# How often do you "oil" or clean your blade holder?



## JohnWisc (Sep 29, 2011)

My blade holder seems to need to either be cleaned or oiled (or so I think).

When cutting, it seems to occasionally sound like it drags the blade. While the cuts seem to be OK, sometimes they are really clean and then it's 98% clean and 2% harder to weed (catches/tears a bit).

So my question to you is how often to you typically need to clean the holder and/oil it? Is it dust or what gets in there?


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

we check it out every morning and clean or oil as needed. if we do a job that has a lot of small parts we check more often.


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## Fenrir (Mar 13, 2012)

Usually if you're only cutting vinyl it takes awhile for the dust and residue to get up into the holder. If you cut a lot of paper/cardstock or contour cut all the way through vinyl with a papery backing, there's more dust generated. But you may need a new blade. Paper dulls the blades a lot faster than vinyl. If you are doing a lot of paper cutting, you may even want to get a good blade (like a Clean Cut Blade) for vinyl work and a bunch of cheap ones for paper.


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## GHEENEE1 (Jan 8, 2007)

Are there scratches on your cutting strip? I've oiled and cleaned my blade holder, and replaced the cut strip, new Clean Cut blade, performed much better.


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## JohnWisc (Sep 29, 2011)

Pretty sure it's just full of dust. Replaced the strip and blade with CCB and haven't run enough material for that to matter. 

That's why I'm thinking it's dust keeping it from turning 100% of the time which then causes slight irregularities as well as making a noise indicating some friction.


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## rturner381 (Mar 9, 2012)

Simple service for bladeholder. Remove the pointed cap and spray a little bit of WD40 into the end of the bladeholder. Then, take of can of compressed air and BLOW OUT the residue.


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## JohnWisc (Sep 29, 2011)

Am I wrong, but aren't the ball bearings that need the lube in the top portion of the blade holder? 

And is the lower portion of the holder "fixed" (no bearings, etc.)?

If these assumptions are correct, you'd only lube the top. And if anything, the bottom wouldn't get lubed, but perhaps a tiny bit on the lower side of the blade (shaft) itself?


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

Any videos on how to clean/oil the blade holder? I've got a GCC Expert 24. And also on how to replace the cutting strip?


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

Can of air and a pencil oil dropper with machine oil. spray the air in the hole where the blade is and put a drop of oil in there.


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

binki said:


> Can of air and a pencil oil dropper with machine oil. spray the air in the hole where the blade is and put a drop of oil in there.


Do you spray air in the blade hole after putting a drop of oil in it?

I've got some 3n1 oil.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

I do it before. 3in1 should work. 
You can also remove the blade, clean the holder with air, put a drop of oil in and put the blade back in.


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

binki said:


> I do it before. 3in1 should work.
> You can also remove the blade, clean the holder with air, put a drop of oil in and put the blade back in.


I was thinking of blowing air in before and after. That way you can flush out some of the excess oil, plus it would help force the oil to go everywhere inside the blade holder.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

I don't think that would hurt.


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## jasonsmith (Mar 30, 2011)

I ended up using some oil that is used to lubricate air tools.


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## 34Ford (Mar 19, 2010)

What are you guys oiling?

My Graphtecs use shielded ball bearings in the cutter holder.

Oil only attracts lint.


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