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For all Excel related general discussions. Informative posts (tips, tricks and how-to's) will be moved to the main Excel category. Currently needed are Taking Apart an Excel and Excel Spoon topics (discussed below and elsewhere).
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New Excel Owner

Posted by Rabb on Thursday, 23-Aug-2007
I've gone through stages of making my own, to factory, to making my own again.. ect.

I've used handrollers with filterless bali-shag. I've used hand injectors. The Excel, I think, is the last stop in this cycle for me. It's a fantastic little machine. It's much more efficient than a hand injector. I can make cigarettes a little quicker than with a hand stuffer. If anyone is thinking about getting a crank machine, this is a great place to start. I suppose mine is the newest model, it's a deep navy blue made of really dense, shiny plastic. Highly recommended.

I'm still working on my technique, as 1 out of 3 cigarettes are coming out perfect. I'm usually left with about 1/6th of an inch of empty tube at the tip in the other 2/3.
[ page | comments (3) - Saturday, 25-Aug-2007 | top ] admin

Taking apart an Excel

Posted by Yehuda Manne on Thursday, 12-Jul-2007
I'm wondering how I can get farther inside my Excel, beyond
removing the baseplate. My spoon has come loose from
the plastic rod that drives it back and forth, it flops around
inside the tobacco chamber, not totally preventing making
smokes but making things more difficult and sloppy. I'm thinking
a little squeeze with a needlenose ought to fix it.
I see several tiny white plastic tabs poking up through the
body of the machine but don't want to mess with them
until advised by someone with more experience.

Thanks!
[ page | comments (4) - Monday, 16-Jul-2007 | top ] admin

question about Excel spoon

Posted by Swamibop on Friday, 06-Jul-2007
I've noticed in the last couple of days that the spoon on
my four month old Excel is sticking up slightly into the
tobacco chamber. Makes cigs okay, but slightly rougher
than before, some gaps, etc. What, if anything, can be done?
I've had the machine apart a bit but haven't gone deeply into
the guts of it. The handle works itself loose about once a week
and I tighten it up, etc.

Thanks

Swami
[ page | comments (2) - Sunday, 08-Jul-2007 | top ] admin

Very disappointed with new Excel

Posted by Nate V on Thursday, 05-Jul-2007
I've been stuffing my own smokes for probably close to 10 years now. I started out with small hand injectors, and progressed into using a Supermatic. Big blue performed well, but the two stage cranking process along with nowhere to really grip the machine became quite tiresome. So when the Platinum edition Excels first came out, I bought one and gave it a try. I was instantly in love! The Excel was the answer to my prayers. A compact machine, easy to crank, and really good looking. Over the course of the last six years, I've gone through maybe four of the Platinum Excels. That was with myself and my wife both making a pack a day on the machine. They lived up to their ability and far beyond with the service they have given us.

Last fall, I noticed that with the new ownership, the Color of the Excel has changed. So I decided to treat myself and the wife to a new machine for each of us. I brought them home, and we opened them, and "ooh'd and aah'd" at the shiny new blue machines.

That's where the good times ended sadly. Upon making the very first cigarette I was dismayed to find out that the new blue Excels finish seems to have some sort of static cling or magnetic property that seems to draw bits of tobacco to it. I tried rubbing my fingers across the surface and even tried dulling down the finish with a green scratch pad. But to no avail, the tobacco just kept sticking. A minor inconvenience, but an inconvenience none the less.

After a week of use, my machine started giving me problems. It's ability to smoothly crank and return the spoon to the ready position was being impeded. I'm no stranger to the insides of an Excel. so I took off the cover, and gave it the once over. Make sure all the parts were in proper alignment, made sure the screw that connects the crank arm to the spoon wasn't loose( a common occurrence with moderate use and time). Everything checked out, so I put the machine back together, and continued using it. At times it worked flawlessly, others times it was sluggish and hard to crank in either direction.

After another week of use, the machine became unable to crank period. When I opened the machine back up, I use surprised to find that the rear of the spoon had somehow became jammed in the housing that it slides in. I pushed the spoon back into place, but the plastic housing was left out of shape with a section being too wide. Upon attempting to crank the machine, it immediately jammed once again.

I know some of you out there are thinking, "The fool is either using junk tobacco, he's over stuffing, or its too dry). But that isn't the case. I use McClintock tobacco that comes in the big cans. I find that McClintock's tobacco tends to be a little moist when first opened, so when I prepare to make my smokes, I withdraw a half a handful of tobacco, and let it set on the table next to the machine a couple minutes to allow it to dry a tad. After years of making my own, I've developed the ability to pick up just the right amount of tobacco to put in the chamber, so over stuffing isn't the problem either.

My tobacco shop stands behind their products, and will replace a machine if it experiences problems early on. So i took the machine back, and he gladly gave me a replacement. Within a month, my wifes machine experienced the same malfunction. As did my replacement machine after two months of use. This time both machines have been sent back to the manufacturer, with a hefty shipping charge to go along with them. We've since received new machines. But they're sitting on a shelf in the closet, still in their boxes.

I'm not sure if the new company is using new plastic for the insides of the Excel. Or if there is a quality control problem and they need to implement stricter tolerances in the manufacturing process. For now, we're relying on our old faithful Platinum models, and praying they last as long as possible.

Has anyone else had problems with the new Excels since RBA took over?

Thanks for letting me rant!
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