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Has anyone rebuilt/repaired an oscillating knife?

tedbragg

New Member
Colex wants $1500 to rebuild this little guy. I'm tired of these little issues nickle-and-diming me these last two years. Who's repaired one of these?
 

Raum Divarco

General Manager CUTWORX USA / Amcad & Graphics
The metal on metal of the standard design can take some abuse. What application are you typically using this tool for?
What part is broken or keeps breaking, the drive shaft, bearing, motor etc?
 

tedbragg

New Member
We use it for cutting 3mm and 6mm foam board—easy lightweight stuff. Haven’t unscrewed the motor enclosure yet to see what needs fixing. One day it just quit turning on. No warning, no odd noises —just it’s usual ‘barber clippers’ noises. Smooth and quiet.
 

netsol

Active Member
ted, does it look like something that will actually go back together, without some sort of a jig to aid in sliding the motor back together?

typically, either there will be a burned brush, a tiny thermal fuse (what we used to call a "clixon"

a burned switch or an open motor winding. it is also possible there are electronics on a driver board. not simple but not the worse repair you have ever seen

i have fixed similar ryobi devices. my only experience with colex (might not be the same company is their high speed bar code scanners on industrial stamping equipment
 

Michael-Nola

I print things. It is very exciting.
Alignment is key to making those work during movement, so common-sense rebuild works, but you'll need a lathe to smooth and balance the final piece if it's malformed.
The long-term planning answer, which I know no one wants to hear, is to upgrade from Colex. It's just a very low-end build and they are a nickel-and-dime company for sure.
 

netsol

Active Member
michael-nola,
i yield to your experience since you have actually done this to a colex, but, normally i would expect an electrical failure LONG BEFORE something was worn sufficiently to be out of round enough to require a lathe. this would certainly be part of the process of a full rebuild, but i would start with simple continuity tests, since the device is "dead". wouldn't you think simply jogging the colex to dead off the "dead spot" would make it turn again, at least momentarily?
 

tedbragg

New Member
The little motor inside of it had burned out, and the replacement was super cheap, but Colex called us back and offered to take care of it for a LOT less (and upgrade us to the latest motor type) So we should be good.
 

MGB_LE

New Member
Glad to hear they helped out. Our 2015 SharpCut 5x10 is one of my favorite pieces of equipment in the building. Haven't found them to be a nickel and dime outfit. This machine has been w workhorse, with the 3hp router. We stll have our originally oscillating knife with quite some miles on it. $1500 sounds like you're buying the tool again, but it's good they reconsidered that cost.
 
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