Strikemaster mag 2000 not cutting

[northernflyer]

My strikemaster mag 2000 is taking forever to drill a hole. It takes almost 3 minutes to drill through a couple feet of ice. I thought it was the blades so I put brand new blades on it and still the same thing. It seems it wants to bounce around a lot and it doesn't really grab the ice well at all. Any ideas?

[highlife4me]

If you have ever slammed the auger onto the ice really hard to break the ice off, like I see a lot of guys do, you may have bent the auger a bit and tweaked the angle of the cutting edge rendering your auger useless until it can be repaired.

[Ed Carlson]

If the center power point is bent or blunted..or both, that will do it.

I also agree you may have possibly bent one side of the cutting blades out of tune.

Start with the center point, then is she is still not biting even, then it needs to be re-tuned.

[northernflyer]

Is there anything special to sharpeneing the center point or do i just sharpen the edges and bring it to a point on the end. I am pretty carefull with all of my stuff so I don't think it would be bent, but I guess one never knows. thanks

[Ed Carlson]

Note: If it is a Mag with the fixed welded on Center Point, then sharpen the tip in place with a file, much the same as I described below. A vice will come in handy here too.

The Lazer Mag tips are removable so you can put a like threaded hex nut in a vice and lock the nut down firm to touch up the point with a file.

It is easiest to remove it than try it on the auger, to avoid getting sliced by them new blades.

File from the bottom up to the point on the top. Keep the bevel angle true, and do even strokes on each side of the point.

I have a trick to this. I use a black marker to blacken out the surface of the bevel edge first. Then I can see how I'm progressing with the file and adjust accordingly. Once all shiny and even, it's good to go.

With the nut locked in the vise level, you should easily see if the point looks bent to one side or another. A square will confirm this from side to side. A large Crescent Wrench set firmly on the tip can tweak it back to square if it if off center. Use gentle adjustments and confirm it with the square to be true.

DON'T use a grinder, use a file. The grinder will heat the metal and ruin the temper of the steel, and it will dull fast.

You can buy 2-packs of replacement StrikeMaster Power Points too. Handy to have on hand, relatively cheap and then you have a spare.

The center point has a lot to do with the feeding of the main cutting blades and is often overlooked in maintenance.

You still could have one of the sides bent on the main blades. I would start at the point and eliminate that first to be sure.

[northernflyer]

Thanks for the help. I have the welded on tip but it shouldn't be that difficult to get at. I see on my tip there is a really small knick, like it hit something when it was cutting through the ice and the edges are a little dull.

[Chris Haley]

I had a 2000 that I needed to shim the blades on one side. Could be that also.

[TRZ II]

Sounds bent to me! I had the same thing happen after an accident,

[Ed Carlson]

Thanks for the help. I have the welded on tip but it shouldn't be that difficult to get at. I see on my tip there is a really small knick, like it hit something when it was cutting through the ice and the edges are a little dull.

That will do it.

[hunter322]

+1 on sharpening the center point. i have a mag 2000 and had the same problem and thought the same thing and replaced the blades with no change. i had a guy sharpen the point with a grinder and its worked 10x better ever since!

[Ed Carlson]

northernflyer: Please let us know what you figure out on the auger. Always interested in what the resolution is on such problems.

Thanks,

[FYGR8]

I had asked a while back about shimming my blades on my 224 bottom with a new Solo powerhead. It was suggested by Ed to replace the point first. I must say this did help.....but the motor begged for more. So, I cut up a beer can and put a small(single layer) shim on the leading edge of all four blades......WOW!!! I will be strapping a board to my @$$ so I don't get pulled in!(Please note....shimming may not have been necessary had I bought new instead of reconditioned blades)