Welcome to the SeeMeCNC Community

Does anyone have any tips on the best way to get the filament to go into the Bowden tube when being installed from a fresh roll? I Open the roller clamp lever and push the filament in the little gap and past the hobbled gear, but it seems like it doesn't like to find the hole in the aluminum bushing that connects to the Bowden tube connector. I have to take several tries to get it into the hole. Many times I will push it through thinking I have it aligned and the filament will emerge out of some other gap on the side of the EZ-Struder.

Maybe a tapered hole on the aluminum part would help?

Misread originally. I saw someone on here who removed the PTC fitting on the EZstruder and drilled out the hole so that they could push the PTFE tubing all the way up to the gear, and also snipped the end of the tubing so that it was more or less flush with the surface of the gear.

I use a sharp pair of Dykes to cut a 60 degree angle on the filament.

The curve inherited from the spool can make it snag on things, so I usually just try to straighten out the last 6 inches or so and then clip the filament at an angle.

2nd on cutting the filament end at an angle. I never have problems. You could also take off the part that feeds the filament to the bowden tube and check to see if that part is providing a lot of resistance. I loosened a screw on mine and adding a piece of paper as an offset to lower the friction needed for the filament to pass through.