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View Full Version : Hix Flatbed Press Set Up Problems



Employee of the Month
10-03-2013, 01:40 PM
I'll try and cut a long story short...

Bought a Hix 15x15 flatbed press, and have just tried to set it up. I've mastered setting the time and temperature, but for the life of me I cannot get the pressure setting to register! I've watched a few Youtube videos, and they all show that when the handle is pulled down, it 'locks'. Mine does not.

I've tried reading the instructions, but they do not address this issue. Any suggestions?

Justin
10-03-2013, 01:51 PM
Did you buy this new or second hand?

Employee of the Month
10-03-2013, 01:57 PM
Brand new, delivered about a week ago but today is the first chance I've had to try it out

Justin
10-03-2013, 02:06 PM
OK, who did you get it from, Target? Send us a link to the actual press. Obvious reason for it not to lock down is not enough pressure.

Employee of the Month
10-03-2013, 02:14 PM
Listawood - http://www.listawoodtradesupplies.com/item.php?id=HT400&parid=HPRES&gid=&pgnum=

Justin
10-03-2013, 02:31 PM
Hope you got your 10% discount :-) When you say to register, do you mean there's a gauge for this or do you mean it just isn't locking? Does the pressure adjust with a wheel?

Employee of the Month
10-03-2013, 02:39 PM
There is an LED display which is meant to show the pressure setting, situated below the time/temp settings. It says that it measures pressure on a scale of 0 to 9, but no matter how I adjust the pressure wheel, it just shows 0. Also, when you pull the handle down, it does not lock into place. I'm fighting every instinct in me at the moment to force it, but as this was quite a dear bit of kit I don't want to break it. That said, I think it may be on its way back to the supplier soon if I can't get it to work. When I spend over £800, I expect proper instructions, not a flimsy pamphlet!

Justin
10-03-2013, 02:47 PM
OK, understand the LED now :-) If you back the pressure right off and then just turn it a little at a time, can you get any lock down? You should be able to get pretty heavy pressure I'd have thought with this press. I can't see you breaking it, they're a good brand, very well built.

Employee of the Month
10-03-2013, 02:55 PM
I've just had another play with the pressure control knob, and no matter what I do, the maximum pressure shown on the display is 1. This cannot be right surely?

Justin
10-03-2013, 02:57 PM
I assume the led doesn't change until the press is locked down though?

Employee of the Month
10-03-2013, 03:03 PM
that's right, it doesn't change until the handle is brought down. I've turned the pressure control knob as far as it will go, yet the pressure still shows as 1, which is light pressure, and the handle will not 'lock' when pulled down.

Justin
10-03-2013, 03:07 PM
I can only think it's a fault then, instructions don't sound like they're any use either :-( Only time my Adkins hasn't locked down was because the spring had broken which does happen with these but not sure how the Hix is made. Drop Becki a PM, not sure if they'll be on today but will pick up ion the morning. Keep us informed.

Frustrating that you can't use it today though :-(

Employee of the Month
10-03-2013, 03:13 PM
Thanks for all your help Justin, it really is appreciated :smile:

I'm afraid you have confirmed what I feared, but I will give the suppliers a call tomorrow (if I get chance to, still got to try and make a living at the 'proper' job to fund all of this).

Justin
10-03-2013, 03:14 PM
Not much help at all I'm afraid, just hoped something obvious may present whilst we discussed it but alas no.

Employee of the Month
10-03-2013, 03:24 PM
It's just so frustrating :mad:

When you spend this sort of money for a supposedly good quality item, you would think it would be tested to make sure it works before it's shipped. It would be a real hassle to return it, as it will mean taking time out of the day job to sort it out. I just hope and pray there is a really simple fix for this when I speak to Listawood tomorrow, you know, something really silly I may have overlooked, as otherwise I fear I may throw a major temper tantrum!

Justin
10-03-2013, 03:40 PM
And rightly so! ;-) Yes, I'd hoped we see something simple.....keep us informed.

Listawood
11-03-2013, 10:06 AM
Morning,

I am sorry that you are having some issues setting up, we were not aware of these.

I have asked Kris to get in touch with you to talk you through the settings.

I am sure we will have you up and running in no time.

Thanks,
Becki

Employee of the Month
14-03-2013, 03:58 PM
Just a quick line, I don't want people to think I've done a runner after asking for help :biggrin:

After several conversations with Becki and Kris at Listawood, I am taking the press back to them in person next monday. They will inspect it, and have said they will replace it if it is faulty.

I don't want to go into further details at this stage, but I promise I'll be back to update further after I've seen them, and will let you know how things pan out, good or bad.

Dave271069
14-03-2013, 06:06 PM
havnt read every post but have you tried it with something under the press , eg mouse mat , t-shirt , if you are and have already posted this sorry,

Employee of the Month
23-03-2013, 10:57 AM
Ok, back again.

First of all, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to Becki and Kris at Listawood, especially Kris, who has the patience of a saint!

It turns out that the problem with the press was down to operator stupidity :redface:. It took Kris all of 30 seconds to fix it! It turns out that if you turn the pressure knob too far, it stops registering any pressure, all Kris did was slacken it off and it worked fine. In my defense, I thought I had done this, but obviously not enough. Being a newbie, and not wanting to damage an expensive bit of kit, I appear to have been too cautious. I can now report that the press works perfectly.

My advice to anyone new to all this who is thinking of buying lots of equipment would be to buy from a reputable source which offers technical back up, such as Listawoods. I may have felt like an idiot at the time, but the help and advice provided by Kris was priceless.