Lee Valley & Veritas Hardware Catalog – A good read-source

I received my new Lee Valley and Veritas Hardware Catalog in the mail this week and started to dog-ear the corners of pages to bring different products I thought really ingenious, useful or ideal for a a project like the tool chest we just finished for www.woodworkingmasterclasses.com here. The problem was that had I carried on I would have dogged all 260 pages. I know what you’re thinking – a hardware catalog!!! What’s so different about a hardware catalog? Normally I might say the same, but throughout this catalog there is something on almost every page that catches the eye. Innovative products ranging from hardware installation kits to converting regular threaded knobs to be used with hanger bolts so you can screw the knob in instead of boring a hole through. No matter the period in history or the look you want for your newly-finished project, you will find the exact hinge, handle and hanger you need. From Tansu to Mission and Queen Anne to Louis XVI, modern, old, cast, extruded or hand hammered on an anvil this hardware catalog has it. You can even find hand-hammered nails of different periods. Beyond that there are spring-loaded locks and traditional box locks. I ordered some items for my tool chest that would have taken me hours to find elsewhere. I am a man who likes to see what he’s putting on his furniture projects before he buys. I want to feel the quality and feel how it will compliment my work. Well, the photographs and illustrations provide me with assurance that what I see is what I will be getting.
I cannot overstate the quality of this hardware catalog. It’s inspiring, informative well categorised and above all it saves me time finding the impossible in the haystack of hardware products. It’s a resource for every woodworker no matter their budget and needs, but beyond that it’s a resource for historians and research and especially for conservators and those involved in restoration work. Schools, colleges and universities too can find what they need and with most hardware items we woodworkers use being small, it meets with few international boundaries and restrictions.
No, the pulls on my chest are not from Lee Valley & Veritas they are hand made designs by me. I will be doing a blog and a video on making these, but they do have a wide range of wooden handles too, rubber ones and a wonderful range for children’s products. One I really liked for confined areas was a pop out knob that lies flush and pops like a button from its recess when needed. Get the catalog and a]have a good read. Plan your next project around the hardware now you know where you can find what you need.