Getting Started with TailWell

TailWell® POWER TAIL TRIMMER- Operating Instructions

Recommended Drill   

The recommended drill is a cordless, 14-volt operating at 1,000 rpm

• Lightweight- A lightweight drill is easiest to use, and is recommended. The bigger the drill it will become heavy around your neck and sore on your wrist. You don’t need all that power to run the TailWell.
• Cordless- If you are going to be standing in one location, you can use a corded drill. An average-quality drill battery should allow trimming of 100-200 tails per charge. It is a sound investment to get the TailWell its own cordless drill to stay with the attachment.
• 1000 rpm- Higher cutting speeds do not work better, and may damage the cutters, and will void any warranty. In fact if you run it at too high of RPM you are not allowing the hair to be cut properly.  When the blades oscillate too fast and they can’t cut and may cause damage the gears.   

Attaching to your Drill

1. Loosen the Chuck- To attach the TailWell® to your drill you must loosen the drill chuck so that the trimmer drive shaft fits fully into the chuck and then tighten the chuck. The neck strap is designed for the drill chuck to fit through.
2. Use the Neck Strap- This strap gives comfortable balance for the unit to hang from your neck, and allows work hands-free between tails. Use the neck strap so you don not drop the TailWell and damage the blades. If you damage the blades the warranty is voided.
3. Connect the Tube- Also use the white plastic tube to connect the torque arms together by wrapping it around the drill. Cut any excess tube with a knife if necessary. (Putting the white tube in hot water for a few moments will help the fitting.) The white tube will protect the drill from rubbing on the torque arm and help to prevent the drill from accidental disconnection from the tail trimmer and falling to the ground.
4. Adjust the Torque Arm- The fingers of the torque fork are designed to straddle the drill body to prevent the TailWell® rotating about the drill.

Lubrication

• Oil often- Important: Before operating this machine, the cutters and gear set must be well-oiled using the oil supplied, or ordinary engine oil. Oil the Blades every 3-4 cows depending on how dirty the tails are. You can squirt 3 or 4 drops around the cutters or dip the blades in engine oil.
• Feel Resistance-Oil Again- When you start to feel resistance- oil the blades. It is best to over oil than under oil especially when sand bedding is used or there is a lot of manure in the tails. Also pull the blades back on the tail and push forward again.
• Gear Box Oil- Also Squirt 3 or 4 drops into this hole on the side of the plastic gear cover. This should be repeated every 50 tails, or more frequently if the tails are wet and dirty. The warranty is void if the tail trimmer has not been properly lubricated.

Safety

• Cut the Tail, not the Cow- The inner cutter does not move, so cannot cut the animal. The outer cutter oscillates through only 18degrees, so is also safe.
• No Pre- Cutting- Just push any long hair to the side and find the end of the tail.
• Feed the Stump in-The tail is fed stump-end first into the cutters, and pulled through as required.
• Operate the drill at a suitable speed (up to 1,250 rpm) to ensure clean cutting.

Cutter Adjustment

• Clean and Lubricate- When you are done trimming clean and lubricate the cutters. Lubricate the cutters before use.
• Remove the Blade- There are two cutter-adjustment screws on the back-plate of the cutter housing. These screws have lock nuts that must be loosened a couple of turns.
• Finger tighten only- The adjustment screws are then screwed in by hand, finger tight only. Do not tighten these screws with an Allen key as this will cause cutter and gear failure, voiding the warranty. The lock nuts are then tightened with a spanner.