Friday, August 06, 2010

I Told You. It's NOT The Handle.

I was explaining to a non sewing friend about my ability to "wreck" things.  He laughed and said,  "Bethany, you should be a beta tester for these companies.  You don't wreck stuff; you just push the limitations of the product".  Anyone hiring a beta tester to wreck your stuff?  If I don't wreck it, you know you call sell it.

I got my handle today, read the instructions and started to follow them.  I know it's not the handle, but I'll humor them anyway.

Step one.  Prepare to curse or something close to it when they want a "small" screwdriver to pop open the green cover.  Why wasn't that included?  Meh.  My really small crochet hook worked just fine.

Step two.  Take your special "T-10 TORX" tool (AKA an allen wrench commonly found in your store's tool dept) and spend the next 5 minutes praying you don't strip the screw.

Step three.  Attempt to take the handle off by jiggling it and hoping you don't break the inside parts.  3 minutes later that part is off.

Want to know what is behind your handle?

Oooo  a couple of gears!  I turn the gears and this horrible SQUEAK starts up.  DH sits up and looks around confused.  Sigh.  I told you it wasn't the handle.  Your handle is made of plastic painted to simulate metal.  Plastic does not squeak like gears do.

I'm not sure what the bottom gear is made of it.  It could be really metal or the stuff that is made to look like metal, but isn't.  When I turn the top gear, the bottom gear doesn't spin freely in some places causing the squeak.  The bottom gear doesn't look stripped, but there are some wear spots. Sorry for the bad pics.


Another spot:


 Great. I am glad I didn't put oil in as the gears are lubricated with graphite.

When I turn the metal rollers, there isn't a squeaking noise so it has to be these gears or another set of gears behind the plastic casing.  I don't think my warranty would be valid if I took the outside plastic pieces off.

So..do I go buy some graphite and see if that works or call up Accuquilt AGAIN and see what they want me to do?  It's that warranty thing again.

There's a part of me that just wants to send the whole thing back and ask for a refund as my cutter appears to be defective.  Accuquilt has been great working with me and I'm grateful for that.  I'm just not sure if this is a defect with the product or me "wrecking" it.

4 comments:

Na Na said...

Looks like (to me) that all the cutting problems are from the mechanical parts inside. Not something that can be fixed at home.

I would tell Accuquilt that I was sending the whole thing back so they can see for themselves that you got a lemon. Don't take no for an answer!! Just say you are doing it and then do. Send it with a signature required so you have proof of who accepted it. This might come in handy if they somehow "loose" it after you send it.

Stop falling for the over the phone lemon sales pitches. (oh you poor dear, this is what you need to do) It's not your fault and not your responsibility to be an accuquilt mechanic!

They should have suggested it in the first place. Ask for a replacement or a refund BEFORE the warranty runs out. I think you've gone through enough problems and it's time to cut the losses.

There is a saying,,,It's the squeeky wheel that gets the greese. Make enough noise and they will eventually put grease on your squeeking.

StitchinByTheLake said...

You have way more patience than me! I'm sure I'd be calling them up and squeaking it in the phone. :) blessings, marlene

Rhonda said...

Bethany, I see the problem with the gears. I can only imagine the sound.....maybe call up a "Go" person...place the phone near your "Go" and crank the gears a few rotations...that should make someone understand what you are hearing. Bless your heart, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

SewCalGal said...

I'm confident AccuQuilt will gladly work with you to resolve these problems. I do hope you contact them directly. Like any company that manufactures a product, they can't resolve a problem if you don't contact them directly.

You can call them at 888.258.7913 or 402.721.8185
Product Specialists are available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST Monday - Friday

SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com