Blades for my Eskimo Stingray failed after five year's use. Naively, I went to a lawn mower repair shop to have them sharpened. When that didn't work, I told Mike Maxwell. He said, "How much did you pay?"
"$23.00"
"About what new ones will cost you."
He was right. $23.00 on the button.
I used them once or twice, can't quite remember which, and then had trouble again early this year. By what Noel Sell told me, it's because I dragged the auger across the ice on the blades.
Frustrating.
So now the blades cost $39.00. Not even two years later. I told my wife. She says it's because of the Trump tariffs against China steel. Makes sense. Though the tariffs don't.
The entire auger did not even cost $300.00 late in 2011.
I'm telling myself I will pay for the blades, but I will not drag the auger on them. I will take care and they should last another five years.
And then I Googled for blade sharpeners, found a blog post about how to sharpen auger blades with sharpening stones, and decided to give this a try. Even if the blades I have now are shot, it's a good idea to have a set of three stones to keep the new blades sharp.
Bad blades can damage the motor. Undue stress. I wonder if the problem isn't the blades, but the motor, anyhow, because it seemed to me as if the auger wasn't rotating up to speed early this year.
(Now I remember I used the bad blades once early in 2018. The new ones worked well during only one outing.)
Oh, well. In any event, for a man my age, a power auger is a valuable tool. When I was 18 I cut 18 inches of ice with a splitting bar. Easy. In 2015 or 2016, I cut 26 inches of Lake Hopatcong ice with my power auger, and there's no way we would have fished that day without it.
"$23.00"
"About what new ones will cost you."
He was right. $23.00 on the button.
I used them once or twice, can't quite remember which, and then had trouble again early this year. By what Noel Sell told me, it's because I dragged the auger across the ice on the blades.
Frustrating.
So now the blades cost $39.00. Not even two years later. I told my wife. She says it's because of the Trump tariffs against China steel. Makes sense. Though the tariffs don't.
The entire auger did not even cost $300.00 late in 2011.
I'm telling myself I will pay for the blades, but I will not drag the auger on them. I will take care and they should last another five years.
And then I Googled for blade sharpeners, found a blog post about how to sharpen auger blades with sharpening stones, and decided to give this a try. Even if the blades I have now are shot, it's a good idea to have a set of three stones to keep the new blades sharp.
Bad blades can damage the motor. Undue stress. I wonder if the problem isn't the blades, but the motor, anyhow, because it seemed to me as if the auger wasn't rotating up to speed early this year.
(Now I remember I used the bad blades once early in 2018. The new ones worked well during only one outing.)
Oh, well. In any event, for a man my age, a power auger is a valuable tool. When I was 18 I cut 18 inches of ice with a splitting bar. Easy. In 2015 or 2016, I cut 26 inches of Lake Hopatcong ice with my power auger, and there's no way we would have fished that day without it.
You could try taking a small fine metal rasp to it or get a knockoff Dremel($10) with fine grinding stone from Harbor Freight. When you hit the lottery, get this Auger, no more fuel to deal with: https://www.rapala.com/strikemaster/power-ice-augers/electric-ice-augers/lithium-40v-auger/Lithium+40v+Auger.html... Fred
ReplyDeleteI'm just now reading a blog about how to be a beginner at using sharpening stones. Very informative. I was out to sea without it. It seems like the three-stone system is the way to go. A friend of mine recommended the electric auger, and yeah, I was thinking of it last night. I also see it's Rapala and I certainly trust that name...even though my Rapala reel broke down after a year. I really hope my gas auger lasts. I have my fears, though, that the problem is the transmission.
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