Problem with new strike light auger

[rwk]

I just purchased a new strike light auger. I am having a problem with the bit. When I drill a hole it catches at the bottom and I am having to yank it hard out the hole. It is almost like the cutting blades are not the same diameter as the rest of the bit. Any thoughts on this?

I do plan on changing the bit out with a lazer bit I have from my older auger and see if it makes a difference. My older auger never did this.

Thanks

[grizrunner]

I bought mine 2years ago. Mine did the same thing, however I think partly cause I was too gentle on the poly auger. Afraid of it breaking like others reported. I took mine in to SM and traded for a steel auger. A little bit heavier, but I like the 4 stroke and the confidence to take it anywhere.

I'd call SM in Big Lake to see what they can do for you. Talk to Si.

[BartmanMN]

D you have the synthetic bit or new black and yellow lazier bit? My new black and yellow bit catches a little bit.

[rwk]

I have the new bit the steal one black and yellow.

[Transporter]

You're not alone. I sold my 4 year old strike lite this year and bought a new one, when I opened the box I saw the dril was now made in China. Happened to go to the ice show and mentioned it to the Stikemaster folks and was assured there was no difference. I have drilled 30- 40 holes over the last three weeks and noticed it immediately and it would screw you right to the ice if not careful. I have changed the way I drill holes now, I actually am holding the auger up slightly rather than letting it drill under it's own weight, it has helped a lot until I contact Strikemaster this week. I had the composite drill (which I eventually broke) and a lazer drill on my last strike lite and neither of those ever behaved like this Chinese thing. I really like the Strike Lite as I fish exclusively from a snowmobile towing a portable and the light weight and fuel efficiency of this auger really make a difference to me, but was concerned and somewhat disappointed when I saw the long trusted and proven Mora drill replaced by a Chinese version this year. I have no worries that Strikemaster will make things right. First year production issues... but it could always be worse, I didn't have to break out the spud bar.

[Wimbie]

My guess is, the blades are probably at the wrong pitch. Maybe there is a bit of steel from where they drilled the holes in between the blades and auger that was ground off enough, not allowing the blades to get proper contact and pitch when tightened.

[Transporter]

Possibly, but it really doesn't matter why, I'm not interested in engineering a fix. It is a brand new problem specific to a brand new machine, it's the manufacturer's responsibility. Let them figure it out, I want to fish.

[rwk]

I'm with (transporter). They can figure out the fix. Being that the thing was not to cheep to buy. I will call them next week also. Glad to see I am not alone.

[BartmanMN]

Post up what SM says. I don't live to far from there and would run it over there if it should not be catching at all. It doesn't really bother me, but would have it corrected if it needed to be. I love the auger. Wouldn't want anything else.

[CAMAN]

Did you check to make sure the blade screws are TIGHT?

[Oranda]

Seems they have been having issues with change vendors. First the recoil lube in the Solo now this. With their reputation I would think they would be a bit more careful about testing before putting things on the market.

Have they under some mager management changes in the last few years?

[CAMAN]

Seems they have been having issues with change vendors. First the recoil lube in the Solo now this. With their reputation I would think they would be a bit more careful about testing before putting things on the market.

Have they under some mager management changes in the last few years?

This isn't a new machine. It has been on the market for 3-4 years. They changed the auger bit from the synthetic to the steel one last year I believe, but it is the standard Lazer bit they have been putting on all their augers for years. So I don't know where you're getting this "more careful about testing before putting things on the market" bit.

I can almost guaranty the blades are loose, it's VERY common.

[Transporter]

Whoa there, easy now Mr. Lizard, no need to verbally pummel him. The drill is now made in China, granted the blades are still the lazer variety, but the drill is no longer the Swedish made Mora. This is my 3rd Strike Lite, how many have you owned? Having had power augers for 30+ years I am aware of checking blade tightness as there is a label on the drill shaft reminding me to do it before each use, in fact, I have never had blades loosen up even once. This is a new problem for this model, that has been established and verified quite well by the three strike lite owners discussing it here, not by a so called expert with no more than a keyboard for verification. I am going to call Strikemaster today, it will be interesting to get their take on the situation. Hopefully it won't be only a "tighten the blade screws" solution, the likelyhood of this symptom occurring to three users with new machines on this forum would be beyond coincidental. I post what I find out from Strikemaster.

[CAMAN]

This is my 3rd Strike Lite, how many have you owned?

I own one...

And just how am I verbally pummeling him?

And from reading other posts on other forums it has become common lately that the blades were not installed tight enough from the factory. THAT is the reason I said check the blade tightness. But before doing that remove them and clean the junk that may have accumulated under them from use.

[rwk]

Well I did look at the blades tonight and they were tight but I did tighten the bolts up a little bit. I can't see how that will make the bit try and screw it's self down to the ice. My other auger with the older lazer had really loose blades so bad they had about 1/16 gap and it drilled fine like that never hanging up or catching like the new one. So I will try and call Strikemaster tomorrow

[BartmanMN]

blades are tight, cuts fine, just catches on hole when you are lifting out. Let us know what SM says.

This is different than the typically "having troubles breaking through" issues.

[Lammboy]

We have the same issue with out strike Light. We did have loose blades. So we tightened them up and it still does the same thing We talked to a guy at Frankies and he said the blades would cut through the ice and leave 2 little chunks of ice that would not get cut due to the laser blades. He told us to hold the auger as we neared the bottom of the ice and let it cut through completely rather than let it drop through and that seems to work for us. We had a older chipper blade auger and have never used the lazer blade style auger so I don't know if this is an issue with just that style of blade of if we need to not let the auger drop through with this type of blade.

[Transporter]

I called Strikemaster this morning and talked to the service person. I explained what it was doing and assured him the blades screws were tight, he also questioned if I were putting downward pressure on the auger while drilling and I informed him that in fact I was doing just the opposite and holding up slightly on the auger as it drilled. The diagnosis is that the pitch is off and needs to be adjusted, I now either ship it to them or drive 300 miles to the shop so they can check the pitch. I mentioned that there have been several of the same concerns and if possibly there was a run of bad drills, the response was no and they see some out of pitch from time to time. I am gone for a week and a half so I will have to wait until after I return to deal with shipping it back, or live with it until the ice is gone then let them work it over. If anyone else who has this problem gets the pitch adjustment in the meantime could post the results I would be interested to see if it fixes the problem. I have had several augers with lazer blades and have never experienced this problem before, the last time I needed a pitch adjustment the auger would just sit on the ice and spin, no matter how hard you pushed on it. I am somewhat skeptical of this repair, but they are the experts and I will let them do what they feel is warranted and take it from there. I encourage anyone with this symptom to contact them right away.

[rwk]

I called today and was told the same thing about the blades that they need to be tightened. I told the person that mine were tight I only got about 1/4 turn. Tried it out tonight and it still has the problem so I will call monday. The person I talked to said they have not got feed back from telling people to tighten the blades so they will get mine on Monday.

[jholland]

Not a fan of the Strike Lites in general.

Great concept, but I've yet to see one that didn't have an issue that you had to "put up with" so you could have the lighter weight, quieter auger.

The one we have is on it's 3rd drill and FOURTH handle (The older model had crappy plastic handles).

Instead of dealing with that pain in the rear, we just brought our ~15 year old Strikemaster Magnum III to a repair shop, he did some magic, and it works infinitely better than the StrikeLite.

Sorry Strikemaster, but I think Jiffy gets my money next time..

[smokindao]

Brought my strike lite 2 to D-Rock and they knew right away what was wrong with it. The tech guy replaced the drill bit and explained that the middle of the auger drill itself was too wide and was not tight up against the pole.

Took about 5 minutes and I was off. Used the new drill bit this past weekend and drilled about 100 holes with 0 issues at all. Instead of going to Big lake, go to D-Rock Center. They are authorized to work on Stikemasters and the girl at the service counter is kind of cute =P

[Transporter]

I finally was able to drive down to Big Lake and they fixed the problem. I brought the drill portion only, they checked blade tightness,OK, pitch, again OK. Changed the blades and replaced with new Mora replacement blades. They loaned me a powerhead and I proceeded to big lake and drilled some holes, it worked perfectly.

They explained that the blades it came with were cutting too aggressively, evidently the ratio of drill rpm to depth of cut per revolution is critical. They explained that it then breaks through the ice unevenly, allowing it to corkscrew on the flighting down the hole.

All is good now, had I known the blade swap was needed I would have bought a new set, it would have been much cheaper than the fuel burned on the trip.