ESKIMO AUGERS!?!?

[vt-jig]

Just thought id warn you guys about a POSSIBLE defect I discovered in eskimo hand augers. Me and my buddy were fishing and when he drilled a hole with my auger, the wing bolt holding the handle to the flute broke, allowing it to separate, and the flute ended up in almost 14 fow. We were able to retrieve it with some magnets, but this was a brand new auger, and was used for less than 50 holes. Hopefully this was just a fluke incident. i did call the customer service dept, but they said they had no idea as to why it happened. totally unhelpful.  The auger is now held together with a hardened steel bolt and some lock washers. If it was an old beat up piece of equipment, i wouldnt have been SO suprised, but a serious failure after 50 holes? come on guys..step up the quality....

[Chris338378]

That sure sounds pretty odd, never heard of that happening either.  Did you look at the threads and what was left of the bolt, if so what did it look like?   Can you post some pictures of the auger and bolt?  As for Eskimo's customer service, in all the years I've been dealing with them they have been nothing less than helpful and a role model for other companies' customer service departments. 

[vt-jig]

well the bolt broke where it threaded into the flute. i took some pics on my phone , but im typing this from school right now so i dont have access to them.(we use a cell phone as a house phone) I guess my saying that eskimo's customer service was unhelpful was a bit unfair of me, because the guy i talked to was totally decent, he had just never heard of that problem happening before.

[lefty2053]

I would take some pictures of it and send it to Eskimo. I am sure they will help you out.

[Reel trouble]

Those wing bolts are junk never could get mine tight and after the first trip this is what it looked like.  I got another one and it wouldn't tighten any more than the first.  problem is it pinches the upper shaft to the side of the lower shaft so soon as they get loose they wiggle until they break. there is an easy fix tho just go to the hardwear store and buy a grade 8 bolt and a sleeve under a buck .  stop by a pawn store and buy a 7/16 wrench for 50 cents put it in your tackle box so your never without it. problem solved mine hasn't come loose in two trips 

[Chris338378]

I agree with Reel trouble, sounds like the bolt was made from some soft metal and I would use his fix.  That's real cheap and won't break.

[Michaelo]

I did this one time but mine was cause the hole froze shut and I figured oh I will just drill a hole or two without its now sitting in the bottom of the lake.

[NoMe]

I did this one time but mine was cause the hole froze shut and I figured oh I will just drill a hole or two without its now sitting in the bottom of the lake.

I wouldn't repeat this to anyone else.