of their tools already and this just gives me a reason to buy many more in the years to come.
Thanks Lie- Nielsen
Dale
Replies
Did they charge your credit card again?? If not, do they want the other one back??
No, the plane was actually bought at a Woodcraft. I asked the the woman if I should send the handle it came with back. She said no, and said thanks for offering. I was just looking over their catalog now thinking about what I will ask for from my wife for my birthday :)
Dale
Dale
I had the same problem and they sent me a new block plane for compensation along with the part. Just kiddin'.
I have never bought from them. I did call today as Fine Tool Journal has the LN low-angle jack on sale for $210. They answered every question I asked including replacement questions in an out-standing way. I was very impressed with their courtesy, enough that I may order directly from them at the retail $235 price. Just to say thanks for taking pride in building an American product and backing it with service.
Evening...
sarge..jt
Hi Sarge
I think I will also order from them direct in the future. This scraper went on the Woodcraft card. They have some nice looking screwdrivers on their website I will be hinting to my wife for. She always says I have a screw loose, so these would be a perfect gift.
Dale
timber
Thanks for posting an "up-front action report". It kind of confirms what I suspected after speaking with them.
sarge..jt
Edited 10/27/2003 9:08:41 PM ET by SARGE
I bought a large smoothing plane from them about 7 or 8 years ago. I dropped it and cracked the cherry handle. I called them, explained what happened and they sent me a new handle at no charge. I since have bought a low angle block plane which is an excellent tool. My favorite plane. Even though their planes are not cheap, they are worth every penny. The customer service is a bonus- a nice one at that.Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.-Mark Twain
Sarge
I got the LN low-angle jack today from a local company as I had a need for it now. Used it to prep one side of some boards that are to wide for my 6" jointer, worked every nice.
Scott T.
Scott
Thanks for the take on the low-angle jack. I just got a Veritas medium shoulder. Had thought about the LN, but it would closely duplicate width and size of my Stanley 93. Wanted a 3/4" (Veritas is .700) for cleaning 3/4 dado bottoms. The larger LN is too wide as the S-93.
Hope to make the #5 l-a the next purchase in the near future. I was also looking at a jointer and the C&W coffin smoother and etc., etc. Geeeeeezzzzzzz, I should have never read one the these dang plane post and dialed in on you addicts. ha..ha..
Regards...
sarge..jt
I have also been very impressed with customer service at LN along with the very high quality of their products which has directly led to my purchase of 4 of their tools. At one point I asked if they had ever considered making chisels because much of what is on the market now is not of very high quality. Thomas Lie-Nielsen himself got back to me to say they are in the process of doing just that and did I want to be on their chisel mailing list. This is a small company that sincerely cares about customer satisfaction and they will get all my business when I am in the market for tools they produce.
Be safe,
Ken
I have only two comments. 1) I have bought some L-N items and they have been excellent, most recently the 41/2 smoothing plane, but I have heard several comments on this forum of the need to return items and in the case of the 41/2 L-N suggested a need to open the mouth with a file. All to say that it is good to have excellent customer service but recently I have heard on this forum what seems an inordinate number of times for the need to go back to them particularly for what is the undisputed high priced tool manufacturer. This is not a hit on L-N but I wonder why the need to pay $400 for a plane that the user has to file the mouth open.
2)I have heard that they are considering chisels but other than the iron in the blade, what could they bring to chisel design. I look at the planes etc. and feel their design adds but I don't know whether I would pay a $100 (or whatever high price they would ask) for one of their chisels. Maybe I am wrong as I think one of the best purchases I have made was their backsaw and one might reach the same conclusion there that not much could be designed into a saw but boy is that a sweet product.
Again, I am not hitting on L-N , I like their products but at the prices they charge I wouldn't expect to see the number of returns I see on this forum.
>> ... what could they bring to chisel design.
To design, probably not very much. Chisels are a pretty mature product, design wise. What LN could add is better manufacturing process than some of the other manufacturers. Consistent blade hardness, better handle material, product sharpened, deburred, and really ready to use, etc.
Uncle Dunc
Have a look at these new chisels from Ashley Lles in England. They have a new line called the American Pattern beveled edge chisel. Designed like the old American butt chisels, but they added beveled edges. The old butt chisels were shorter compared to the English and German paring chisels and had exteemely large handles. Ashley Lles modified them and made the handles round, tapered, smaller and more comfortable. Put bubinga handles (African hardwood similar to rose-wood) and the steel is Rc 59. My friend says they hold an edge awhile.
I used one of a friends. It is one of the most balanced chisels I have seen in a long time. For those that don't like the longer paring chisels, these are excellent. I have a set riding Fed-Ex now.
http://www.toolsforwoodworking.com
It's the same company in NY that carries the C&W hand planes that Larry Willaims from the forum is associated with. If you're interested, take a look.
Regards...
sarge..jt
Edited 10/29/2003 1:40:38 AM ET by SARGE
Ditto on their excellent customer service. I had a loose wedge on the small shoulder plane and they sent me a new one. That's 1 problem out of 4 LN tools so far and I will be buying more. Ditto on the Low Angle Block Plane, mine has the adjustable mouth and it is my favorite plane. I would definately want to try an LN chisel. I have a whole set of "BlueChips" and they live up to their name -
they chip and then I cuss a blue streak.
I would like to hear some feed back on the scraper plane as it's next on my hit list.John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne
The scraper plane is fantastic. It has good heft and a great feel, machine work is flawless. The new handle fits perfect. But I noticed they make Rose wood sets as an option I may go ahead and order those. The scraper is a pleasure to use and does a great job on tricky grain, this is even without a hooked edge. All I did was a little honing. Tuesday I went out and bought the bronze low angle tool and I am also very pleased with it. My next purchase will be the Scrub Plane.
Dale
I love my L-N scrub plane!! First plane I bought from them and definitely not the last...
Matt
Don't go there or you'll either spend yourself into bankruptcy or die in your own drool.
Incidentally, they aren't perfect. I bought one of their low-angle block planes and the blade adjuster was off center enough that you could easily see it. When I took it back they were embarassed, but it never should have left the factory. Another time, on a mail order, the plane arrived with a blade that was ground off square. No problem in getting it replaced, but it shouldn't have happened.
Sometimes I think the L-N products get rave reviews simply because most of the stuff on the market is so bad that a serious user is grateful just to get the kind of quality that should be in every product. I've bought "blue" brand pieces that clearly had bad castings. One came with a cracked blade!
But I do agree that the customer service at L-N is very good and welcome. I had a great tour of the whole operation. Nice people, for sure.
Could be some of problems are due to growing pains- LN has really grown. There's a wider variety and quantity of products being sold. I've been really pleased with the adjustable mouth block plane; the butt mortise plane is next on my list. I hope with growth they don't lose that personal service or get sucked up by some faceless corporation.
I'll add another kudo. I have the LA block plane, 60-1/2. I wanted to use it for shooting, and the sides were not perfect 90's. I called them, sent it back to them, they squared the sides, and I had it back in less than a week; no charge. Great company!!!!!!
Alan
When I first visited there they were doing almost everything in-house, including the bronze casting. Now they outsource most everything except the machining and finishing, plus they now sell products from others.
Nothing wrong with outsourcing as long as the quality can be maintained. Used to live close by and enjoyed the occasional visit. Nice to be able to try the tool before you buy. Never did take the tour; hope to next time I'm back.
Anyone have the shoulder plane?
Thanks,
Michael
I have both shoulder planes and they are excellent tools. The large shoulder plane can be a bit big for some jobs but you can close up the mouth and take very fine shavings. I have found that it is relatively easy to control even though you sometimes have to use two hands. The small bronze one is great for trimming tenon shoulders once the tenon cheeks are flattened with the large shoulder plane. The wedge set up on the little plane can be tricky to tune in but once it is set the iron seems to stay in place without any problems. Having both is nice but the large one can handle most trimming jobs you can throw at it. One nice feature of my large shoulder plane is that both sides were square to the sole when I got it so I can use it in a shooting board set up in order to trim small parts. Clifton makes a 3 in 1 small shoulder plane that is pretty nice as well. I think it is around the same price as the Lie-Nielsen but can be used one handed. The small size sometimes makes it easier to master the tool however if you need to adjust some large tenons it may be a tad small. Whatever you do stay away from the newer Stanley shoulder planes. They are alot of work to tune up. Before I bought my Lie-Nielsen set I had the No. 93 and I spent 6 or 7 hours re flattening the sole in order for it to match up with the front nosepiece, plus the iron is not very good steel and can't handle much endgrain before needing to be re-sharpened.
Thanks so much for the info. I was also looking at the Clifton as an alternative. I like the one-handed use and I can't, at least right now, afford two shoulder planes.
I've heard nothing but good things about LN stuff, as well as Clifton, so I'm still at odds about which one to get.
Thanks again,
Michael
I got the Clifton 410 shoulder plane as an alternative to L-N and am extremely happy with it. It is not as large as the L-N but that appealed to me for my intended use.
I have had no experience with Clifton before but I would definitely consider them an alternative to L-N in the future. The 410 worked perfectly out of the box, like L-N but for a little less money.
Michael,
Depending on how often you will use the plane I would say that the Clifton would probably handle any type of fitting operation you could encounter. I know many people who have them and say that they are very satisfied with the performance, fit and finish of the tool. However for large work, like fitting breadboard ends and wide, 2" or more, tenons the Lie-Nielsen is great because of its long and wide flat sides. If you are doing alot of fitting for small joints, tenons under 2" or so, and planing narrow shoulders the Clifton is probably for you. Plus I think as I said before the smaller size is easier to use in many applications. So if you do alot of big tenon work, I would say get the Lie-Nielsen, and if you are building alot of small cabinets, chairs or tables you will probably fare better with the Clifton. Either way both tools are an excellent choice.
Thanks. I'm kinda leaning towards the Clifton because I do tenon work on the smaller side.
Thanks,
Michael
Also, where would be the best place/price to get a Clifton Shoulder Plane?
Thanks,
Michael
http://www.highlandhardware.com
Check prices, but here's one place you can get it. I was looking at it today. I just bought the Veritas medium shoulder and love it, but the Clifton looks good. Depends on what width blade and lenght over-all plane you want.
sarge..jt
My partner does and I will own one myself in the not too distant future. It's one fine plane.
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