Warning: Woodpeckers Semble Clamps can Ruin Woodwork

[jasonrohrer]

First, I should say that I'm one of the world's biggest Woodpeckers fans. I love Made in USA stuff, and absolutely everything that I've bought from them (up until now) has been of exceptional quality. On the rare occasions when I needed customer support (like for a missing part, or a replacement part for something I had broken or lost), they always acted swiftly to help me.

This is the first time that I've found a major, show-stopping, work-ruining defect in any of their products. But the way they have handled it has been really disappointing.

Quick summary:

The red rubber jaw pads on their Semble One-Handed clamps leach oily plasticizes which can soak into unfinished woodwork and ruin it. In my case, I was clamping the faces of sanded but unfinished oak panels in the corner of a cabinet installation, and the pads left permanent stains on the wood. I have tested 8 different Semble One-Handed clamps from two different shipment batches, and every single clamp has the same problem (jaw pads leaching oil).

Semble One-Handed Bar Clamps

Quick, easy, powerful clamping, the Semble One-Handed Bar Clamp is unlike any other when it comes to its design and performance—not to mention the great price, too. Featuring a nylon composite clamp body with ergonomic, TRP grip handles, a strengthened carbon steel rail, non-marring grip pads...

www.woodpeck.com

Pictures of the stains on the woodwork, and oil leached onto clamped paper, are attached below. A video demonstrating the problem, and comparing them to other brands, is here:

Woodpeckers has acknowledged the issue, and even reproduced it on their end with additional clamps from their warehouse. And yes, I've even been in touch with the company president. Aside from offering me a refund (which I appreciate), they have refused to temporarily stop selling the clamps, fix the manufacturing issue, issue a recall, offer to replace defective pads for other customers, or even warn other customers about the potential problem.

These clamps ruined my $500 oak cabinet. But what happens if they ruin someone's $10,000 birdseye maple guitar?

So, I've decided to go public with the story and warn people.

More details:

This all started about 4 weeks ago. I needed some additional clamps for a project, including some pump-trigger one-handed style clamps to use high overhead, and I discovered that all available trigger clamps were made in Mexico/China/Vietnam/Taiwan/etc. Woodpeckers had vetted the Taiwanese-made Semble clamps, and claimed they were the best on the market. Okay, I'll try them.

After clamping some large oak panels in a cabinetry installation (sanded but unfinished), I noticed some dark marks where the Semble One-Handed clamps had been. Neither my Dubuque metal bar clamps, nor my Semble Parallel Jaw Clamps left similar marks. Stranger still, all the Semble clamps used in the installation were brand new.

Online, people were talking about oil marks being left by "cheap rubber jaw pads" on Harbor Freight clamps.... could that be the problem? I tested one of the Semble One-Handed clamps by clamping a piece of paper overnight. Sure enough, a big oil stain was left on the paper by morning. It looked like someone had left a french fry sitting on the paper.

I then tested the other 5 brand new Semble One-Handed clamps on paper, and saw exactly the same result. Every clamp left an oil stain.

I contacted Woodpeckers and explained the issue. They told me I could send the clamps back for free replacements. But before I do that, couldn't they test the clamps on their end? After all, if all 6 clamps have this problem, perhaps there's a more wide-spread manufacturing defect.

They initially told me that they couldn't test the clamps on their end, because:

I do not have ready access to the clamps as they are located about a mile away in our warehouse. I would like to show the pictures to our buyer who brings these in from overseas. We do not make them.

They wanted me to send pictures of the issue, which I did (attached).



After seeing the pictures, they offered to send replacement clamps, but still refused to test them on their end, saying:

We have shipped thousands of these without any issue. Unless we start getting more complaints I cannot justify testing every current clamp in inventory. These clamps arrive in shipping containers. Perhaps the issue will go away over time. Try cleaning the pads with denatured alcohol or you can try using wood scraps as spacers between the pads and the wood or a piece of tape over the pads. I will issue a refund of $96.97 for your inconvenience. Please allow 1 to 2 business days for processing.

I then suggested that they didn't have to test every clamp, but just a small, random sample. They apparently did, reporting back:

The results are in after testing some random samples in inventory and we were unable to duplicate your experience with the clamp pads leaching out onto paper. Our owner has been informed of the situation and is aware of the test results. I have refunded your original purchase for the inconvenience the issue caused. If you want to try another set, I can send you one if you would like or perhaps you might want to try a different clamp I could send as a test. Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you

Wow, this was an absolutely baffling result. How could all 6 clamps have displayed the exact same behavior, but none of the clamps in their warehouse did the same thing? Was I going crazy? Was the air in my house just "oily"? I mean, I had tested every other clamp in my house, and none of them left oil marks on paper. Only the Semble One-Handed clamps....

Instead of having them send me 6 replacements, I told them to send me 2 smaller clamps to test.

A few days later, the new clamps arrived. I carefully unpacked one, without touching anything, and clamped it to a piece of paper for an hour. Sure enough, there was a big, obvious oil stain on the paper. Here's how they responded to this news:

I was informed that the new clamps you received left a mark just like the old clamp. I am sorry to hear that. This is certainly very puzzling. I will let the buyer know. The company that makes these also makes the same/similar clamps for a wide variety of other brands on the market. We do not have any extra pads as these clamps ship as complete units with no extras. The trial clamps were shipped free of charge and your original purchase has been refunded. Please discard them if you wish or perhaps cover the pads with tape. Thank you

Still, it was very strange that they couldn't reproduce this on their end with ANY of the clamps they sampled. Did they not test the new clamp they sent me before sending it? Were the clamps being damaged in shipping, like in a hot truck? Were they testing them in a cold warehouse? So I asked:

What's really surprising---to me---is that you didn't get the same result on your end. To re-iterate what I did yesterday:

1. Open the box from Woodpeckers

2. Remove one clamp from the plastic bag that it came in.

3. Open the jaws without touching the pads in any way.

4. Clamp it very firmly on a piece of regular white office/copy paper (Staples brand, I think).

5. Set a timer for 1 hour.

6. Open jaws, see oil stain on paper.


Did you really do this same test on your end, with a brand new clamp from the warehouse, and NOT see an oil stain? Also, when in doubt, the oil stains do get bigger the longer the clamp is there. An overnight test would certainly show something.

And then they responded:

I am sorry that these did not work out in the end for you. Thank you .

Welp... at this point... I guess they have just written me off. But still.... what if someone else's woodwork got ruined in the future? I responded:

Hmm.... that response is disappointing.

I'm still waiting to hear Woodpecker's action plan on this, going forward, to ensure that no one else's project is ruined by these defective clamps.

I'm not looking for a particular solution to my problem (buying clamps from someone else is easy enough), and you've already refunded me. I'm looking to hear that you take serious problems with your product seriously.

It seems like your unwilling to really try reproducing the problem on your end, which is very troubling.

If it was my company, or a company that I worked for and believed in, I would be out in the warehouse testing dozens of clamps at random, trying to figure out what was going wrong.

I love your company.

Do the right thing, please.

At that point, I got no response back, so I wrote to the president directly, explaining the situation. I include my full email here so that you can see my tone. I wasn't being rude, etc.

Hello sir!

Let me start by saying that I'm a HUGE fan of Woodpeckers. I've bought a dozen or so tools from you guys over the years, and I've really loved everything that you guys make. I grew up in Ohio too.... my parents still live right off of Medina County Line, and my dad founded Rohrer Printing Corporation in Wadsworth, and I went to Walsh for high school in Cuyahoga falls.

This is something of a long story, as it's been going on for a few weeks now, but I'll try to keep it short.

I was looking for some one-handed trigger clamps, and everything at Home Depot was made in China. After deep research, it seemed like there were no clamps like this made in USA anymore (JackClamp is no longer made). Woodpeckers seemed like they had fully vetted these white-label Semble One Handed clamps, and at least they were made in Taiwan and not China. Okay, I'll give them a try. I bought six pairs in different lengths.

I first used these clamps about 2 weeks ago, when assembling some sanded but unfinished red oak panels. These huge panels were over 8 feet long, and around 15 inches wide... 4-board glue-ups that I had been working on for about a week. They were going in my master bedroom, and I was clamping them to some framing while screwing them into place. I used many clamps for this process, but for the high clamps, above my head, I used two brand new Semble One Handed clamps, since they were the lightest (less chance of having one come loose and clunk me in the head). These brand new Semble One Handed clamps had never been used on anything else. For the lower parts of the clamp-up, I used Debuque aluminum bar clamps, and Semble Parallel Jaw clamps.

It took me about an hour to get everything in place and screw everything together. When I removed the clamps, I noticed faint dark marks where the jaw pads of the Semble One Handed clamps had been. What? Did I clamp too hard and bruise the wood? But the other clamps (metal-jawed Debuques and plastic-jawed Semble Parallel Jaw Clamps) left no marks, and those can clamp much harder than One Handed clamps.

I've clamped all sorts of unfinished wood over my career as a hobby woodworker, and I've never seen marks like this before.

Doing some research on marks left by clamps, I saw people talking about "cheap plasticizers oozing out of the pads on Harbor Freight clamps". Uh oh...

So I tried clamping one of the Semble clamps to a piece of paper for an hour.... sure enough, it left an oil stain on the paper from the red rubber jaw pads.

Then I tried all 6 one-handed clamps, all brand new, and four of them never used for anything yet. I wiped the jaws of each with a clean, dry paper towel, and then I clamped them each to a piece of printer/copier paper overnight. Sure enough, by morning, all 6 pieces of paper had oil stains from the rubber jaws.

I also tested several other plastic-jawed clamps on paper (from Jorgensen, Iriwn, Besse, and Semble Parallel Jaw Clamps), and none of them left oil stains on paper.

I reached out to customer support about this, and a fellow named Chris N was handling the case. He had never heard any other reports like this. He offered me a refund, or to send me new clamps, etc.

But of course, since all 6 brand new clamps had this problem, replacement clamps, from the same batch, would likely have the same issue as well. It seemed obvious to me that some kind of large-scale manufacturing defect was afoot, and that the manufacturer in Taiwan would have to change their process/formula and issue new pads. And if an entire batch of clamps was affected, no more should be sold until the problem was resolved. And any customers who already purchased clamps from that batch should be sent free replacement pads, once the problem had been corrected.

After all, you don't want to ruin someone else's woodworking project, right? What if it hadn't just been red oak at my own house? What if had been birds eye maple? What if I was repairing a $10,000 antique guitar for a customer that they inherited from their grandfather? Etc. Etc.

Even if no one is complaining (yet), that doesn't mean someone else won't be affected down the line.

I explained all this to Chris, and asked him to test the clamps with a piece of paper himself. He initially told me he couldn't, because the warehouse was a mile away.

Chris asked me for photographs, showing the oil spots on the paper and on the wood. I sent them.

When I continued to insist that some kind of test of the existing inventory should be done, he then said that they are all in a huge shipping container, making them impossible to test them all

I then suggested randomly pulling out a few clamps and testing them. If every sample leaves stains, you know you have a problem.

A few days later, he reported back that they had tested the clamps on their end, and they didn't stain paper with oil.

I was floored by this news, and immediately started to question my own sanity. How could all six of my clamps have stained paper, and none of the warehouse clamps have done the same thing? Did the clamps get damaged by heat or cold during shipping? Did some oil somehow get onto them at my house? Did I just have very oily hands? Of course, none of my other clamps, all stored side-by-side with the Semble clamps, and all touched by my hands, left oil marks on paper. I even tried clamping a piece of paper to the wooden shelf where they were stored... no oil came off the shelf.

Chris offered to send me replacement clamps. I suggested that he send me two small ones at first, so I can test those, so Woodpeckers can save on shipping.

The arrived yesterday. I immediately opened the box, carefully unwrapped one clamp, carefully opened the jaws without touching them, and clamped them firmly to a clean sheet of printer/copier paper (Staples brand). I set a timer for one hour.

Sure enough, after an hour, there was an oil stain on the paper.

I reported this to Chris, and asked what kind of test he had run before that didn't stain paper, and all he said was that he was sorry these clamps didn't work out for me.

As you can imagine, this interaction was disappointing.

Yes, manufacturing defects can happen. It's not Woodpeckers fault, and I'm not expecting any kind of personal compensation. I didn't even want a refund.

But I am expecting that Woodpeckers takes swift action, now that they have knowledge of this serious defect---a defect that has a strong potential of ruining someone else's work.

Some examples of things that would feel like swift action:

1) The sale of these clamps should be suspended immediately while you guys investigate further, and then after you figure out what the problem is, arrangements should be made with the manufacturer to correct the problem.

2) Proactive steps should be taken to alert existing customers who may have already purchased defective clamps (they should all be warned about the issue, cautioned to test their clamps before using on sensitive woodwork, and told that a fix is coming soon, etc.)

The way I see it, Woodpeckers vetted these clamps, and put their name behind them. I bought them specifically because Woodpeckers had tested them and said they were the best clamps. It turns out that these clamps weren't up to snuff after all. Woodpeckers name is on the line here.


Chris N is now acting kinda like I'm just that one annoying customer who won't stop complaining.... and maybe this long email makes you feel the same way. I'm sure customer support people get worn down by dealing with complaining customers all the time. I'm sure most issues are usually the customer's fault in the end, due to end-user stupidity, and Chris N is just jaded. But this is not one of those issues.

I don't make it a habit of emailing the presidents/founders of companies.

But if it was my company, I'd want to know.


Jason

And here's what he wrote back:

Jason,
Thanks for taking the time to communicate. Long story short, we tested a
sample of clamps from the most recent shipment in three different sizes
over a 24 hour period and were not able to duplicate the issue.
Personally, as a long time woodworker I wouldn't see edge marking as an
issue when I'm building furniture. Those edges rarely if ever end up in my
finished project. It isn't unusual for my clamps to leave other defects
along the edges that get removed by final ripping to width, routing and
sanding.

Anyway, that's just my opinion. The company that makes these clamps also
makes Bessey, eHoma and many other brands, all with the same materials. I
haven't heard of this from any of them yet. We also have not received this
complaint from any other customers.

So at this point I'd like to issue you a refund for whatever you spent on
these clamps and would greatly appreciate if you can ship them back at our
expense so we can try and reproduce the problem here.

Richard Hummel | President

At that point.... hmm.... then I realized I still had one more Semble One-Handed clamp, completely unopened. I could test that clamp on paper and VIDEO the entire process. And I might as well test other brand new clamps from other manufacturers at the same time. Are they really made in the same factory using the same materials?

Here's the resulting video:

The Bessey One-handed clamps were made in China, so they're likely not made in the same factory as the Taiwanese Semble clamps.

Note that there were three clamps made in Taiwan in my test (Irwin, Wood River, and Semble), and all three left some amount of oil on the paper. Maybe these are all made in the same factory? But the Semble clamp was the worst by a long shot. The other Taiwanese clamps left a barely-perceptible amount of oil that I almost missed upon first inspection.

The Semble clamp left a very large spot of oil right in the center of the rubber pad. It was impossible to miss.

And of course, there were several clamps that left no oil at all. These were made in China, Vietnam, or Mexico.

I sent this video to Woodpeckers, and here is how they responded:

I watched your video and duplicated your test. We saw faint staining on the paper on a couple of the clamps. We do not believe this makes the clamps either unusable or defective. I understand you are not satisfied with them, and I believe you should have received a credit for the clamps you purchased. Again, we appreciate you taking the time to let us know your concerns.

So that's it.... they're not going to do anything to fix the problem, nor are they going to warn their existing (or future) customers.

Even saying, "Watch out, these pads might leach oil into woodwork" would be better than nothing! They could email existing customers to warn them, and include a little printed paper slip with each new clamp sold. But they're not even going to do that.

I told them I would take my story public, and they didn't respond.

So here's my story.

Hopefully this will save at least one other person from ruining unfinished woodwork with Woodpeckers Semble One-Handed Clamps.


The other upshot here is that I got to test lots of other clamps. Seems like the Dewalt ones were the nicest in terms of build quality. They left absolutely no oil on paper, and they're made in Mexico.

 

[The Bean]

I read this whole post. I don't know why since I don't own or use those kind of clamps. But the story was captivating. I'm sorry for your spoiled woodwork. I hope more people come forward with their own stories. Or maybe you live next to a potato chip factory.

 

[Snip's]

The pads that are leaving oily residue are most likely flexible PVC (thermoplastic) which as you point out is probably plasticizer...
The amount of plasticizer in the PVC affects the durometer (level of softness)...
That nasty film that condenses on the inside surfaces of you windshield in the summer is plasticizer being driven out of your vinyl dash and seat coverings...

The pads that are not leaving the oily spot are most likely a flexible reacted polyurethane...

Might the pads, which are injected moulded, have identification markings on the pads indicating the material makeup?

 

[whateg01]

After the initial complaint and their response, refunding your original purchase price and sending you a couple extras just to be nice, I don't think they owe you or anybody else anything. Would it be nice if they put a blurb in the instructions that say some pads might leave a residue? Sure. Are they somehow obligated to do so? Absolutely not. If I was the company, I would gladly fire you as a customer at that point. Looks like that's pretty much what they did. The customer is not always right. Sorry, not sorry.

 

[PCustoms]

After the initial complaint and their response, refunding your original purchase price and sending you a couple extras just to be nice, I don't think they owe you or anybody else anything. Would it be nice if they put a blurb in the instructions that say some pads might leave a residue? Sure. Are they somehow obligated to do so? Absolutely not. If I was the company, I would gladly fire you as a customer at that point. Looks like that's pretty much what they did. The customer is not always right. Sorry, not sorry.

Well said.

 

[RTM]

Well that's disappointing. Never been a Woodpecker fan, but that's just the cheap side of me coming out. Their stuff looks nice, but now I've been warned. Thanks

I always fear those quick clamps, and only use them bare briefly, when I need one handed action. Once everything is clamped up, I go back, and put wood, wax paper, or my big Bessey K bodies in place, to buy separation. Heck, I put wax paper under some of my clamp body (pipes or bars), when crossing wood, even if they aren't touching, I'm so afraid of bad things happening.

 

[Old tool guy]

Their first response “can’t test, a mile away” was really weak. You said other people have reported the same thing … where did you see that?

 

[acer66]

I have all sorts of clamps with pads and I never had anything like that happen nor did I ever think something like that would happen.

 

[finn]

Consider the chance that the plasticiser is reacting to some chemical in your shop, be it a cleaning agent volatile paint thinner, or whatever.

Sort of how steel tools will rust if you have muriatic acid hanging around.

 

[jasonrohrer]

After the initial complaint and their response, refunding your original purchase price and sending you a couple extras just to be nice, I don't think they owe you or anybody else anything. Would it be nice if they put a blurb in the instructions that say some pads might leave a residue? Sure. Are they somehow obligated to do so? Absolutely not. If I was the company, I would gladly fire you as a customer at that point. Looks like that's pretty much what they did. The customer is not always right. Sorry, not sorry.

I disagree about this.

Remember, this ruined $500+ worth of woodworking on my end. The $500 is just the cost of the materials... not the week plus of labor. Since this was in my own house, I'm just going to live with the stain marks on the wood, but I'll certainly notice them from time to time.

I didn't ask them to pay to replace it or anything like that.

I just want to make sure that no other woodworker suffers the same fate.

 

[jasonrohrer]

Their first response “can’t test, a mile away” was really weak. You said other people have reported the same thing … where did you see that?

As far as I'm aware, no one else has reported the same problem.

Woodpeckers eventually went to the warehouse and tested their own clamps. They initially said they couldn't reproduce the problem.

Then I sent my video, showing the problem on a brand new clamp, and they went back, and tested again, and found the same problem.

My guess is that their initial test was "cold" in the warehouse, where as my test was at room temperature (70F). Maybe, after seeing my video, they also tested their clamps at room temperature?

But they never explained this to me.

 

[jasonrohrer]

Consider the chance that the plasticiser is reacting to some chemical in your shop, be it a cleaning agent volatile paint thinner, or whatever.

Sort of how steel tools will rust if you have muriatic acid hanging around.

Happened to a brand new clamp, taken right out of the Woodpecker's shipping box, in my living room.

And yes, after Woodpeckers initially told me they couldn't reproduce, I thought I was going crazy. Were my shop shelves oily? Etc.

But it turns out that no, the pads do leach oil, and Woodpeckers was eventually able to reproduce the problem on their end.

 

[neophyte]

If the issue seems to be “country specific” then the problem might nit just be from a single manufacturer, but might be the result of the moldable rubberized products readily available in Taiwan, and the preferences the local manufacturers have.
On the plus side, if the brand is really worried, they may be able to have new pads manufactured out of a different material, or in a different country, at a minimal additional cost, to fix the issue.

 

[4xdog]

Are the pads possibly rubber? Real rubber, not a thermoplastic elastomer like some urethanes or plasticized PVC? Your description sounds more like oil than plasticizer.

Rubber has lots of oil in its formulations. It’s not uncommon for freshly-molded rubber to lose oil.

But is the work really “ruined”? That seems kind of strong.

Does a solvent remove the stain? If it’s so mobile to make a pad mark that quickly, there’s chance it could be extracted similarly easily.

If it doesn’t remove with a solvent, does it continue to migrate and dissipate into the work? Seems like time could minimize the stain.

What kind of finish were you going to put on the wood? What does that do to the stain?

The oily mark sounds frustrating, yes, but it doesn’t really seem like the catastrophe you’re making it.

 

[jasonrohrer]

Are the pads possibly rubber? Real rubber, not a thermoplastic elastomer like some urethanes or plasticized PVC? Your description sounds more like oil than plasticizer.

Rubber has lots of oil in its formulations. It’s not uncommon for freshly-molded rubber to lose oil.

But is the work really “ruined”? That seems kind of strong.

Does a solvent remove the stain? If it’s so mobile to make a pad mark that quickly, there’s chance it could be extracted similarly easily.

If it doesn’t remove with a solvent, does it continue to migrate and dissipate into the work? Seems like time could minimize the stain.

What kind of finish were you going to put on the wood? What does that do to the stain?

The oily mark sounds frustrating, yes, but it doesn’t really seem like the catastrophe you’re making it.

I can't tell what the pads are made of. They are red and rather soft/grippy.

Yes, I suppose it will fade over time.

It's not a catastrophe, but it's definitely not ideal, and it's not what I would expect from a high-quality clamp, and not all clamps in the same product category have this problem.

This is Red Oak sanded to 4000 grit using Festool Rotex. I wasn't planning to finish the wood beyond that... Once I saw how shiny bare wood could become using the finest Rotex grits, I fell in love with it, and use it everywhere in my house where it makes sense. I wouldn't do this on a kitchen table where the surface would get wet, but on vertical cabinetry in a master bedroom.... it's just so nice to look at and touch, and it doesn't smell at all.

Given that it was already sanded to 4000, I've been too scared to try dabbing the stains with solvent. What if it raises the grain, etc?

I will just live with it and ignore it, and yes, it will likely fade as the oil slowly evaporates.

It was more shocking right after it happened. I've since made my peace with it.

But I haven't made my peace with the manufacturer ignoring the problem and continuing to ship these defective clamps to unsuspecting woodworkers!

Remember, out of all brands of clamps tested, the Semble clamps were the worst in terms of oil leaching by a country mile. The other clamps that leached oil only leached a tiny amount that I could barely see on the paper. The Semble clamps leave a huge, translucent oil stain on paper. No other clamp did that.

Part of the problem here is Woodpecker's acting like their Semble clamps are the best on the market. They literally say something to that effect in the Semble video that they made. In reality, these are the worst clamps on the market, at least in terms of their ability to leach oil and stain woodwork!

If this was any old clamp from Home Depot or whatever, I wouldn't have even raised an eyebrow....

 

[neophyte]

Are the pads possibly rubber? Real rubber, not a thermoplastic elastomer like some urethanes or plasticized PVC? Your description sounds more like oil than plasticizer.

Rubber has lots of oil in its formulations. It’s not uncommon for freshly-molded rubber to lose oil.

But is the work really “ruined”? That seems kind of strong.

Does a solvent remove the stain? If it’s so mobile to make a pad mark that quickly, there’s chance it could be extracted similarly easily.

If it doesn’t remove with a solvent, does it continue to migrate and dissipate into the work? Seems like time could minimize the stain.

What kind of finish were you going to put on the wood? What does that do to the stain?

The oily mark sounds frustrating, yes, but it doesn’t really seem like the catastrophe you’re making it.

Protecting bare wood from “oil” and other stains is one of the considerations when making anything that will not have an opaque finish, and even with an opaque finish, it needs to be a consideration, since oil will prevent or screw up many finish coatings, and trying to use solvents to remove issues is a time consuming pain in the @ss.
Using a “rubber” padded clamp, is one way woodworker’s avoid extra finishing issues, and these pads seem to have sabotaged that plan, and made the issue just as bad or worse, than not using pads.
Trying to figure out the correct solvent to remove a mystery blemish will also be a pain, and may require a progression thru a few different solvents, to remove the issue, then blend the wood back if a clear finish is being used.
Contact cementing or double side taping a material like cardboard to the pads might help fix the issue for a while, but it’s still a pain to have to modify tools because there was a flaw in the material choice.

 

[dnschmidt]

Woodpeckers for sure can ruin your wallet that's for sure. As to the pads simply wipe them with lacquer thinner and do the same on the "ruined" woodwork (or use automotive wax and grease remover). If these can remove road tar and asphalt from fenders they can sure as hell remove a little oil from a wood panel. The idea of using wax paper on anything I'm going to paint seems like the last thing in the world that I, as a car painter, would ever think of doing.

 

[PCustoms]

This is Red Oak sanded to 4000 grit using Festool Rotex.

Is that a typo?

 

[cgrutt]

Sorry you've had problems with new clamps that's certainly frustrating. I have mostly Jorgensen and Bessey clamps but I normally use a wood pad even though they have rubber pads on (most of) them just to protect project from becoming dented. Was wondering if cleaning the pads might remove the oil? Anyway, saw your comment above about leaving the red oak unfinished. I dont think that's a great idea and you'll probably find your projects staining and changing color just from normal handling (oils in skin for example) and natural oxidation process being exposed to air. There are some finishes that protect wood from stains etc while still leaving natural appearance. Suggest exploring some of those options.

 

[Old tool guy]

Given that it was already sanded to 4000, I've been too scared to try dabbing the stains with solvent. What if it raises the grain, etc?

Gee … I don’t know … maybe resand?

 

[cgrutt]

Is that a typo?

I was thinking same thing lol. Cant see red oak being sanded to 4000 without pore filler. Even then 320 would probably be as fine as needed for most finishes.

 

[whateg01]

Sanding to ultra fine grits is a new thing. It basically polishes the wood.

 

[gizardlizard]

I’m a journeyman millwright who works in a plastic injection molding facility. I’ve been here 35 years this month. Not sure how far you want to take this, but I could test the pads and tell you exactly what type of material they are made from. There are LOTS of variables including mold release agents and additional additives to base plastic. We are a custom molder and run lots of engineering grade plastics and even some exotics along with your run of the mill stuff.

 

[The Bean]

Not sure how far you want to take this, but I could test the pads and tell you exactly what type of material they are made from.

Ground up potato chip bags...


I'll see myself out.

 

[woody 73]

I also like woodpecker tools, but I feel at least the company tried to make good for the op. Sure, some of their products are not so good and I respect the op for bringing up the problems with the wood clamps, so two thumbs up.

Put the word out on woodworking sites and only time will tell if it is working or not.

 

[budget76]

I appreciate the OP, even if others think he may be expecting too much

I'd expect a high end woodworking product company to at a minimum add a line to the listing page saying there's a chance the pads may leech and use something between, and send out a quick heads up to purchasers. doesn't seem so hard

I've got dozens of Jorgenson clamps and have never had a single issue similar to the OP. those are marketed to joe blow in Home Depot, not the guy building $10k furniture. I expect more if you're asking a premium $$ for them

 

[K13]

I guarantee the last email from them was "we are tired of hearing from this idiot so we will tell him what he wants to hear about the clamps and hope he goes away." Anything plastic or rubber from overseas needs to be cleaned before being using if you don't want to run the chance of so sort of mold release coming off during use. At $17 or less a clamp these are not some high end expensive product that I would expect perfection from no matter who was selling them.

 

[neophyte]

Is that a typo?

I was thinking same thing lol. Cant see red oak being sanded to 4000 without pore filler. Even then 320 would probably be as fine as needed for most finishes.

If you sand to an ultra fine grit, especially with harder wood, you get to a finish closer to that left by a smooth razor sharp blade edge, with a smooth burnish rubbed over the wood afterward.
The fact that most woodworkers suggest just sanding to 400 grit at the max, has always confused me, unless the wood is being finished with a fully opaque, or barely translucent finish.
If you look up the technique for traditional Asian “Urushi” Lacquer, it can involve dozens of lacquer layers, with each layer “sanded” or burnished with finer and finer polishing mediums.
Admittedly, the same or similar lacquers are also just brushed on in one or two coats for quicker cheaper “practical”, wood finishing, for utilitarian purposes.

 

[cgrutt]

If you sand to an ultra fine grit, especially with harder wood, you get to a finish closer to that left by a smooth razor sharp blade edge, with a smooth burnish rubbed over the wood afterward.
The fact that most woodworkers suggest just sanding to 400 grit at the max, has always confused me, unless the wood is being finished with a fully opaque, or barely translucent finish.
If you look up the technique for traditional Asian “Urushi” Lacquer, it can involve dozens of lacquer layers, with each layer “sanded” or burnished with finer and finer polishing mediums.
Admittedly, the same or similar lacquers are also just brushed on in one or two coats for quicker cheaper “practical”, wood finishing, for utilitarian purposes.

With Red oak being such a porous and open grained wood I just dont see how sanding to even 4000 grit would work unless a pore filler was also used. You wouldn't typically fill pores if wood was being left unfinished.

I've made my own kitchen (chestnut and maple), cabinets (cherry) and furniture (curly maple and black walnut) don't recall ever sanding beyond 320.

 

[PCustoms]

If you look up the technique for traditional Asian “Urushi” Lacquer, it can involve dozens of lacquer layers, with each layer “sanded” or burnished with finer and finer polishing mediums.
Admittedly, the same or similar lacquers are also just brushed on in one or two coats for quicker cheaper “practical”, wood finishing, for utilitarian purposes.

Sanding lacquer, or any finish for that matter, is totally different then sanding wood (especially red oak, most consider that firewood!) to 4,000.

You're going to have to try really hard to convince me that polishing raw wood fibers is a thing...

 

[PCustoms]

I've made my own kitchen (chestnut and maple), cabinets (cherry) and furniture (curly maple and black walnut) don't recall ever sanding beyond 320.

I've been around woodworking and finishing for over 30yrs in one form or another, including multi million dollar yachts, and I can't say I've ever seen wood sanded past that either. Most finishes aren't sanded above that....

For most projects I stop at 220 and start applying finish. Finishes get 320 or a white abrasive pad between coats (if needed).

 

[whateg01]

Blacktail studio did a table not long ago I think where he sanded to some very fine grit. I don't recall what grit he stopped at though. He also wasn't working with oak.

 

[American Locomotive]

Woodpeckers for sure can ruin your wallet that's for sure. As to the pads simply wipe them with lacquer thinner and do the same on the "ruined" woodwork (or use automotive wax and grease remover). If these can remove road tar and asphalt from fenders they can sure as hell remove a little oil from a wood panel. The idea of using wax paper on anything I'm going to paint seems like the last thing in the world that I, as a car painter, would ever think of doing.

Wood is extremely porous. It's also unlikely any grease/oil/whatever on the surface of the pads. It's plasticizer leeching out of the pvc. If you have ever taken one of those super soft white "hi polymer" erasers (they're PVC) and pressed it up against a plastic pen or mechanical pencil - they start melting into each other rapidly. I think just about every school kid has had one of those white erasers melt into a pencil or a ruler inside their pencil case.

I'm not a pro (or even amateur) woodworker, but I'm friends with a professional cabinet maker and a professional amateur ( ) , and they are absolutely **** about keeping any sort of oil off all of their wood working tools. According to them, oil stains are very difficult if not impossible to remove. It's not something you just put some lacquer thinner on and wipe off like a car fender. You can't even sand oil stains out without seriously digging into the wood. These clamps could absolutely damage a very expensive piece of woodworking.

 

[woody 73]

I did a post story several years ago and someone on the GJ killed the story,lol They thought I was talking about birds, so I had them tell the readers it was tool related...

Oh well sometimes I win and sometimes I lose, the post in question from a few years ago:

woodpeckers are not for bird watching... (Tool Related)

Well at least these woodpeckers are made in the USA as a matter of fact in the Buckeye State. Woodpeckers for those of you that are into woodworking are tools that are made for anyone that enjoys working on wood projects in your man cave. www.woodpeck.com is their web-site. Woodpeckers,Inc...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[gatewaysysop]

First, I should say that I'm one of the world's biggest Woodpeckers fans. I love Made in USA stuff, and absolutely everything that I've bought from them (up until now) has been of exceptional quality. On the rare occasions when I needed customer support (like for a missing part, or a replacement part for something I had broken or lost), they always acted swiftly to help me.

This is the first time that I've found a major, show-stopping, work-ruining defect in any of their products. But the way they have handled it has been really disappointing.

For what it's worth, I think they're being largely unapologetic, intransigent assholes who lied through their teeth should be ashamed of themselves. Personally, I will never buy their products as a result of reading this, and hope that at least some others feel likewise.

Sorry about your cabinet. Just because some people don't consider it ruined, doesn't mean it isn't ruined for you. Just because they gave your money back and threw product at you, doesn't invalidate your concerns anymore than it makes up for the ruined wood. As I understand, you asked them to do the right thing to address the issue and instead they just threw money at you and put their heads in the sand. How pathetic.

Thanks for doing the right thing and letting people know how these shitbags treat their customers.

 

[hobie18]

Hopefully the woodworkers grapevine will get the information out quickly. Wonder how many people are now going to find where that finish error came from.

Thank you

 

[jar944]

After the initial complaint and their response, refunding your original purchase price and sending you a couple extras just to be nice, I don't think they owe you or anybody else anything. Would it be nice if they put a blurb in the instructions that say some pads might leave a residue? Sure. Are they somehow obligated to do so? Absolutely not. If I was the company, I would gladly fire you as a customer at that point. Looks like that's pretty much what they did. The customer is not always right. Sorry, not sorry.

This is closer to an autobody product that leaves silicone residue behind.

I'd say it's fatally flawed. Oil stains on raw wood won't necessarily come out without removing the stained wood.

 

[acer66]

This is closer to an autobody product that leaves silicone residue behind.

I'd say it's fatally flawed. Oil stains on raw wood won't necessarily come out without removing the stained wood.

This, like I said before I have acquired many clamps with pads over the years.
High end ones made in Germany/USA, some decent one from all over the place.
Plus I also ended up with cheap clamps from HF and some fly by companies and none of them did that what the OP described.

 

[cgrutt]

Playing Devil's advocate for just a moment, where is all the outrage by other users of these products whose projects have been ruined by this defective product? I sympathize with OP and get that he's trying to help others but I suspect by Company's response the problem might not be as widespread or severe as what is being claimed by one user. There doesn't seem to be many other cases being made about it. I'm not saying I don't believe OP just maybe others have experienced same problem and have dealt with it.

 

[hobie18]

As soon as they realize what was the cause. The fury...