3. Your ball bearing cutter wheel shaft assembly is wearing out. With the machine turned
OFFgrab the cutter wheels left-hand nut and try to get some movement out of it. There should
be absolutely no movementif theres movement in the bearings you need to replace the cutter shaft
assembly. If there is no movement it may be the other bearing next to the drive pulleyyou will
have to remove the drive belt to be able to check it out. Another possibility is the way some of the
ball bearing cages are made inside the bearingsthese ball cages have an assembly opening created
at the bearing factory. These bearings sometimes make a slight ticking sound. In this case the
sound may not be a problem.
4.
The machines cutter shaft lock is partially depressed and is rubbing against the drive pulley.
Pull up on the shaft lock knob and the sound should disappear.
Machine Wont Start
There are several things that can cause this besides the obviousplug in the machine and check the
power line.
1.
If you are running 12 Volt D.C.check the fuse and ALL the wiring and connections.
2.
Key cuttings in the motors capacitor. Unplug the machine, remove the capacitors rubber
cover and blow out the chips. Remember to wear safety glasses.
3.
Remove the machines access platecheck the wiring connections and switch. Repair or
replace as necessary.
4.
Cutter shaft lock is in the locked position.
Cutter Wheel Didnt Seem to Last Long
Several things can cause this to happen.
1.
The cutter will last the longest if it only duplicates brass keys.
2.
Premium quality Nickel-Silver key blanks are abrasive to the cutter wheel and will dull the
cutter more rapidly than brass keys. Heres what you can do to get the maximum life out of your
cutter wheel on these premium blanks.
a) Duplicate them a little slower. Racing through the job, especially in large rekeying jobs
will put more wear on the cutter wheel than going a little slower. The machines high-speed
stick-shift feature, extremely powerful motor and extra large diameter cutter are a real
temptation to push the machine faster and faster.
b) You should charge a little bit more money for cutting premium key blanks and put that
difference aside for the purchase of a new cutter.
3.
You really cut more keys than you thought you did. Often we calculate how many months
the cutter lasted instead of how many keys you cut. If you really want to know how long your cutter
lastedkeep an accurate inventory of your key blanksor put a simple mechanical counter on your
key machine and youll be surprised with results.
4.
You cut steel keys. You can cut them, but we dont recommend it. No question about it
steel keys are hard on cutters .period!
5.
You cut a beautiful brand new Automotive Presentation key that the customer brought
in. You
cut the key and toasted the cutter.
What you cut was a Gold plated hardened steel key.
Theyre out therethey were made by mistake sometime ago and they continue to surface from
time to time. Best thing to do is:
a).
Never cut a key thats brought in by your customer. Cut only what you know and
make sure it always comes from YOUR inventory.
b).
Place a small magnet near your key machine. Test any key thats suspiciousif
its magnetic its not brass or Nickel-Silver...period.
Cutter Wobbles
This situation may be caused by a key cutting on the face of the cuter shaft preventing the cutter wheel from
seating properly. Fix it by removing the cutter wheel and cleaning all the surfaces and reinstalling the cutter
wheel. If the cutter wheel still wobbles its time to replace the cutter shaft assembly with a new one.
REMEMBER: Cutter wheel is secured with a Left-Hand Nut. You must tighten to loosen.
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