Author Topic: New power auger not cutting well (Read 11175 times)

mmckenzie15 · « **on:** Jan 23, 2012, 10:38 PM »

I have a new eskimo ice auger blades feel sharp but is not cuttin very good. Was wondering if it is ok to shim the blades on a power auger?

buckzone101 · « **Reply #1 on:** Jan 25, 2012, 11:22 AM »

mine is doing the same also how can this be fixed?

Quantrel · « **Reply #2 on:** Jan 25, 2012, 11:29 AM »

Give customer support a call.
With 2 new augers not cutting it sounds like a product defect issue.

buckzone101 · « **Reply #3 on:** Jan 25, 2012, 11:31 AM »

yeah it was cutting fine then the last few days it seems like its not cutting good and iv only cut not even 200 holes

mmckenzie15 · « **Reply #4 on:** Jan 25, 2012, 12:51 PM »

got new blades today will see if it cuts better. will post results tommorow when i go fishing.

walleye tattoo · « **Reply #5 on:** Jan 25, 2012, 06:59 PM »

I have a four inch wet stone and I sharpen mine every once a year . I also have three sets so aback is always around.

icewagon · « **Reply #6 on:** Jan 25, 2012, 07:11 PM »

What model Eskimo do you have ? Is the auger new or just the blades ?

buckzone101 · « **Reply #7 on:** Jan 25, 2012, 07:35 PM »

my augers new and its an eskimo stingray

flyboyroy · « **Reply #8 on:** Jan 26, 2012, 02:18 PM »

I did a search for this topic and I am having the same problem with my jiffy white lightning. worked great the first year I had it. Drilled about a zillion holes. Next year it started to slow a little and this year I sent the blade out for sharpening before the season.

the blade came back sharp, but it just doesnt feel like it "bites" as good as it used to.
I did a search for "shim power auger blades" because I wondered if that might be a solution.

for our hand auger, we used to make shims out of a soda can ??

hoppy · « **Reply #9 on:** Jan 26, 2012, 03:05 PM »

best bet is to have a spare sharp set on hand ready to go as backup. You can send your old ones out for resharpening through a number of differant programs. Checkout fish307. Not sure how many holes a "zillion" is but if you are drilling 100's even thousands of holes a year then how long can you really expect the blades to stay sharp and continue to cut "zillions" of holes without issue? Like everything else alittle maintanance goes a long way. A new auger if taken care of should cut well for a few years atliest. again depends on how much you use it. If your new auger isnt cutting then something isnt right.

mmckenzie15 · « **Reply #10 on:** Jan 26, 2012, 08:02 PM »

Went out today with new blades seemed to work a little better but dosent feel like its getting a good bite. My friend has the same auger and his seems to cut faster. Will have to have a race side by side. I dont think it would harm the auger to shim it so i will give it a try.

flyboyroy · « **Reply #11 on:** Jan 30, 2012, 05:41 AM »

Quote from: hoppy on Jan 26, 2012, 03:05 PM

best bet is to have a spare sharp set on hand ready to go as backup. You can send your old ones out for resharpening through a number of differant programs. Checkout fish307. Not sure how many holes a "zillion" is but if you are drilling 100's even thousands of holes a year then how long can you really expect the blades to stay sharp and continue to cut "zillions" of holes without issue? Like everything else alittle maintanance goes a long way. A new auger if taken care of should cut well for a few years atliest. again depends on how much you use it. If your new auger isnt cutting then something isnt right.

Well hoppy -- its like I said in my post ---- after it started to slow down, I had the blades sharpened and when the sharp blades came back, I put them on the auger and it still doesnt cut like it used to. Works good, but not great.

That is why I was wonderinf if there was something else besides sharp blades, and that got me to wondering if the power auger blades could be shimmed like the hand auger ones.

Or if there is something else I should look at ?

The engine starts great, runs great. It drills holes, but you have to push down on it to get it to bite. It used to be that it would practicaly pull itself into the ice.

Does anyone know ?

rockmonster2007 · « **Reply #12 on:** Jan 30, 2012, 05:45 AM »

Make sure the point is sharp, that is about as important as a sharp blade.. Been there done that ..

flyboyroy · « **Reply #13 on:** Jan 30, 2012, 05:47 AM »

thanks rock ---- I will give that a try

rockmonster2007 · « **Reply #14 on:** Jan 30, 2012, 05:50 AM »

It shouldn't take much just a few passe with stone or file, keep same angle n make sure u hit the back of it 1-2 times to remove any burs..
The point is where it all starts n if that is dull it makes the blade work that much harder..

mallardhunter · « **Reply #15 on:** Jan 31, 2012, 12:31 PM »

I wonder if that is what's wrong with my auger as well I have to but all my weight into it to get it to cut and I put a new blade on this year

tinyfisher · « **Reply #16 on:** Jan 31, 2012, 02:14 PM »

Make sure you didn't install the blade upside-down (on the wrong side of the bracket). Believe it or not, it's fairly common.

mallardhunter · « **Reply #17 on:** Jan 31, 2012, 03:15 PM »

No I didn't I been thinking that its the point because it is not sharp at all, and I been wondering if it was suppose to be

lefty2053 · « **Reply #18 on:** Feb 03, 2012, 06:59 AM »

Quote from: mmckenzie15 on Jan 26, 2012, 08:02 PM

Went out today with new blades seemed to work a little better but dosent feel like its getting a good bite. My friend has the same auger and his seems to cut faster. Will have to have a race side by side. I dont think it would harm the auger to shim it so i will give it a try.

Are you letting the Auger do it's job? If you are applying pressure it will cut slower. If you let the weight of it cut it will cut faster.
Of course if you applied too much pressure you might have bent the blade holders and it will never cut right.

My Eskimo is now 3 years old and I have sharpened the blades 2 times. Cuts great.

mallardhunter · « **Reply #19 on:** Feb 05, 2012, 06:39 PM »

I sharpened the point and it was the difference of night and day. I was suprised at how much of a difference it made thanks for the help guys!

laclabiche walleye hunter · « **Reply #20 on:** Feb 06, 2012, 07:50 AM »

Quote from: mallardhunter on Feb 05, 2012, 06:39 PM

I sharpened the point and it was the difference of night and day. I was suprised at how much of a difference it made thanks for the help guys!

Good to here you got it figured out that point is very critical to smooth operation i found that out the same way you did and it makes a world of difference.

flyboyroy · « **Reply #21 on:** Feb 06, 2012, 08:05 AM »

I sharpened the point and mine worked a lot better, too.

gimp987 · « **Reply #22 on:** Feb 10, 2012, 01:12 PM »

I was taught this year to use a foil wrapper from wriggly's gum. Loosen blades and insert the wrapper on back side and tighten down. You should be good to go.

Chris338378 · « **Reply #23 on:** Sep 16, 2012, 04:45 AM »

My auger was cutting slow and when I called to order the new bladed that lady in customer service told me when ever you change the blades change the centering point. I was also told to look at the blades and look for shinny spots along the edge (you might have to tip the auger to get the light to shine right to see it) and if you see them then blades are getting dull.

BlueDuck · « **Reply #24 on:** Dec 28, 2012, 08:40 AM »

May or may not be the problem in some cases, but I have seen guys pound the blades on the ice to remove ice from building up on the auger. Just be careful with them and they last longer.

Damn Yankee · « **Reply #25 on:** Jan 04, 2013, 08:59 PM »

Got me to thinking:
I ordered a new spare set of blades for my Ion and was not all smiles when they are marked (MADE IN CHINA)
Your problem sounds like the same problem StrikeMaster owners had last year.
Sounds like typical crap material that China uses. Good cutting for a few uses then the poor-quality material
comes forth.

WYIfish · « **Reply #26 on:** Jan 15, 2013, 09:08 PM »

Quote from: hoppy on Jan 26, 2012, 03:05 PM

best bet is to have a spare sharp set on hand ready to go as backup. You can send your old ones out for resharpening through a number of differant programs. Checkout fish307. Not sure how many holes a "zillion" is but if you are drilling 100's even thousands of holes a year then how long can you really expect the blades to stay sharp and continue to cut "zillions" of holes without issue? Like everything else alittle maintanance goes a long way. A new auger if taken care of should cut well for a few years atliest. again depends on how much you use it. If your new auger isnt cutting then something isnt right.

Spare blades for my 3 year old jifffy are $94. ` 20% of the cost of the whole auger. I wouldn't get another jiffy unless it's 25 years old or more.

flyboyroy · « **Reply #27 on:** Jan 16, 2013, 04:09 AM »

Quote from: WYIfish on Jan 15, 2013, 09:08 PM

Spare blades for my 3 year old jifffy are $94. ` 20% of the cost of the whole auger. I wouldn't get another jiffy unless it's 25 years old or more.

I sent my blades out to get sharpened -- it didnt make much of a difference. What realy helped me was sharpening the point. Trouble with my Jiffy is that the point is welded to the auger. You would think they would make a point that you could take out and either sharpen or replace ??

IceFishNFool · « **Reply #28 on:** Jan 17, 2013, 08:59 PM »

I always use silicone spray on my auger and the blades. When I am done the ice and water just fall off and the blades do not have a chance to oxidize and become dull.

teabagger1773 · « **Reply #29 on:** Feb 24, 2013, 10:34 PM »

the owners manual for eskimo augers says that the clutch will deliver maximum power after 2 hours of cutting. thats alot of holes. i'm on my second season with my eskimo and it is getting faster even though i haven't sharpened the blades.

News:

Author Topic: New power auger not cutting well (Read 11175 times)

icewagon