Clam plate wobble issue?

[DR.SPECKLER]

I have not got to use my ridgid octane and clam plate yet but i think the tad bit of wobble is less dangerous than running my 8” mora with just the drill and handle if it binds up.and it will bind up..it does hand drilling.now running my 5” i wouldnt use the plate.

[VTMatt]

Sounds like they have way too open of tolerances, and I can see how that can be an issue on augers that don't self-center that well.  I plan on getting a plate myself when my Ridgid drill comes in.  If extensions or connections are too loose, I'll just make my own. I plan on using my Ion auger so we will see.

[spoofhoundicefisher]

r these problems you all are having with the newer octane ridgid drill.  i have a ridgid from a few years ago the 780in/pounds and have it paired on the plate with an extension and have run it a few years and no problem.  was going to pull the trigger on the new drill and up to an 8" but decided my 7" lazer hand auger hole was enough.  think i might just get the 9.0 batteries and be done with it.

[lefty2053]

r these problems you all are having with the newer octane ridgid drill.  i have a ridgid from a few years ago the 780in/pounds and have it paired on the plate with an extension and have run it a few years and no problem.  was going to pull the trigger on the new drill and up to an 8" but decided my 7" lazer hand auger hole was enough.  think i might just get the 9.0 batteries and be done with it.

The Octane and the 700 "# both have the problem.

[esox_xtm]

Wobble acceptable? Not for this cat... 

That would make be crazy.

[DR.SPECKLER]

r these problems you all are having with the newer octane ridgid drill.  i have a ridgid from a few years ago the 780in/pounds and have it paired on the plate with an extension and have run it a few years and no problem.  was going to pull the trigger on the new drill and up to an 8" but decided my 7" lazer hand auger hole was enough.  think i might just get the 9.0 batteries and be done with it.

im thinking its the clam plate that introduces the wobble.my octane 1300/clam plate with 8" mora doesn't wobble bad at all.but I have yet to cut a hole with it .

[Kevin23]

The shaft in my clam plate is nice and tight without a drill or auger. You guys have the bushings in it right? My plate is new, bought on black friday.

[lefty2053]

The shaft in my clam plate is nice and tight without a drill or auger. You guys have the bushings in it right? My plate is new, bought on black friday.

Only see one way the bearings go in. And they were already put in when I got it. Even with out the shaft I can wiggle the bearings around.

[tbern]

Only see one way the bearings go in. And they were already put in when I got it. Even with out the shaft I can wiggle the bearings around.

anyway to get your bearing out, maybe put a shim in the bearing holder or race to try to tighten it? Can you tell if your inner bearing is turning around where the shaft is or the whole bearing turning inside its holder?

[VTMatt]

Can someone explain why people think its the drill and not the plate?  The drill spins...the plate should also spin, but not have play or wobble.  The only way the drill would cause the wobble is if the drill itself has slop when spinning....which I find extremely hard to believe.

[VTMatt]

Someone needs to post a video showing the wobble and all connections.

[Damn Yankee]

Can someone explain why people think its the drill and not the plate?  The drill spins...the plate should also spin, but not have play or wobble.  The only way the drill would cause the wobble is if the drill itself has slop when spinning....which I find extremely hard to believe.

Matt:
EXACTLY. Your's is the first response that sees the real problem. 
The original ClamPlate had a 1" BallBearing in a enclosed housing along with an adapter with a real good tight fit with the bearing. The originals had a  1/2-20 (then 9/16-18) input thread with a 18mm output. NOT 1 COMPLAINT FROM USERS.
The latest ClamPlate has a 17mm (.669 diameter) bearing in a housing. The thru-shaft and housing look and feel like Ray or Stevie machined them.
36" down the shaft there's about 2.00 inches of wobble.  CLAM-PLATE BE DAMNED.

[lefty2053]

Matt:
EXACTLY. Your's is the first response that sees the real problem. 
The original ClamPlate had a 1" BallBearing in a enclosed housing along with an adapter with a real good tight fit with the bearing. The originals had a  1/2-20 (then 9/16-18) input thread with a 18mm output. NOT 1 COMPLAINT FROM USERS.
The latest ClamPlate has a 17mm (.669 diameter) bearing in a housing. The thru-shaft and housing look and feel like Ray or Stevie machined them.
36" down the shaft there's about 2.00 inches of wobble.  CLAM-PLATE BE DAMNED.

Thanks for the info on the size bearing they downsized to. Sounds just about like anything else made these days. If it sells good lets cheap out on it and see what happens. I am contacting Dicks after the holiday and get it sent back.

[3300]

not sure why some think the drill is causing wobble. if you remove the drill you can see the wobble or side to side motion the shaft has as you spin it slowly. if you put in a drill bit and your drill is wobbling the bit, then you need to return your drill.

as i already said mine has a wobble, it's not sloppy. it acts like a bent shaft. the drill has nothing to do with the plate shaft wobble. i can see it wobble with out the drill and spinning it with my hands.

when you add the clam's 18 inch extension it amplifies the wobble big time because the extension fits tight.
 if it were sloppy/loose like the icemaster 2 then it wouldn't be a problem, the sloppiness/looseness would allow the wobble to be contained there instead of transfer it to the end of the extension.

i can see it looks bent or turned so it has a bend in it. if it is straight, then the bearing has issues like bad race(s). when you add the clam's 18 inch extension it amplifies the wobble big time because the extension fits tight. if it were sloppy/loose like the icemaster 2 then it wouldn't be a problem, the sloppiness/looseness would allow the wobble to be contained there instead of transfer it to the end of the extension.

 specs in inches
bearing is not a sealed bearing and number the is 6303Z
outside bearing             :1.785
inside bearing               : .069
shaft diameter to auger : .664
shaft length                  : 6




http://www.skf-bearing.cc/KOYO-bearings/KOYO_6303Z_27042.html
http://www.skf-bearing.cc/NSK-bearings/NSK_6303Z_17309.html

i have videos too. never uploaded them before.

ido has a thread how the plate is not to be used with any thing over a 6 inch hand auger. it's called headaches with clam plate. i bought mine for an 8 inch lazer. the 6 inch lazers don't need a plate at all.

[DR.SPECKLER]

3300 described my plate pretty good.no slop but drill/auger attachment seems bent.

[3300]

while holding the bearing housing in one hand and spinning the shaft with the other hand, the bearing feels very rough. i noticed they didn't bother to grease them. they wiped clear lube over both sides of the bearing.

the shaft has a rough surface like it's pitted, more so where the inner race rides.
i do have wobble with only the shaft in the drill and when i add the clam 18 inch extension it has over an inch of wobble. i intended on using the extension full time because it is 4 position adjustable length.

[buz23]

If you don't have a real tight fit between the output of the clam plate and either the extension or your auger you will get wobble.  Because as you tighten up the screw it will pull the id tight to one side, giving wobble.  (Watch what happens when you loosely tighten it versus really cranking down).  I eliminated almost all the wobble on my clam extension by putting a single wrap of scotch tape over the male part coming out of the clam plate and then assembling.  Makes all the difference in the world.  As someone pointed out, the tolerances aren't very good with the mating diameters on the various parts.

[Huntindave]

while holding the bearing housing in one hand and spinning the shaft with the other hand, the bearing feels very rough. i noticed they didn't bother to grease them. they wiped clear lube over both sides of the bearing.

I realize one should NOT have to replace brand new parts, however this bearing can be replaced with a sealed, pre-lubed, ball bearing for about 6 bucks on line.

[3300]

yep thanks. i have done that with mower front wheels and bikes. using detroit bearing company in kalamazoo. seems like it should use a thrust bearing.

clam extension to clam plate shaft i.d.               : .728
after two rows of tape on clam plate shaft  o.d. :  .716
the scotch tape trick helped a lot on the extension wobble. i had to use two layers. thanks for that tip! wrapped it so the tape was about 1/2 up from the top of the extension and went two rows down and around. it might take three layers.
it may be usable now.

[VTMatt]

yep thanks. i have done that with mower front wheels and bikes. using detroit bearing company in kalamazoo. seems like it should use a thrust bearing.

clam extension to clam plate shaft i.d.               : .728
after two rows of tape on clam plate shaft  o.d. :  .716
the scotch tape trick helped a lot on the extension wobble. i had to use two layers. thanks for that tip! wrapped it so the tape was about 1/2 up from the top of the extension and went two rows down and around. it might take three layers.
it may be usable now.

Go as tight as you can. You wouldn't believe what .005 runout looks like over 36 or 48"!

[Shack man Shoney]

I think its the Rigid drill/chuck.... I have never had problems like this with the Milwaukee drills. I would be curious to see a video of these "wobble issues"  I usually get a slight wobble usually in the Mora auger that is not detectable when drilling ice. When assembling the plate, after the adapter, C clip and spacer are installed through the plate, I always engage the Clam adapter completely into the drill chuck and tighten, the drill stays on the plate for the entire assembly from this point, then I loosely bolt on the vertical bracket, then the U-bolt snug, and then snug the bracket down and check to make sure im not binding anywhere and tighten all bolts by hand. In my assembly process the drill is the 2nd thing that gets installed. I feel like this is the best way to ensure proper alignment to the drill spindle/chuck...
     I'm not even sure how the directions say to do it... I have not read them since the gen 1 plate that required drill chuck removal.  I also swap out some metal washers in the linkage for composite fiber type washers, it helps to tighten up the whole assembly and it doesn't seem to freeze up as bad. I have been building augers on  the plates since they first became available, probably assembled 30-40, I assembled 5 more this year with 0 issues.

[luv2fish2]

I was just about to ask if anyone had problems with another brand of drill ? dewalt or milwaukee or makita ?

[Huntindave]

I think its the Rigid drill/chuck.... I have never had problems like this with the Milwaukee drills. I would be curious to see a video of these "wobble issues"  I usually get a slight wobble usually in the Mora auger that is not detectable when drilling ice. When assembling the plate, after the adapter, C clip and spacer are installed through the plate, I always engage the Clam adapter completely into the drill chuck and tighten, the drill stays on the plate for the entire assembly from this point, then I loosely bolt on the vertical bracket, then the U-bolt snug, and then snug the bracket down and check to make sure im not binding anywhere and tighten all bolts by hand. In my assembly process the drill is the 2nd thing that gets installed. I feel like this is the best way to ensure proper alignment to the drill spindle/chuck...

Yep, pretty much , just like the directions.   The stub shaft goes thru the bearing as  the primary locator.  The drill chuck is tightened to the stub shaft to locate the drill. The vertical plate, u-bolt and mounting bolts are all located and tightened in such a manner as to not move the drill chuck out of alignment with the stub shaft.  Any binding or misalignment is boing to cause issues.

I suspect with some brands/or models of drills.  It may be impossible to prevent binding or misalignment due to design constraints.  For example the vertical plate may not mate up to any area on the drill handle that will allow the u-bolt to be tightened, without torqueing the drill body out of vertical alignment.  One may have to get creative and cut/fit some custom shims to allow every thing to be tightened properly.

If one wanted to get real fancy, the drill handle could be "bedded" to the vertical plate forming a custom pocket for the drill handle.

[3300]

I think its the Rigid drill/chuck.... I have never had problems like this with the Milwaukee drills. I would be curious to see a video of these "wobble issues"  I usually get a slight wobble usually in the Mora auger that is not detectable when drilling ice. When assembling the plate, after the adapter, C clip and spacer are installed through the plate, I always engage the Clam adapter completely into the drill chuck and tighten, the drill stays on the plate for the entire assembly from this point, then I loosely bolt on the vertical bracket, then the U-bolt snug, and then snug the bracket down and check to make sure im not binding anywhere and tighten all bolts by hand. In my assembly process the drill is the 2nd thing that gets installed. I feel like this is the best way to ensure proper alignment to the drill spindle/chuck...
     I'm not even sure how the directions say to do it... I have not read them since the gen 1 plate that required drill chuck removal.  I also swap out some metal washers in the linkage for composite fiber type washers, it helps to tighten up the whole assembly and it doesn't seem to freeze up as bad. I have been building augers on  the plates since they first became available, probably assembled 30-40, I assembled 5 more this year with 0 issues.

not sure why some think the drill is causing wobble. if you remove the drill you can see the wobble or side to side motion the shaft has as you spin it slowly. if you put in a drill bit and your drill is wobbling the bit, then you need to return your drill.

as i already said mine has a wobble, it's not sloppy. it acts like a bent shaft. the drill has nothing to do with the plate shaft wobble. i can see it wobble with out the drill and spinning it with my hands.

when you add the clam's 18 inch extension it amplifies the wobble big time because the extension fits tight.
 if it were sloppy/loose like the icemaster 2 then it wouldn't be a problem, the sloppiness/looseness would allow the wobble to be contained there instead of transfer it to the end of the extension.

i can see it looks bent or turned so it has a bend in it. if it is straight, then the bearing has issues like bad race(s). when you add the clam's 18 inch extension it amplifies the wobble big time because the extension fits tight. if it were sloppy/loose like the icemaster 2 then it wouldn't be a problem, the sloppiness/looseness would allow the wobble to be contained there instead of transfer it to the end of the extension.

 specs in inches
bearing is not a sealed bearing and number the is 6303Z
outside bearing             :1.785
inside bearing               : .069
shaft diameter to auger : .664
shaft length                  : 6




http://www.skf-bearing.cc/KOYO-bearings/KOYO_6303Z_27042.html
http://www.skf-bearing.cc/NSK-bearings/NSK_6303Z_17309.html

i have videos too. never uploaded them before.

ido has a thread how the plate is not to be used with any thing over a 6 inch hand auger. it's called headaches with clam plate. i bought mine for an 8 inch lazer. the 6 inch lazers don't need a plate at all.

I think you are dead on with this. I have only used mine 3 times now and my Ridgid drills way better without the clam plate. I am taking mine off today as well. Anyone need another clam plate?

[swnoel]

I just bought the plate for my K drill... it does have a slight wobble but nothing out of the ordinary. While some of you look for the perfect ice drill... I'll go fishing. :-)

[lefty2053]

I just bought the plate for my K drill... it does have a slight wobble but nothing out of the ordinary. While some of you look for the perfect ice drill... I'll go fishing. :-)

Has nothing to do with what auger you are using. Has nothing to do with what drill you are using. It is some bad clam plates that is the problem.

[Gills-only]

I just bought the plate for my K drill... it does have a slight wobble but nothing out of the ordinary. While some of you look for the perfect ice drill... I'll go fishing. :-)

.      Not like a car tire that needs balanced, like u said just go fishing !! Wish I could, might head north !!

[VTMatt]

Has nothing to do with what auger you are using. Has nothing to do with what drill you are using. It is some bad clam plates that is the problem.

Exactly.

[Kevin23]

Has nothing to do with what auger you are using. Has nothing to do with what drill you are using. It is some bad clam plates that is the problem.

Thats strange. Like i said several times already, my NEW plate wobbles (shakes/vibrates) with two of my hand augers and the other two are absolutely 100% smooth as butter. The two smooth ones have never been used with a drill, the two wobblers i used on the drill before the plate.

[DR.SPECKLER]

My plate/drill is new and so is the 8” mora auger.wobbles a little bit.going to run it.sounds like a double edge sword situation.run plate with some wobble or strip or break the handle of the drill.lol