Not having any luck with Oneway Manufacturing RE: my sharpening gear...

[David Hostetler]

Mods: This is in regards to my Oneway Wolverine system, for my turning tools. The turning forum was the one that made the most sense to me, move as you see fit. Thanks...

I recently bought a second hand VariGrind, and Wolverine Skew Jig. I knew it would be this way when I bought it, the knob / bolt thing on the jig is broken, and I would like a replacement. I have been trying to contact Oneway via email since Friday with no reply. Do they not check their email? I just need to know how to get a replacement knob, or at the very least, what the thread specs are so I can source one up locally if need be...

[John Keeton]

David, can't help with your real problem, but I can tell you that I am having the same problem with mine.

[Michael Armstrong]

Have you tried calling them? 1.800.565.7288 I assume it will work from your location. I've always had great service from them and they are great to talk to on the phone.

Michael

[Jack Riley]

Craft Supply sells the handle kit. You'll like the upgrade much better!

[David Hostetler]

Have you tried calling them? 1.800.565.7288 I assume it will work from your location. I've always had great service from them and they are great to talk to on the phone.

Michael

Since they are a Canadian company, I kind of didn't want to dial international... Especially if they only did French... Don't know the language...

[John Keeton]

Craft Supply sells the handle kit. You'll like the upgrade much better!Jack, I don't want to hijack David's thread, but I am not clear about the problem he is having. The handle kit apparently upgrades from the old style that had a tab against which the threaded clamp pressed.

I have the new style, and what has happened to mine is that the brass knob seems to want to unscrew from the threaded rod, leaving the bolt down against the tool being sharpened. I have to be very careful to not get it too tight in order to avoid this. I have thought about drilling and threading a set screw on mine.

David, what exactly is the problem you are having?

Also, David, the 800# shouldn't be a toll call. Same with calling Lee Valley in Canada.

[Jim Lebans]

I'm sure the 800 number is toll free to Oneway from the States as well as in Canada. And the company's in Stratford, Ontario. Not exactly a Francophone hotbed, so you needn't be concerned about language - well, unless you've got one of the more exotic American accents...

The company has an excellent customer service reputation.

JL

[Larry Komroff]

As far as the language goes, the videos that demonstrate their products are in english.

Larry

[Bernie Weishapl]

I've called the 800# with no problems when I wanted to get some info from them.

[Jack Riley]

Amazing stuff that I've used for many years.

[David Hostetler]

The Skew jig I got, has what looks like a star knob with a stud, kind of like a bolt with a plastic head, half of that plastic head broke off.

http://www.oneway.ca/sharpening/images/skew_only_250px.jpg

The diameter is a bit larger than 5/16", but less than 3/8" and is a fine thread, I am assuming it is some sort of Metric (which is going to be a REAL pain in the butt to find here...). I am trying to get information on how to order a replacement. At the rate I am going, I am just going to take a 3/8-16 tap to the hole and go to Rockler for a replacement...

If it's not international dialing, I may just call Oneway directly, seems pretty poor business practice to ignore email requests though...

[Bob Hamilton]

When the plastic knob on my old style vari-grind broke I just turned a new one out of wood and epoxied it on to the original cap screw. Seems to work fine.

Bob

[John Keeton]

Amazing stuff that I've used for many years.Duh!! Well, that was just too simple!:o Believe it or not, one of my employees in a business we owned used it all the time, but I have never bought any. I guess after 3 or 4 decades of playing the shop, a feller ought to do that!

[David Hostetler]

When the plastic knob on my old style vari-grind broke I just turned a new one out of wood and epoxied it on to the original cap screw. Seems to work fine.

Bob

That's a pretty decent sounding idea... Knurling the knob would be easy enough... And it would sure look a lot better, but let's face it, The Wolverine jig isn't a pretty setup, just functional...

[David E Keller]

John, I had the same trouble, and a drop or two of superglue did the trick. Epoxy would also work.

[Nigel Tracy]

I may just call Oneway directly, seems pretty poor business practice to ignore email requests though...

I hear ya--it's too bad, but give them a shout--they're top-notch when it comes to service and I'm sure they are not willingly ignoring you :)

In my experience emails are screened, firewalled, and filtered at many points and slip through the cracks all the time when customers try to contact a business for an inquiry. Many businesses do not publish "general inquiry" email addresses for this reason.

[Mike Minto]

the number is toll free, and they do speak english (although you'll hear the occasional 'yaah', and 'oot'). But remember, they're smiling at your accent, too. :rolleyes:

[Michael Armstrong]

The only problem may be that they are out building more igloos to expand the manufacturing capacity of the plant:D

Michael

[Don Geiger]

Hi Dave:

My dear friend, Bruce Hoover, owner of The Sanding Glove (757-665-4597), offers a nice replacement knob/screw for the Vari-Grind.

For any of you that might need it, I offer a replacement screw that has a swivel tip and a nice Rosette knob for the Ellsworth jigs. The swivel tip holds better, does not mar the bottom of the gouge and does not cause the gouge to move when tightened.


Don Geiger

[Ron Fleice]

Since they are a Canadian company, I kind of didn't want to dial international... Especially if they only did French... Don't know the language...

Now that is really funny...Honestly we really do speak ENGLISH, especially in Ontario where Oneway is located :D:D
Ron

[Hilel Salomon]

Hi,

Sharpfast or some such company came up with a knob replacement for the varigrind which is much superior to the one Oneway makes/made. They're about ten bucks and worth it. As for the knob on the skew jig, a threaded nut could do the job, but I think that the idea of a wooden one epoxied on would be better.
Hilel

[Kevin Kelly]

I emailed Oneway a couple of weeks ago about replacing a platform on my Oneway jig - not the whole assembly, just the platform. I think within a day or two i had an email from Peter, with his phone number, giving me a price and telling me to call and ask for him. I'm sorry about your problem and am not dismissing it, but it doesn't seem to happen every time.