iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Cooks Mfg.

Started by Josef, December 14, 2015, 07:41:53 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Josef

Hi Guys,

just wanted to pass on an experience I recently had with Cooks dealing with a part on my nearly new cat claw sharpener. When changing a grinding wheel and profiling it I had the occasion to run the band advance gear motor without running the grinder motor. It was then that I noticed a pronounced grinding in the gear motor as it passed thru about 1/4 of it's rotation. Normally with the grinding motor running you can't hear the gear motor, so I had no idea how long it had been wearing like that. Shut it down and called Cooks, their number is right on the sharpener.

As with all sawmill manufacturers selling parts for their equipment I had to identify myself, they located me in their puter and we were good to go to order parts. Found out the gear motor is not repairable (no parts sold by Cooks) so the option was to order a whole new unit. After I heard the $300+ price I about had to sit down, so I took the next obvious path, is it covered under warranty. Answer, sure, for 12 months, lets see when you purchased yours, uh oh, that was 16 months ago. Dead end there.

Told the nice lady I'd have to do some more research and would call them back. That evening I decided to write a note to Cooks and sort of plead my case. I explained that though the machine was 16 months old, 4 months out of warranty I was a bit perplexed that a component as important and expensive as the gear motor had failed this soon, and that honestly I was a bit leery of purchasing an identical expensive replacement if it was of that questionable a quality. Could they assure me I wouldn't be in this same place 16 months from now.

Got back a nice note from Cooks, explaining that these gear motors have been in use for years, well into the thousands installed on Cooks sharpeners and a failure is quite rare. They went on to apologize for the equipment failure and said a replacement was on its way, that it would come with a return label so I could send back the defective part. No mention of the warranty period, no one pointing out that I was out of warranty by 4 months, just a very helpful staff standing behind their product and making me feel like a very important customer.

This entire process could have been handled in a way that "stuck to the letter of the law" and left me with a $300+ bill plus shipping and a bad taste in my mouth but Cooks, like the folks I have found here on the FF, are a class act and stood by their product and supported a customer when a part failed that should not have.

Kind of made my day,

Joe



In my house I'm the boss, I know this because my wife said so, I only hope she doesn't change her mind!

New to me Timber Harvester that I'm learning to operate, been building a home built mill for a while, should be ready to make sawdust with it someday if I ever quit "modifying" the design.

Onthesauk

That would make any ones day.  Good to hear!

John Deere 3038E
Sukuki LT-F500

Don't attribute irritating behavior to malevolence when mere stupidity will suffice as an explanation.

4x4American

That same thing happened with mine!  I think that mine is 5 months past warranty.  I meant to call them last week about it.  I wonder why it failed so suddenly?  It's a Dayton motor if I recall correctly.
Boy, back in my day..

Kbeitz

Quote from: 4x4American on December 14, 2015, 08:02:47 PM
That same thing happened with mine!  I think that mine is 5 months past warranty.  I meant to call them last week about it.  I wonder why it failed so suddenly?  It's a Dayton motor if I recall correctly.

My guess.... Nothing made in usa anymore... We better get use to it...
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

reswire

Quote from: Kbeitz on December 14, 2015, 08:15:30 PM
Quote from: 4x4American on December 14, 2015, 08:02:47 PM
That same thing happened with mine!  I think that mine is 5 months past warranty.  I meant to call them last week about it.  I wonder why it failed so suddenly?  It's a Dayton motor if I recall correctly.

My guess.... Nothing made in usa anymore... We better get use to it...
Sad, but true....
Norwood LM 30, JD 5205, some Stihl saws, 15 goats, 10 chickens, 1 Chessie and a 2 Weiner dogs...

pineywoods

I'm not familiar with the cooks sharpener, does anybody know if that is the same gearmotor used on the woodmizer sharpeners ? If so, same motor on the mizer in/out arm and drag back. Usual mode of failure I have seen is a small roll pin that pins the final drive gear to the output shaft. Quick easy fix....
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

kelLOGg

I've had their mill, sharpener and setter for 13 years and have had no failure issues. But lemons will occur from time to time; I'm not surprised they stand behind their products.
Bob
Cook's MP-32, 20HP, 20' (modified w/ power feed, up/down, loader/turner)
DH kiln, CatClaw setter and sharpener, tandem trailer, log arch, tractor, thumb tacks

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Thanks Cook's.  smiley_clapping
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

4x4American

Quote from: pineywoods on December 14, 2015, 08:57:42 PM
I'm not familiar with the cooks sharpener, does anybody know if that is the same gearmotor used on the woodmizer sharpeners ? If so, same motor on the mizer in/out arm and drag back. Usual mode of failure I have seen is a small roll pin that pins the final drive gear to the output shaft. Quick easy fix....





How do I fix it?
Boy, back in my day..

losttheplot

My gear motor was bad also.
It would not only grind the gears but the head would shudder as it was dropping down the face of the tooth.
There was nothing visually wrong inside the gear motor.

I was lucky and noticed before the year was up.

https://youtu.be/oMEtE6jx2Jk

DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK !

Kbeitz

Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

4x4American

Quote from: losttheplot on December 14, 2015, 11:48:44 PM
My gear motor was bad also.
It would not only grind the gears but the head would shudder as it was dropping down the face of the tooth.
There was nothing visually wrong inside the gear motor.

I was lucky and noticed before the year was up.

https://youtu.be/oMEtE6jx2Jk

That is exactly what mine is doing.  I found that by turning the speed up to 4 I didn't notice the shudder as much.
Boy, back in my day..

Ox

After dealing with Cooks for a sharpener, single tooth setter and blades I really like the company.  They have the good old fashioned feel to their company and it's refreshing.  I'd love to try one of their mills.  Judging from the sharpener it would be super over built and rugged.
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

pineywoods

The label tells it all. It's a 90 volt dc motor, woodmizer uses a 12 volt.
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

Chuck White

Looks like not only "shuddering", but there seems to be quite a wobble in it also, when the grinder is coming down.

Looks like there is something loose, like the allen head bolt or the large bolt that secures the grinder in place, other than that, the hinge pin or bearings might be worn out.

I've had mine since June of '09 and "knock-on-wood" I haven't had any problems with it!

Hope you get it figured out!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

East ky logging

I'm with ox on this. I got the sharpener and setter and they called a month later seeing if everything was going alright. I've never had a company care if it worked or not as long as the  check cleared. Best down home people I've ever dealt with.
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty or safety- Benjamin Franklin

Furu

Fantastic company and very knowledgeable brothers.

YellowHammer

I replaced mine also, when still quite new and under warranty.  Been fine since. 
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

losttheplot

Quote from: 4x4American on December 15, 2015, 07:07:08 AM
Quote from: losttheplot on December 14, 2015, 11:48:44 PM
My gear motor was bad also.
It would not only grind the gears but the head would shudder as it was dropping down the face of the tooth.
There was nothing visually wrong inside the gear motor.

I was lucky and noticed before the year was up.

https://youtu.be/oMEtE6jx2Jk

That is exactly what mine is doing.  I found that by turning the speed up to 4 I didn't notice the shudder as much.


I  think it is the slack in the gear motor, when the grind motor goes from being lifted to dropping it looks like it takes up the slack in the cogs. Perhaps there is more slack in some motors than others?

there is a set crew and lock nut on the outside of the gear motor you can try adjusting the slack.
Be careful.

if you put some constant load on the cam the shuddering and grinding go away,

https://youtu.be/FwwDTTmkRt4

Just to be clear
I have no problem with the service I have received from cooks
The videos are of the old motor. I used them to show cooks what was happening. I'm in Canada.
I sent them the old motor and they sent me a new one, I had to pay shipping both ways
The sharpener still seemed to work OK.
I noticed the problem after sharpening around 50 bands, I did not find anything loose, the camera can be deceiving.
The replacement motor did not make the grinding noise but the head still shudders on the drop. Its expensive to ship the motor back and forth so I live with it. seems to work OK.
DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK !

Ox

I read you loud and clear.  In fact, if you said you got shoddy service from Cooks I'd be wondering to myself, "Just what did this guy do?!??   :D

East ky logging - I'd forgotten, but your post reminded me.  They called me too, asking if the sharpener and setter were performing up to expectations and to see if there was anything I needed.  Hardly ever happens today.  Real nice folks.  I hear great things about Woodmizer as well.  In fact, I'd bet a dollar that every sponsor on this forum is this way.  I can't see Jeff allowing a "lesser" company around here, judging from his character from just reading what he's written and never meeting him.  This place is one of my every day stops along with the news and email.
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Thank You Sponsors!