Veritas Water Pond Stone holders suck!!!

[Mike Kelsey]

As a newbie I bought the Mark II honing guide which I love. I also bought the water pond kit & find the stone clamping system to be frustrating to say the least . Not only are the stones not clamped very securely but I can only work one side of a stone face (the outside edge) because of the way the thing wobbles. The pond storage is nice but over all not worth the money- unless I am missing something about set up.:(

[Jim Koepke]

If my stones are out of flat they will wobble.

jtk

[Larry Temins]

Place one long edge of your stone on top of the edge of the pond and it works fine

[Mike Kelsey]

Larry,

This is what I'm doing, but if the blade/honer is even slightly centered (toward the pond middle) just past the the support bar, the stone will tilt easily. Maybe that is the way it's suppose to work & I have to turn the stone 180 degree to work the other half....

[Dave Hartunian]

I had one too when they first came out. Sold mine as it was too unstable for my liking.

[Joel Goodman]

Not to sign LV up for anything but... I imagine they'd be happy to take it back if you're not happy.

[Bill Houghton]

Write LV - they're pretty serious about customer satisfaction.

[Brian Cameron]

I must agree...it has been my experience that Lee Valley is not only committed to customer satisfaction but somewhat obsessed with it!! You cannot beat this combination...take it back....explain your concerns...you will be pleased with the results
Brian

[Mike Holbrook]

I am/was about to buy one of these. Is it possible to place a hard surface wood/plastic/safety glass over all or part of the area the clamping system fits in? It looks like there is a ledge on all four sides. I suppose the safety glass top must fit into that ledge. A piece of rubber matt could protect the safety glass for accurate lapping? It looks like the bars the clamp hardware ride on would provide some support to the top if the clamps were removed or hung upside down.

I may place my stones on the rubber matt surface of my old work bench/dog feeding table while using them anyway. I am looking more for stone storage, dust protection and a temporary stone soaking area. A decent work bench top is certainly a sturdier work surface than the top of a container.

[Peter Hawser]

I have to agree, Lee Valley and Veritas are excellent and way above average in service. Using "suck" and three exclamation points in a thread title is a bit over the top if you haven't even contacted them about your unhappiness with the product.

[Chris Griggs]

I am/was about to buy one of these. Is it possible to place a hard surface wood/plastic/safety glass over all or part of the area the clamping system fits in? It looks like there is a ledge on all four sides. I suppose the safety glass top must fit into that ledge. A piece of rubber matt could protect the safety glass for accurate lapping? It looks like the bars the clamp hardware ride on would provide some support to the top if the clamps were removed or hung upside down.

I may place my stones on the rubber matt surface of my old work bench/dog feeding table while using them anyway. I am looking more for stone storage, dust protection and a temporary stone soaking area. A decent work bench top is certainly a sturdier work surface than the top of a container.

Go to the BORG and get a small, cheap plastic tool box. Pull out the silly little till/tool tray that often sits in the top and throw it away, fill the the tool box with some water and your good to go. If the inside of the box has lip you can cut a piece of wood to the interior length of the box, glue some nonslip mat to it and make a stone bridge. Total cost $10 max.

EDIT: Here is my stone pond. (http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202021296/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053) I also got lucky and found a plastic tub that fits in it perfectly so I now fill the little tub with water, sorta like a removable insert - however, filling up the tool box itself works just fine, it is after all just molded plastic

[Mike Kelsey]

I called LV yesterday & I must say their customer service is first rate!! I explained the problems & was told the stones should not wobble at all. I had the choice to send it all back - they'd pay the postage - or they would send me a complete new set (which I decided upon) & I can return whatever isn't working correctly at their expense. So I'll either end up with a properly working pond system or send it all back.

I even accidentally "wrinkled" the glass plate film & offer to buy a replacement & was told not to worry about it as the product is still under warranty!!

[Joel Goodman]

Your experience with LV is typical of the way they do business. I have found LN to be similar in their approach.

[glenn bradley]

I called LV yesterday & I must say their customer service is first rate!! I explained the problems & was told the stones should not wobble at all. I had the choice to send it all back - they'd pay the postage - or they would send me a complete new set (which I decided upon) & I can return whatever isn't working correctly at their expense. So I'll either end up with a properly working pond system or send it all back.

I even accidentally "wrinkled" the glass plate film & offer to buy a replacement & was told not to worry about it as the product is still under warranty!!

Good show. You were clear in your post about being a little new. I too failed to make vendors stand up for their products when I was new. I just hadn't interacted with enough of them to be comfortable yet. Reading posts here it becomes pretty clear rather quickly which outfits really know what customer support is and which ones only offer lip service. Some good support seems to come and go while outfits like Lee Valley (and many others) are consistently rock solid. There is always the exception to make the rule where a person who can have issues or be dissatisfied with anything fires of a rant post; there's no helping those guys). If I am displeased with something now, I immediately contact the seller and let them try to fix things. If they do, I sing their praises here. If they don't, I try to let others know without ranting (too much). :D

[Mike Kelsey]

It struck me as odd a respected company would come out with a product where part of it functioned inadequately. I have bought other products from LV, so was surprised to find the stone holder so flimsy. While awaiting arrival of the new kit I've been trying my best to get the one I have to "hold" the stones. We are doing any "good" company a disservice by not letting them know of faulty products. My initial post here was to see if any response could tell me what I was doing wrong (as a newbie) in order to get the stones in a stable position. The world of software shows us what happens when we accept the "bugs" as normal part of the product. It has become so rampant that $$updates to fix the bugs is more than sadly laughable. I better stop I'm getting off subject here......

[Joel Goodman]

I propose that we change the name of the thread to "Lee Valley Rocks"!!!

[Mike Holbrook]

I looked at the LV Pond at Highland Hardware yesterday. I plan to use my stones on a rubber pad on an old workbench. All I was thinking about the LV Pond for was dust protection and organization. I was thinking about soaking stones in it, but I do not plan to leave stones in water so I'm not sure I actually need that ability. The internal dimensions are too small for my needs. Since I have all these wood working tools I think I will build a cabinet around the base of my old bench and or another to place on the wall over the bench. The pond is a sturdy beast though and if one wants to leave stones in water and does not need space for a bunch of stones it is a great tool.