Strikemaster chipper question

[deadeye]

So a friend of mine picked up a Strikemaster mag2000 for killer deal. After going through it and getting it running, fixing up a couple things we finally got it out and trying to cut holes. The problem is that it doesn't cut for anything. You have to put ALL of your weight on it to even make progress.

I am used to a Solo 2.5hp 8" lazer so I am a little spoiled but I remember like 15 years ago using a chipper blade auger and it seemed to cut ok. Not as fast as my lazer but still respectable.

The engine runs just fine on his auger but it has no dig. It has gotten a new blade via the exchange at the bait shop (it seems pretty sharp), runs decent, just cant drill.

Curious if anyone has any tips that would help out. I have little experience with chipper augers so any advice would be awesome.

[Deep]

Make sure the tip of the auger is pointed and sharp.

Thoses augers do not cut like a lazer auger.

[Sander v.]

If the chipper blade is remotely sharp, the auger will start to dig after you have gotten enough pressure on top or/overhead of the bit. I say check to make sure you have gotten the blade on correctly. I believe the edge is angled down towards the ice. Just saying its been done before.

[kerryd15]

Same happened to me, make sure the center point is sharp. On mine it is part of the bit-not replacable. It is like a drill bit and has to be sharp. I bet the point is dinged up or the is a ding in the side of it.

Also is there snow or ice on the point? I remember a few time when the point turned into a snowcone and would not do anything.

[deadeye]

Definitely no ice build up or anything like that. I kinda wondered about that center point. It seemed like it might be getting banged up a bit as it did't come with any cap. Will have him take a file to it and sharpen it up. The blade is definitely on right and seems sharp. Did swap it from one side of the flighting to the other with a little improvement.

I just found it crazy that you got to push down so hard to get any kind of progress drilling a hole. I am 200lbs and had all of that on it will little headway. I drill at least 30 holes with my lazer each time I go out and I can't even imagine doing 5 with the way it was going. I am certain my nils hand auger would take less effort and faster than what it took with that thing. Kinda crazy cause a power auger is supposed to be easier.

[iFishStu]

You may need to increase the pitch on the chipper blade. I know on my Mag I had to put the shims under the side closest to the blade to improve the cutting performance. (Angle the blade more downward) Also, make sure your chipper blade is sharp. I touch mine up with a wet stone at the beginning of each season. Just a couple of suggestions that work for me.

[jerkbait]

I would start with a new blade first. May seem sharp does not mean that it is sharp.

[Hubcat]

I have a mag2000 with a 10" chipper blade and it does take more effort to cut with it. You can buy a lazer Shaft for about $130 online and it cuts alot faster. I use the chipper blade for reopening holes in the Fish house. Only takes 2 minutes to switch out the two.

[leech~~]

I am having the same issue with my Mag 2000. It rev's like heck even with a new blade but just doesn't seem to really grab the ice and i did have the patched check in Big Lake when they were still there. I was thinking of maybe trying to add a shim to the back of the blade to change the angle a bit. I know they use to have shims in with the blades when they sold them many years ago but seem to have stopped putting them in?

[deadeye]

That's what I thought. It has been years and years since I have messed with a chipper blade but I remembered them having shims in there too. I think maybe we will try using some thin washers and seeing what happens with that.

The blade is fresh from the blade exchange so its good. You just end up with dust instead of chunks when your cutting with it. So I think you guys are spot on with the pitch being off.

[Gus]

I just got a used chipper bit for reopening holes. All I was getting was dust or snow even thought the blade felt and seemed sharp. Put a new blade on and whammo! No more dust, chunks. No messing with shims or pitch... I'd try a NEW blade.

Certainly doesn't shave chunks like my laser, but I picked up the 10" chipper for reopening holes in the perm only. So far I like it for it's intended use.

Turning it with a robin powered strike lite head and it works great. No lack of power.

[iFishStu]

I agree with you Gus, a new blade will definitely make a difference. If there are any chips or gouges in the blade you're better off replacing rather than trying to hone a new edge.

[deadeye]

OK. I will try changing the pitch to see what happens first. Then if its still no bueno I will tell him to pick up a new blade.

Not my money being spent and he's super, super cheap so yeah... I would have just bought a brand new Lazer from the store instead of a used Mag2000 off of C L LOL. Hopefully it works out for him.

[Tom7227]

I have read a couple of places where people write about the pitch of the blade. I guess I don't understand. The angle of the blade and the angle of the head are what they are. I would suspect that the folks that made the unit have that pretty well worked out and have the optimal setup. Could someone explain the thought behind changing the pitch to me.

I went to a bait shop to get a blade swap for my strikemaster a week or so ago and was part way through the exchange when I checked and felt that the replacements weren't even as sharp as the ones I had on my rig. I ended up ordering a new set directly from SM.

Thing about what you do when shaving. Does it work better to change the angle of the razor? No, you put in a new blade. At least that's what makes sense to me.

[iFishStu]

The pitch on the auger and blade are optimized when they are new. If the mag is older (like most of them are), and especially if a lot of downward pressure has been applied to cut holes, the auger pitch will change, i.e. flatten out. To compensate for that you need to adjust the pitch, or angle at which the blade contacts the ice. Too flat and you are just shaving the top of the ice, not cutting into the ice. Think of the angle of a knife blade when you are whittling a piece of wood. To cut shallower, the knife blade angle is flatter, to cut deeper use a deeper knife blade angle. A dull blade and a flat pitch angle and you won't make much progress drilling a hole in the ice.

[leech~~]

Perfectly said ifishStu.

[Surface Tension]

When you sharpen the center point be sure to look close at the edge. You will see the angle. What is important is that you don't take more off the edge then you do the heel.

The edge would be the leading part that makes contact with the ice and the cutting. The heel is the part that follows. The edge cuts so if you removed it or rounded it the heel drags and the blade can't cut. Use a felt pen and mark the edge. That will tell you what your taking off. A file will work but your taking multiple passes and it only takes one pass to remove material that shouldn't be taken off.

The chipper blade is like a chisel with a flat side and a bevel.

Inspect the blade for nicks. That will determine how much material will need to be removed. To do so run your file parallel to the edge till the nick is removed.

Any burr on the backside(flat side)will be gone.

Before I sharpen the edge I use a round file and sharpen the groves. Pay attention to the angle. Now move onto sharpening the edge. This is all done on the bevel side of the blade. Match the angle and go to it. Don't rock the file and make your strokes into the edge. When your done there should be a burr across the entire backside of the blade.

If there isn't your not done. Last step is removing that burr on the backside.

Personally I'd come down to 1000 grit and then leather. In this case lay the flat side(back side)of the blade on a stone. Keep it perfectly flat and remove the burr being careful to not rock the blade.

If your confident you've done the above correctly and this is going on a StrikeMaster install the blade and test it.

If this is going on a Jiffy, depending on how much material you took off the blade you will have to adjust the mount according to that. That big round plate is the mount and it also stops the cut. If you took 1/8th" off the blade then you have that much less sticking out past the plate. It is also possible that with a dull blade and all the pushing and banging you've bent that mount. Use a straight edge on the plate. Where the mounting area is in realization to the rest of the plate is self explanatory. Use a large adjustable wrench to bend it back. This sets the pitch and also gets the blade more profile to cut.

The SM hasn't the flat plate but the mount is of the same principle as it sets the pitch and like the Jiffy can bend with weight and banging. If after new blades or a confident sharpen and your not getting good bite adjust the mount.

When you here of shimming this is what they are accounting for, bent mounts.

Since you have only a single blade don't be too worried about this adjustment as your not matching a set of blades. Just take do it in small increments.

This is why I'm reluctant to sharpen(non Nils)blades without having the whole auger because the mount may need to be adjusted.

Nils blades on the other hand have the mount and blade as one unit and I can take care of both.

[Tom7227]

Thanks for the info. I guess I never thought about pounding my rig up as bad as some others apparently have done.

[leech~~]

Good stuff Frank. Do you sharpen right on the auger or take the blades off?

[Surface Tension]

Take the blade off.

The SM center point isn't removable but the Jiffy is so take it off the Jiffy.

[leech~~]

Frank, you were right on with the SM chisel end needing to be kept sharp. For years I guess I thought that the tip really didn't do much other then keep the drill cutting in one spot but didn't have to do a lot with actually drilling the hole. I followed your tip sharping advise above and man how much money have I wasted buying new blades because I just thought it was them? I used a 5" die grainder with a thin blade and shapen the angle up and also added a few little cuts to add a little more bite. This old auger tip has not cut this good since new for some reason! Da! Took it out Sat and popped about 20 holes and it cut way better then it has in years! Thanks for the tips.