Air Grinder - Who Made It? Where do I get it fixed?

[mgdesigns]

I have an air grinder that I have obtained used, and it has been acting up . The collet does not want to retain the fine dental burs, and the impeller has screwed itself farther down the collet shaft, causing the collet tube to bottom out inside the impeller chamber. I had to grind the tube down a little bit and then fabricated a gold wire spacer washer to make sure the collet tube had enough clearance.

When I got it it came with no information of manufacturer, or a source. :confused: Does anyone out there have the appropriate manufacturer's name, address, and/or phone number, and e-mail address? I would like to get this fixed, soon, as I have a very pressing project to complete.

I believe I saw an old Gesswein catalog with this in it, but I don't have the book anymore. Help, please.

Sincerely,

Mark in Nashville

[6T7L71CPE]

Looks like : http://www.powercrafter.biz/
How do you like it? Do you have a pedal for speed control?

[Sam]

Mark: I don't know much about that type of air grinder, but can tell you that over the years I've heard a lot of complaints from people about them being plagued with problems. I've been using the one made by NSK that GRS sells (model 851 Turbo) for 3 or 4 years now, and it's never given me any trouble. / Sam

[mgdesigns]

Robert:

This looks like the culprit. Thanks for the lead. I just fired off an e-mail, and I'll call them later to get this unit repaired.

I do not have the speed control pedal. I just plug this into the AUX port of the GraverMax, and turn on the juice. I have used this unit only approximately 10 hours, but I am sure it has had plenty of others' use. I like the feel of it, but it does not have much HP. But I would not expect it to. It has been great for sculpting out background and getting a level playing field. Luckily I have a sympathetic dentist who saves his used burs for me (and had one in NY state, that gave me about 100 burs). Most of the NY state ones were diamond, and they really work well on stone cutting jobs.

Funny thing is: I mentioned this unit to a cohort at my day job (at a jewelry repair company), and he said he used to have 3 of these units, that all developed the same problems with tool bur spit-out. He did have one unit (virtually new) remaining, but made it seem like a real chore to let me borrow it, due to their inherent fragility. So, I opted to not borrow anything. Maybe he'll remember and bring the unit in today anyway, 'cause he is basically a nice guy!

Thanks for the lead. I've already purchased a GRS Ultra 850 (made for them by NSK) to get me up and running quickly. GRS has assured me that the Ultra is a lifetime investment, and they used to carry this "Powercrafter". But they had to switch to the NSK. More reliable, and I was led to believe that the unit I have is no longer being made or serviced (we'll see about that.). Their unit is pricier ($390 - as opposed to the $280 for the Powercrafter new) but I've got to get on with this project ASAP.

I am going to get this unit fixed, and possibly sell it reasonably (I'd like to defray some of the new unit's cost). I'll keep you posted on the repair progress.

[Osprey Guy]

Hey there Mark Greenbaum (I get a kick out of saying that) -

While we're on the subject of Powercrafter...

Every year a large woodworker's show comes to town, and every year Powercrafter has a booth there. I've seen and tried their handpieces up close and personal and in my opinion they don't compare with the GRS 850 (which I've had for well over a year).

Having said that I should note that I very much like their burs and for the past two shows I've made sure to stop by and stock up (It's great to be able to pick through their selection). I have a very sizeable assortment of 1/16" friction burs, from quite a variety of sources, and I don't know who's making Powercrafter's burs, but they are very nice!

There are several worth specifically mentioning:

Their carbide ball-tipped burs (which I use a lot...especially the .25mm) are excellent quality, they seem to hold up better than other brands.

They have a couple of flame-shaped, very-fine, multi-fluted carbide burs which are the "cat's meow" (at about $7.50 apiece these are pricey but I've tried similar burs from dental supply houses, and I've yet to fine one as nice). They are identified by Powercrafter as #901 and #903...I prefer #901 as they are slimmer in shape.

The #331 Carbide Teardrop is another favorite...I use it frequently.

#699 is a carbide tapered cutter...They have quite a few different versions, but this one has a very nice, narrow taper, but it's still fairly aggresive...most useful!

They have a few different white oxide cutters, which I do use frequently...and I do like them a lot. (For what it's worth Turbo Carver has a somewhat larger selection of stone burs, both in green and white,...in ball, cone, and cylinder shaped...I like that I can custom-shape the cylinder).

Just thought I'd share that info with you.

I'm sure I'll talk with you soon...


Dennis Greenbaum

Yeah Baby!

[mgdesigns]

Everyone:

I contacted the PowerCrafter folks, and on the phone a man named Jerry said my unit was probably made before this ownership of the company, and all old designed units are not repairable. Then I checked my e-mail, and he'd written that it is repairable ($59 for a turbine assy., and $15 for service). Their website says $49 for the turbine. Oh well.

I'll probably send it out to them, and if they fix it ... good. If they can't ... TRASH IT!! Oh, I have to remember to take my 14KY gold homemade washer out of the turbine chamber. Very valuable.