Blades or pitch?

[123fish]

I have a old Strikemaster Mag III with a Lazer shaft on it that I got last year. Yesterday (Saturday) when drilling no problems. Today it would drill down an inch and then just spin without cutting. It did not get banged around Saturday so I don't see how it could be the pitch but you never know. Is this a blade problem? Blades are tight.

[fisherman-andy]

If you apply minimal pressure or some light down force does it start cutting? If so it could be that the blades aren't sitting flush cause my solo lazer pro is exactly like that. I havent tried new blades on mines but i've had my DRock check out my auger and blades for sharpness already and no problems. Its also possible the type of ice your on can cause cutting issues.

[123fish]

Applied some down pressure and that didn't help.

[CaptainMusky]

Is there any ice on the blades? Make sure the point on the auger is sharp. This makes a big difference in cutting. Have you recently replaced the blades? I'm wondering if they are installed incorrectly if you did.

[Bigtom]

It is the pitch, I had the same problem and used a prybar to bend the bottom of the blades out and it works great. I was shown how to do it by strikemaster and would requmend you to bring it to them so they can adjust the pitch. Because you can mess it up real fast. Also I would get there fast before they close the doors.

[Gissert]

Could be the blades - There is a lot of dirty/sandy ice this year, which is why I left my chipper blade on.

If its a pitch issue, usually some don pressure will make it bite.

[mike27891]

It is most likely the blades. If the pitch is off you can get it to start cutting by leaning it to the left or right, and your hole will be at an angle. Not cutting or skipping around is more then likely dull blades, and it doesn't take much to dull them.

Depending on where you live, D Rock in New Brighton fixed mine up or Strike Master is in Big lake.

If that helps.

[123fish]

I did try leaning it left right and everything else. 1" and pretty much spins in place. We do have dirty ice down here in the southwest corner from dirt blowing off the fields that have no snow on them. I'm just confused how it went from cutting O.K one day and really, really struggling the next day. After making this post I thought maybe one of the blades was a little loose so I tightened it and went out and tried it with the same results. I'm leaning towards a blade exchange with Strikemaster on Tueday.

[FirstIce]

I did try leaning it left right and everything else. 1" and pretty much spins in place. We do have dirty ice down here in the southwest corner from dirt blowing off the fields that have no snow on them. I'm just confused how it went from cutting O.K one day and really, really struggling the next day. After making this post I thought maybe one of the blades was a little loose so I tightened it and went out and tried it with the same results. I'm leaning towards a blade exchange with Strikemaster on Tueday.

I would bet, pitch problem. I had the problem you mentioned when I had a lazer.

[Hawg]

You are learning why so many of us switched to a chipper blade. You're dead in the water when this happens, the reliability just isn't there with razor blades from any company in my book. Like I've said before - you might as well try kicking thru the ice when they go bad. Chippers take a couple extra seconds but they always cut.

[fisherman-andy]

You are learning why so many of us switched to a chipper blade. You're dead in the water when this happens, the reliability just isn't there with razor blades from any company in my book. Like I've said before - you might as well try kicking thru the ice when they go bad. Chippers take a couple extra seconds but they always cut.

I dont think the chipper blade is any better. My buddy has the solo magnum with the 10" chipper and its been the most horrid cutting experience I ever had. Takes for ever to cut unless you give it some minimal down pressure. He adapted and put the Nils auger bit on it and its now cutting like butter. LOL.

I had have similar issues with my Solo lazer pro since owning it new. Again I have already had the blades checked for sharpness, as well as the pitched by DRock in New Brighton. So know its not the pitch. I have loosen, reseated, re-tighten the blades down multiple times. Checked to make sure no ice is frozen on the blades before use. Angling from left or right doesnt grip or cut. One day it could be cutting like butter and the next its a total mystery?

The ongoing issues:

1. I could be on nice clear/clean solid ice and it will cut like butter without no down pressure or very minimal pressure.

2. It will start cutting a few inches down and then just spins and spins without gripping. Or just spins and wont cut.

3. With some minimal down pressure it will cut all the way through no matter how bad the ice is.

4. Take it to different spots of ice on the lake and it may or may not cut, may cut one day smoothly, the next day wont cut properly.

But again out of the issues i've experience above most of the time it will cut with just some minimal down pressure. Now be it I have not swapped out any new blades yet as the original blades are still very sharp. But upon observing the blades they dont sit entirely flush or if that really matters at all. The bolts also stick out under the blades. Its very possible replacing my blades may resolve the issue but I hate to throw away a set of blades that are as sharp as the day they were new. But I may just have to do so to see if the issue persist...

[otterman91105]

I had similar problem with my strikemaster it turned out to be the pitch. What they told me is if you have to lean on the auger to cut the hole it will end up throwing your pitch off which make's it hard to cut. I took mine back to strikemaster in big lake and they fixed it.

[vanwalleye]

I had a similar problem with my 10 inch strikemaster...worked great first 50 holes then started to spin near the bottom and would not bust through..ended up changing my blades cut great for 10 holes then one of my blades busted at the bolts...brought it to strikemaster then ending up replacing the auger...they told me the pitch was off and it could not be adjusted..

[IceHawk]

If u take it to strikemaster they will check pitch and add a more aggressive pitch to it so you wont have to lean on it anymore. Had this done to a auger and she cut like butter after that.

[otterman91105]

Same hear after takeing it back to strikemaster and they fixed the pitched never had a problem since then. (Knock on wood) The big thing that they pushed on me was don't put to much weight on it let it do the cutting.

[bturck]

Had the same problem a few years ago. Took it to Strikemaster and they reset the pitch and it works great. I think I screwed up the pitch trying to reopen holes. I know it bounced around a lot and thats probably what screwed things up. I tried new blades first and that wasn't the problem. They told me that you only need enough pressure on the auger to hold it straight, you shouldn't or need to put your full weight into it for it to cut. The auger should basically pulled itself down the hole on its own....

[Lipriper84]

I bought a Strike Master Lazer 10inch about 4 years ago. It has been a nightmare since day 1. After drilling my 4th hole in 8 inches of ice a gear broke and that was it for that trip. Luckily I had a hand auger for the rest of the day.

D-Rock in New Brighton fixed the problem when I bought it in. But the next trip I was having the same problem as you are describing. I get down about 8-10 inches in the ice and then it just sits there and spins. I was able to get through by rocking it a little but what a pain.

I brought it in to strike master and they said my blades were dull. so they put new blades on it. It cut good for about 6 holes but I always had a problem with the last bit of ice it had to go through. It got stuck on the 6th hole and I couldn't back it out to save my life. We put a pipe wrench on it and were able to back it out. But that bent the shaft on the auger bit.

I then bought a factory second 8inch chipper blade because my Buddy had one on his and it seemed to cut fine. This seemed to work out o.k. for the rest of that year.

I used again for most of this year and it was very slow and I would have to clean off the middle spike after every hole or it would just spin also. This got very irritating. I used a buddies older Strike master that he had bought a 8inch lazer after the Brainard fishing contest. It cut great. Almost as fast at the Solo augers I have used also. So I figured this would be the way to go and I bought one last Monday.

I went to use it for the first time after D-Rock put new blades on it and everything. took 6 minutes to cut the first hole. It would just sit and spin like the 10inch used to for me. Very irritating. I called D-Rock and they are very easy to deal with but it stinks having to drive back and forth from New Brighton. They said they will exchange it. SO hopefully this auger bit I got was just a problem child and I will finally have an auger that can cut through the ice.

[123fish]

Jeez that is a nightmare. I pretty sure I'm not dealing with anything that severe. I sent out my old blades to Strikemaster through their blade exchange program. We'll start with that even though the old blades seemed pretty sharp. I'm really starting to lean towards a pitch problem as I did try to open ONE old hole and it was hopping around somewhat. It cut good after that for a while though for at least a dozen holes. I still had my chipper blade set up so I put that on and it cuts slow but sure compared to the Lazer blades. If I sent just the shaft of the Lazer set up witht the new blades would they be able to set the pitch or does it need to be the whole motor and everything? Thanks everyone for your opinions so far.

[BehindtheHead]

never re open holes with your lazer bit. its very hard on blades.

[Hawg]

Now, whats the argument against chippers. Lifes too short for all those razor blade problems.

[otterman91105]

If you reopen hole's often you want a chipper blade. That's all i use now.

[JSK76]

Anyone know if the dual blade step system used on the Big Volt is any faster then just the standard chipper blade? I might need to try mine out on my Magnum this weekend. From what I can tell by the part # the Big Volt uses the same carbide chipper as the Prairie Chipper which is supposed to last 3 times longer then any traditional blades made.

[no bait nate]

Last year I drilled through a box of empty beer cans that were frozen below a few inches of ice with my 8" Lazer. Chipped the blades a little but have never noticed a difference in cutting speed or ease.

I also have used my auger as a winch point for my wheeler when stuck on the lake, and now some of the fluting is bent.

I have reopened holes with my Lazer hundreds of times over the past three years and in my opinion it cuts them much better than my old chipper blade. Doesn't seem to harm it at all, especially for having chipped blades and bent fluting?

But then again, maybe I'm just lucky with this thing?

[123fish]

I don't know nate but it sounds like you are mighty fortunate to me. I mailed out my old blades to StrikeMaster on Tuesday (Worthington area) and had them back on Thursday afternoon. I was pretty impressed with that quick turnaround. Maybe try them out Sunday.

[Hawg]

I called SM about that double chipper for my older unit, 6-7 yrs old. They told me not to put them on anything smaller than their largest Solo.?.? As much as I like SM, I think my next auger will be a return to a Jiffy, probably the Stelth. There are just too many things to deal with that never happened with a Jiffy. I never wanted to have 3 different drills for one auger.