Strikemaster not cutting holes well

[SP180]

I have a 9" blade that has a very sharp edge. It doesn't cut well without putting a lot of pressure. It is a Lazer Mag that is 2 years old. The engine runs well. Has anyone knocked the drill out of alignment before? Is it even possible. I do not ever remember doing anything drastic to the drill bit, but you never know. I will be calling the company this week, but I would like to know if anyone else has had this problem.

Thanks,

[boatfixer]

Has it always been that way? They had a some of blades out of pitch. give them a call

[CJH]

I would bet your blades are out of pitch. Give em a call or buy new blades. (its not a bad idea to have a backup pair)

[Sandmannd]

I would call or take it to them in Big Lake or go to D-Rock in New Brighton.

[7outof10]

out of pitch has that happen to me this year when i put new blads on mine

[desert_bulls]

I had a problem like that last year. It took forever to drill a hole. I brought it to strikemaster, and the told me I drill through some bad ice. It was the first time I had used my auger, and they said my blades were bad, had to purchase new blades.

[leotard]

I had blades that came from china they were terible. I got new blades and everything is fine now.

[FISHINGURU]

its definatly the pitch..had the exact thing happen on my 10" lazer mag...like sandmannd mentioned i took mine to d-rock and they hooked me up.

atleast you won't have to buy new blades 2 or 3 times first like i did wondering why in the world it won't cut lol...i'd try a new centerpoint also they are cheap and might be dull like mine was because i had to press down so hard all the time to cut a hole.

[Iambjm]

Bent flighting, my fishing buddy is having the same problem. I lent him my spare auger bit with the chipper blade on it and he says it cuts great.

[BIG DS]

Probably a pitch issue like mentioned. If you buy blades, get new Strikemaster blades. The re-sharpened ones don't seem to work. If they do it's only for a short time and they get dull. Re-sharpened ones are not worth the money.

[Opie]

SP180, is your auger the 3 blade style? I bought one of these 9 inch 3-blades a few years ago when they came out. Would cut great for a bit, then very hard. Put on new blades, same issue. Last season, took it up to Strikemaster in Big Lake. They said that there were many problems with this 3 blade design and offered to trade out the auger section for a 2 blade 8 inch or 10 inch (my choice). I went for the 8 inch as a 10 would take up a bit too much room in the portable. Anyway, cuts like a hot knife through butter now. They also replaced a cracked fuel tank and did some adjustments on the powerhead. All this was done as I waited. Fantastic service.

Hope this helps,

Dean

[SP180]

I have the 2 blade model. My problem is i live 5 hours away and dont wont to wait for the shipping to and from if it is something basic. I switched back to my old blades and will give it a whirl tomorrow. My buddy bought a new auger so we have another incase mine does not work.

anyone driving to Minneapolis this week from Grand Forks??????

[northernsportman]

I strongly believe that you bent the metal that holds the blades on the bottom. If you push too hard on it the bottom will bend and it will go outta wack. This happened to my buddy several times and all he did was bent the metal down again.

[SP180]

The old blades worked well tonight, I think i got a poor pair of new blades.

[LakeDocktor]

Good luck calling them. I have heard nothing but positive feedback on customer service from Strikemaster until I had a problem. Last weekend my new Lazer Mag's handle snapped on my first hole drilled on LOW. I haven't even ran 2 tanks of gas through this auger and I bought it in February. I don't have my receipt anymore and checking with the serial number, it's a 2006 model that was sold as a carry over. Strikemaster said there is nothing they can do for me except charge me $40 plus shipping for a new handle. I think I will sell the piece of junk as is and go back to a more durable Jiffy!

[Katoman]

I bought a new 10" a couple of years ago. It didn't cut from day one. I took it to the factory and they fixed me up. The first time I used it my buddy stepped into a hole and when he fell he came down on the handle. It broke, the factory said too bad. I see there are others who are having handle problems as well.I asked if I could bring it to them and buy a handle and have them put it on. Nope,I would have to pay labor also. They then transferred me to service so I could find out the labor cost, I was then put into never land, twice.

[givetoget]

Lake Doc. I bought the new Jiffy STX PRO late last season and it it awsome, best auger I ever used.

[&JAG]

Strike Master augers rule in Minnesota... Just remember that!

[CJH]

I have had to deal with SM service several times and have had good luck. The plastic handles can break, especially if you fall on them. Not really the factories fault if you fall on it. I accidentally dropped mine on concrete from a significant distance and it broke. It was my fault, so I sucked it up and paid for the new handle. Its pretty easy to put them on and anybody should be able to do it.

[minnbowhunter]

Be careful with the choke lever as well. It is a little flimsy and built into the fuel tank. If you snap it off like I did it cost $40 for a new tank.

[LakeDocktor]

I understand that if it was my fault, I would suck it up and pay for a new handle, but it wasn't. I drilled the first hole and pulled my auger back up after hitting the bottom of the ice and it cracked all the way through. It didn't catch on the ice or anything. Just the weight of the auger broke the handle. I explained this in an email and told them my story and advised that I may be switching to their competitor. Their response, "Unfortunately there is nothing we can do and we are sorry that you feel this way". It was like I was just another number and not a customer. Other than this problem, I was totally satisfied with my purchase and that was explained as well. Any ideas as to what I should do? I am not going to give in and buy a new handle only to have it happen again and not have a company stand behind their poorly designed product.

[Nutty Fisherman]

If that's the way you feel, then all means buy another brand auger. It will cost you a lot more to buy another one then to give a new handle a try.

IMO I would buy another handle and give that a try. I could be that the handle got cracked part way thru from being dropped or what ever to make it weak.

[JimBuck]

If your not happy, buy another brand. I purchased a LazerMag 10" at the beginning of the season and it did take a little time before getting the hang of how she likes to cut. Every auger is different, regardless of brand. It would be far cheaper to throw a handle on there and give it a shot. 40 bucks is a far cry from 300+ for a new one. I wouldn't say that the LazerMag is poorly designed. I think it's a nice setup except for the plastic carb. but it's just my opinion. Good luck and go cut some holes!

[Beege]

I had the broken handle problem just a few weeks ago. They told me that it should not have broken as easily as it did. they sent me a new handle for FREE!! So no complaints here. Also had the blade problem and also sent those to me for free. And apolagized for the problem. Oh and by the way changing the handle takes all of about 2 minutes it is simple.

[LakeDocktor]

I am very careful with all of my equipment and take responsibility for things that I cause. It didn't drop at all and I inspected everything twice before I left to LOW. The last thing I wanted was to get up there and have something wrong with my equipment. So I buy another handle just to have this happen again? Its not like I want to give up on the product, but have the company stand behind their product! If I just bring it to Big Lake will that make a difference versus sending email?