Lee Valley Jig & Fixture Parts Kit

[LCHIEN]

so what size would you get and why? also, what other things are useful to get from their site, i know that is a very subjective question, but are there other misc items that would be nice to have in a growing shop?

I like my Sliding square... its gone up considerably in price sine i got mine tho. http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...98&cat=1,42936

saddle squares mentioned previously are nice

wheel marking gauges http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...55&cat=1,42936

transfer punches... http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...92&cat=1,43456

Drill bits and stuff.

All their stuff is good quality, well made.

[jared73]

Any thoughts on choosing between 1/4" and 5/16"?

[Tamarack]

That email arrived at a bad time for me, I couldn't make up my mind which size would be best so I went ahead and ordered BOTH of them! I had recently made a deposit to my woodworking fund and couldn't resist.

Paul

[LCHIEN]

I choose 1/4"

Any thoughts on choosing between 1/4" and 5/16"?

I personally have standardized on the 1/4" size... seems to be strong enuf for all my jigs and I keep a stock of nuts and hex bolts on hand.

[LarryG]

+1 on Loring's size standard. I do own a few 5/16" bolts and knobs but in a wood shop, they're overkill. I've yet to find anything that a 1/4-20 won't hold more than adequately.

Erik, do you mean these bench hold-downs? I bought two, a little more than two years ago, and you're right ... a bit spendy, but boy oh boy are they great. I use them both on top of the bench and with the sliding deadman. Among its leg vise, wagon vise, and these hold-downs, my bench can hold almost anything, in almost any orientation. Highly, highly recommended.

[os1kne]

I agree w/ Loring and LarryG. I purchased a ton of Rockler t-track and accessories several years ago when it was on sale for a great price. The Rockler stuff is 5/16". The 1/4" size is more of a "standard", and I've never had a woodworking use that 1/4" wouldn't be adequate for. If I were starting from scratch, I'd go with 1/4".

Good luck!

[pelligrini]

Erik, do you mean these bench hold-downs? I bought two, a little more than two years ago, and you're right ... a bit spendy, but boy oh boy are they great. I use them both on top of the bench and with the sliding deadman. Among its leg vise, wagon vise, and these hold-downs, my bench can hold almost anything, in almost any orientation. Highly, highly recommended.

Yea, that is the one. I had been eyeballing them for quite some time. A second one will probably be on order for me pretty soon. I mainly got it because there isn't a whole lot of clearance under my bench in order to be able to use my Jorgenson cast iron hold down. I hate having to roll out my flip top planer stand from under my bench just to be able to clamp something down. The CI hold down doesn't always hold fast either. I picked up the short post to deal with the clearance issue.

Those veritas hold downs aren't cheap, but they sure do make things a lot easier. I might just look into some shop made hold down using the long post I already have. The design is really simple, just a screw operated lever system.

[L. D. Jeffries]

+1 on Lee Valley stuff! I live about 30 miles from their drop-ship location in Ogdensburg, NY so its easy to return things if I ever had to. Living in NY state the one big squawk I have is that we have to pay tax on the shipping cost as well as the items purchased. Thats a bummer to be sure. However, not-withstanding that they are a super company to deal with; always get to talk to a human on the phone as well as a first class catalog, and a no question return policy.

[gsmittle]

I can't speak to the quality of the Lee Valley stuff, since most everything is WAY out of my price range. I was impressed with a couple of planes I played with at the last WW show. I DO think I'll save my pennies for that pocketless tool belt, though.

I've also standardized on 1/4-20 for most of my stuff. I keep a stock of nuts, bolts, and washers, and the mom 'n pop hardware store less than a mile away stocks all the long bolts, eye bolts, etc. that I might need.

g.

[cwsmith]

I bought the 5/16th size after receiving their E-mail. Figured I'd just keep going with the same size that I've previously received from Rockler.

BTW, I received my kit a couple of weeks ago. They are now exactly the same size as what comes with the Rockler 17-piece T-Track sets. Same length, head size, and even the knobs look identical. They both look like they come from the same supplier.

CWS