WOW! What a differance!! New blades!!!!

[frldyz]

Bought a S.M. 8" Lazermag express 49cc 2hp 2 stroke last weekend for $75.
Thing is mint oo.  Looks like maybe used a dozen times.  Everything on it looks like new.  Gas tank even bright white still.


Anyways.. used it for 1st time last weekend.
Took about 5 mins a hole.

Took to the old S.M here in MN.  The adjusted the pitch and put new blades.
Holy crap!!!! Huge difference.  Less then 1 min holes.

I've also noticed.. if I re-drill out someones old hole it takes maybe 20 seconds.

What does it mean to re-pitch the auger?  How does it get off?

[Kevin23]

Wow super score!

They re-angled the tip of the auger bit and put new blades on it. Someone must have dropped it on the blades or banged it on the ice to clear ice off it or something. Somehow the end of the auger met a hard surface with a lot of force. It could have happened when you were drilling 5 minute holes if you were putting a lot of pressure down on it.

[lefty2053]

You should never drill out old holes. Depending on thickness of ice 1 minute is a long time. I was cutting through 8" the other day in 6 seconds. Don't put pressure on the unit. Let it do all the work with it's own weight only. Don't let it stand in a half drilled hole and keep the blades sharp. It will last you a long time.

[psturdevant]

Why never drill out old holes?

[Whitefish Slayer]

Why never drill out old holes?

Not sure about this either....  When I fished in a permanet shack that's all we did was re-drill holes over and over..  My old Mag 2000 SM re-drilled  for 8 yrs and she never missed a beat doing it...  It's better to use a 3HP for the torque but my auger did fine and the old man had it going the other day... 

[Rebelss]

You should never drill out old holes. Depending on thickness of ice 1 minute is a long time. I was cutting through 8" the other day in 6 seconds. Don't put pressure on the unit. Let it do all the work with it's own weight only. Don't let it stand in a half drilled hole and keep the blades sharp. It will last you a long time.

Lefty's right. (HA!) NEVER push down on it; no reason to, let it drill it's "own" hole. You're not in a speed race. The blades "shave" the ice...redrilling is tough on the blades, as you hit crud, air pockets, chunks, etc. It's not "smooth" solid ice. Just as the best knife blade dulls if you continually "chop" with it, so will auger blades, not a lot of difference. I run my Arkansas oil stone over the blades with a bit of oil after EVERY trip. I'm on year 5 and you can shave with them, kid you not.

[Kevin23]

If you have shaver blades (two blades, straight edge like a knife) then you should never open old holes. If you have chipper blades (serrated, has teeth) then you are fine opening old holes.

[frldyz]

Why never drill out old holes?

I've got the chipper blades.
Was told its perfectly ok and fine with chipper blades

[william bennett]

Lefty's right. (HA!) NEVER push down on it; no reason to, let it drill it's "own" hole. You're not in a speed race. The blades "shave" the ice...redrilling is tough on the blades, as you hit crud, air pockets, chunks, etc. It's not "smooth" solid ice. Just as the best knife blade dulls if you continually "chop" with it, so will auger blades, not a lot of difference. I run my Arkansas oil stone over the blades with a bit of oil after EVERY trip. I'm on year 5 and you can shave with them, kid you not.

i would love to see a video of you dharpening your blades.

[lefty2053]

One other reason I never re-drill someone else holes is because some people throw stuff in their old holes and cover it with some snow or slush. I know a guy that drilled out an old hole and busted his blades on a broken multi-tool they threw out.

[Kevin23]

I knew a guy who used to throw sand in half froze holes so guys would quit fishing "his spot".  Drill one open and it will be the last hole you drill with those blades.

[psturdevant]

I knew a guy who used to throw sand in half froze holes so guys would quit fishing "his spot".  Drill one open and it will be the last hole you drill with those blades.

That guy is an a** hole

[lefty2053]

That guy is an a** hole

The point is, there are a lot just like him.

[psturdevant]

One reason I can say for not redrilling a hole, I was out at Loon Lake earlier in the season and there was a hole that was just slushy.  I cleaned it out real quick, put the shanty over it so I could see what the bottom was like there.  There was probably 30 beer cans in a pile on the bottom right under the hole.... I couldn't have been more pissed at that point. 

[Rebelss]

i would love to see a video of you dharpening your blades.

Get a hard (white) Arkansas 4" stone and some honing oil. Oil FLAT side of blade. "Sweep" stone from front of cutting edge to back of blade in a semi-circular motion. ( I have chipper style, Quantum's), repeat three or four times. Do NOT attempt to do this on the angled part of the blade. If you do this from day one with new blades, you'll maintain proper angle and edge. Impossible to re-set angle this way if your blades are really dull. Helps if you've been sharpening your knives this way for 30 + years, too.