Woodpeckers Sharpening Jig

[RFGuy]

Thank you. This guy is a jerk and why is it a topic o the SS Forum?

Yes, thank you! What is funny is he commented that all of us are in love with Woodpeckers products here. Had he actually read my past forum posts, he would understand, for me at least, it is mixed feelings I have for that company. There are a few Woodpeckers products that I love, but there are others that I openly criticize (in a polite way) here. Also, I always complain about their cost. Many tried on this forum to help him understand why Woodpeckers responded the way they did and some even offered him advice for following up with them again. His comments to all were beyond offensive IMHO. I checked Amazon and there are no Woodpeckers Sharpening System resellers on there right now, so if he bought it from them, as he said he did, then that reseller is a fly by night that already got kicked off of Amazon. My guess is either a) it is a copy cat clone or b) a defective/broken tool that someone resold through Amazon. I have heard in the past about Woodpeckers aggressively going after the copy cat clones out of China, so I wouldn't be surprised if they contacted Amazon to have it removed as soon as he reported it to them. Having an identical UPC code means nothing because the Chinese copy cat companies could easily copy everything down to the packaging from what I have seen before. Amazon does have a few Woodpeckers products for sell on there, and some may be legit, but honestly why would anyone buy through them for this type of product? IF it is cheaper on Amazon through a reseller, then caveat emptor! I try to buy direct from a manufacturer, when I can, on items like this, i.e. high end tools.

Had he been more civil, there could have been an actual conversation about Woodpeckers quality (if it was their tool), what might have been causing the issue and potential solutions.

[HopefulSSer]

I'm certain he read nothing before posting. He googled "tool review", found us, and came here to kvetch. And he decided we're all in love with Woodpecker because we didn't take his side 100%.

He may very well have gotten an authentic tool - who knows. He kept saying WP admitted it was defective but never provided proof. I still think it's made correctly and he's trying to use it on a chisel too small for it. But whatever... He seems very high-strung and stressed out. I hope he's able to learn to let that go. Somewhere else. ;-)

[RFGuy]

I still think it's made correctly and he's trying to use it on a chisel too small for it. But whatever... He seems very high-strung and stressed out. I hope he's able to learn to let that go. Somewhere else. ;-)

I think you are right and I didn't originally read closely that portion of the original thread, but instead focused on how it didn't look like mine in the photo. I will check the instructions on mine and see what it says and measure it for how small a chisel it can hold. You can see there is no gap between the two sides of the tool in that photo, which I don't think is proper application for it in holding a chisel for sharpening. Looking at it again, I definitely agree it can't sharpen a chisel that narrow. Thanks for pointing this out to me.

I didn't intend to wind him up either, but I think most of us know NOT to take channel locks to a brass (soft metal) knob. I mean sure if I am using a cheap (disposable) HF automotive tool or similar with a steel knob and I need more torque, I "might" consider taking channel locks to that knob to tighten it more. Where I used to work we called those who go straight to doing this a "gorilla engineer". I would never take a pair of channel locks to a $200 tool. Just saying.

[HopefulSSer]

I would never take a pair of channel locks to a $200 tool. Just saying.

Agree 100%

I wonder too how much downforce he's using. I'll wager "too much".

[SteveMaryland]

OP said something about small chisels not seating properly in his "Woodpecker" guide, and causing skew.

See attached photos. I do not know what is typical with such guides, but mine has a radiused feature which I believe is supposed to accommodate a range of chisel geometries. It does need to be tightened down but I don't recall having problems when sharpening.

[HopefulSSer]

Very similar to what I've got. I've never seen the WP version but from their description it sounds like the same thing only with two wheels to stabilize it with wider chisels and plane irons. I'll bet the geometry is similar. I think the OP was either using his improperly or trying to use it on tools outside its capabilities