Clam Ice Auger/Cordless Drill Review

[Ice Scratcher]

makita and Hilti. Neither have speed options

I'm not going to look but I'll bet you they do.. All modern drills do... Some have 3...

<°)))>{

[1moslab]

I believe the hilti does and with that first gear and the clam gear reduction I think 8" is now going to be is as easy as the 6".i prefer a 8" hole to fish out of and drill allot most days .but do like the pros of the drill setup.might be time to pull the trigger     

[nhm6408]

So I thought I'd give a quick review on my new drill on the Clam Drill Plate. 2 years ago I bought the plate and had the cheap $99 Dewalt 20v drill on it. It worked okish. Then last year I picked up a 20v brushless XT set by Dewalt. Figuring that the new drill would be much better. Freaking sucks. Now I'm in a pickle because I don't need a hammer drill and I can buy an OK gas auger for the same price as one. Well I work at Lowe's and got a smoking deal on a display Koblat 24v drill. It has 650lbs of torque and thought heck I'd give it a try. HOLY FREAKING WAH does this thing cut through the ice! I drilled around 60 holes (I like moving around a lot) and it used one bar of life on the 4amp hr battery that I bought. It didn't even slow down when it started cutting. Taking the chuck off was super easy. For $150 (normal price) this thing is (in my opinion) the best deal you can get for the plate. Plus it matches my 6" Mora auger and the plate  .

[Gills-only]

(Image removed from quote.)

So I thought I'd give a quick review on my new drill on the Clam Drill Plate. 2 years ago I bought the plate and had the cheap $99 Dewalt 20v drill on it. It worked okish. Then last year I picked up a 20v brushless XT set by Dewalt. Figuring that the new drill would be much better. Freaking sucks. Now I'm in a pickle because I don't need a hammer drill and I can buy an OK gas auger for the same price as one. Well I work at Lowe's and got a smoking deal on a display 24v drill. It has 650lbs of torque and thought heck I'd give it a try. HOLY FREAKING WAH does this thing cut through the ice! I drilled around 60 holes (I like moving around a lot) and it used one bar of life on the 4amp hr battery that I bought. It didn't even slow down when it started cutting. Taking the chuck off was super easy. For $150 (normal price) this thing is (in my opinion) the best deal you can get for the plate. Plus it matches my 6" Mora auger and the plate  .

.           Seemed you should have learned from your first dewalt, but that's why they sell all kinds. Should have bought the Milwaukee then your problems would have been over!!

[Agronomist_at_IA]

(Image removed from quote.)

So I thought I'd give a quick review on my new drill on the Clam Drill Plate. 2 years ago I bought the plate and had the cheap $99 Dewalt 20v drill on it. It worked okish. Then last year I picked up a 20v brushless XT set by Dewalt. Figuring that the new drill would be much better. Freaking sucks. Now I'm in a pickle because I don't need a hammer drill and I can buy an OK gas auger for the same price as one. Well I work at Lowe's and got a smoking deal on a display Koblat 24v drill. It has 650lbs of torque and thought heck I'd give it a try. HOLY FREAKING WAH does this thing cut through the ice! I drilled around 60 holes (I like moving around a lot) and it used one bar of life on the 4amp hr battery that I bought. It didn't even slow down when it started cutting. Taking the chuck off was super easy. For $150 (normal price) this thing is (in my opinion) the best deal you can get for the plate. Plus it matches my 6" Mora auger and the plate  .

You pretty much said it in a nut shell here. Buy a good quality drill that can handle an auger. I can't say enough good about drill setups.

[Bigfish713]

Looking into getting a clam plate I have a dewalt DCD790 and will be putting a 6" lazer on it will this drill work or is it under powered. I have the 4ah battery for it also.

[Gills-only]

Get a drill with 750in/lbs minimum, will they all work? Yes, how good u want it to work that's why should search the subject. I don't think that drill has the 750 mentioned I could be wrong though.

[Bigfish713]

Dewalt doesn't say what in/lbs that drill has so not sure what it has.  Was hopeing someone has used that drill and would let me know how it worked.

[nhm6408]

Looking into getting a clam plate I have a dewalt DCD790 and will be putting a 6" lazer on it will this drill work or is it under powered. I have the 4ah battery for it also.

That is the other Dewalt that I bought. It didn't work very well at all. Kept shutting off after just a few turns. Using it as a drill it was great but with my 6" mora noway.

[Bigfish713]

That is the other Dewalt that I bought. It didn't work very well at all. Kept shutting off after just a few turns. Using it as a drill it was great but with my 6" mora noway.

Thanks not what I wanted to hear but saved me some cash.

[hardwater diehard]

Looking into getting a clam plate I have a dewalt DCD790 and will be putting a 6" lazer on it will this drill work or is it under powered. I have the 4ah battery for it also.

My first drill was a Dewalt 771 ...that did not last long ...I suggest since you have the batteries and charger get a bare tool in the 900 series ...I have a refurbished 995 hammer drill on a gen 2(chuck removal) plate

http://www.factoryauthorizedoutlet.com/dewalt-dcd995br-20v-max-xr-cordless-brushless-drill-reconditioned-bare-tool

they look to be out of stock ...subscribe to their Email ...got mine with a $25 off coupon w/free shipping

http://www.factoryauthorizedoutlet.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=20+v+max+bare+tool

[Maizen]

I bought a clam plate and gear reducer and a Milwaukee fuel 18  with 3 5 amp hour batteries  this season. I am using my 8 inch nils on it ,and it works great !

[Pentabogey]

fuel/ 5amph battery, clam plate, 8" mora . 15 holes through 9" ice used one bar on battery. very happy, no buyers remorse at all.

[Caseman2]

I bought a clam plate and gear reducer and a Milwaukee fuel 18  with 3 5 amp hour batteries  this season. I am using my 8 inch nils on it ,and it works great !

Any more info on this gear reduction?!   I hear alot have issues. How is the speed?   How much does the complete auger weight?

  This is something I might be purchasing next year if they hold up.

Thanks

[Caseman2]

I tried something today with my milwaukee fuel 2 clam plate and 7in lazer.

I normally use 5.0 batteries and never had an issues and whIle I dont usually drill alot of holes the battery always said full.

Today I tried a 2.0 compact battery and I couldn't finish 1 hole without it stalling.  (8 in of ice.)

[NYSporty]

A smaller drill might work well with the clam plate and the optional gear box.. It doubles the torque with a 2 to 1 ratio..

<°)))>{

I would like to reduce the gearing on my drill with the clam box. Do I have to use the clam plate?
Also what do I need to attach the box to my Nils.

[Ice Scratcher]

I would like to reduce the gearing on my drill with the clam box. Do I have to use the clam plate?
Also what do I need to attach the box to my Nils.

You'll need the plate, gear box, and an adapter..

<°)))>{

[3300]

I tried something today with my milwaukee fuel 2 clam plate and 7in lazer.

I normally use 5.0 batteries and never had an issues and whIle I dont usually drill alot of holes the battery always said full.

Today I tried a 2.0 compact battery and I couldn't finish 1 hole without it stalling.  (8 in of ice.)

that's the missing information right there. i've said the battery has been key for amps to the motor and not just how long it will run on said battery.

they don't tell us what amp size the motor is.

you can have too big of a battery and not harm the motor because it uses what it wants from the battery and that changes as the load changes. so the 2amp self protect kicked in on that battery to safe it's self.

thanks for reporting your experiment! i did the same with a 2amp 12volt ridgid drill. i knew it was a joke, but i wanted to see what it would do being under warranty and nothing to loose. it had the same result with a 6" lazer.

[Caseman2]

I knew it made a difference I just didn't realize how much.


I also have a 12v milwaukee fuel hammer drill with the 4.0 battery I should try it with my 5in lazer.  That would be a really light setup. 

[RuttNutt]

I just bought the Milwaukee Fuel 18v Hammer Drill with 5.0 batteries. As soon as I get it I plan to really test it out! See how many holes I can get out of one battery. I'll take it to our private lake down in the shallow end where nobody fishes and just drill hole after hole.

[Spider1]

what for buddy? Just take it fishing and drill everyones holes before Chez beats ya too it 

[hardwater diehard]

I just bought the Milwaukee Fuel 18v Hammer Drill with 5.0 batteries. As soon as I get it I plan to really test it out! See how many holes I can get out of one battery. I'll take it to our private lake down in the shallow end where nobody fishes and just drill hole after hole.

think it'll be a looooong day for you ...looking forward to your research results.

[RuttNutt]

Well, I should have said.................. ................I will be using an 8" auger. So will be interesting to see how many holes I get.

[RuttNutt]

what for buddy? Just take it fishing and drill everyones holes before Chez beats ya too it 

LOL! I don't know if I can................... ...................... ......you know how Chez is with a power auger! 

[jessb_55]

So I've been following this thread as I started a similar one about a month ago and was finally able to read through all 35 pages and now have some questions of my own.

After buying a Clam Conversion Kit with drill off a guy on CL about 2 weeks ago and was able to make it out once last week to give it a try. Overall it worked pretty well but often times seemed like it just stopped "shaving the ice" where the drill would keep turning but I wasn't making any process, then 90% of the time when I'd get to close to breaking through it would struggle. I was on about 6 inches of ice. The kit comes with a 6 inch Clam auger bit.

I read through all 34 pages of this topic and noticed that there were about 3 users who stated they used the same Dewalt drill I'm using, and a couple of them even said they burnt the drill up. Therefore, I'm thinking maybe the drill that came with it is a little too low on the torque? Dewalt no longer gives torque ratings instead gives a rating of UWO of 300 which from what I read is very hard to give a true comparison of torque as it's not apples to apples.

So questions are:
1) Am I possibly correct with my hunch that this drill may not be good enough for this?
2) If I do need to get a new drill I've read something about the 2nd/new generations of the Milwaukee's coming with a wrong size chuck? Is that true, and if that's the case what does a person have to do to get it to work?
3) From what a read I shouldn't have to apply any downward pressure on the plate when drilling, is that correct?
4) I also notices several references of people having a terrible time getting the chucks off their drills and that the first versions of the plate you had to remove your drill's chuck. My believe my plate is from 2015 and believe mine is the version that doesn't need the chuck removed as far as I can tell (don't judge if that's a dumb question:))
5) If getting a new drill, how critical is it that the new drill is either 1) brushless and/or 2) a hammer drill?
6) To save Money should I keep the drill and it's one 4 amp hour battery and one 3 amp hour battery and get a higher torque Dewalt bare tool? If so does anyone recommend a certain Dewalt drill?

TIA

[hardwater diehard]

OK ...lets determine what drill you have ... Can you post a picture of your set up...any numbers on the drill. What Voltage.

If you already have the Dewalt  batteries ...Dewalt charger ...then a refurbished Dewalt could be your answer .

[Spider1]

I'd check the blades first. It's used, the guy could have messed them up trying to sharpen them. Or they could be loose or nicked or on upside down or something. If it's turning and not cutting, it probably isn't the auger or drill.

Is your drill a lithium or NiCd? If it is NiCd, the batteries could be affected by the cold a lot more. Lithium stands up to cold better.

Also, uwo is different than torque as you've noted. Torque is a measurement for a unit of power, like how much muscle a thing has lift something. UWO is a measurement for energy, basically, how much energy it uses to make the muscle lift something. like comparing torque to horsepower.

Brushless is a good thing cuz the work we are putting the drill through eats up brushes. Hammer drills are nice cuz the better ones are built a bit tougher to withstand the hammering and have a slight edge on torque from what I've read.

I couldn't get the chuck off my drill and I had one of the original plates. I made a simple adapter so I didn't have to remove it.

I add a little downward pressure, but not much or it will stall my 525 in/lb ridgid drill. But I use an HT auger and some other augers might be a better choice. I was fishing with a guy the other day and he was using a drill with a Nills and said he didn't have to add any weight at all, it just sucked into the ice.

[jessb_55]

OK ...lets determine what drill you have ... Can you post a picture of your set up...any numbers on the drill. What Voltage.

If you already have the Dewalt  batteries ...Dewalt charger ...then a refurbished Dewalt could be your answer .

ugh my apologies I thought I had included that important detail.... It's a Dewalt DCD771 and 20v XR Lithium Ion batteries.

I'd check the blades first. It's used, the guy could have messed them up trying to sharpen them. Or they could be loose or nicked or on upside down or something. If it's turning and not cutting, it probably isn't the auger or drill.

Is your drill a lithium or NiCd? If it is NiCd, the batteries could be affected by the cold a lot more. Lithium stands up to cold better.

Also, uwo is different than torque as you've noted. Torque is a measurement for a unit of power, like how much muscle a thing has lift something. UWO is a measurement for energy, basically, how much energy it uses to make the muscle lift something. like comparing torque to horsepower.

Brushless is a good thing cuz the work we are putting the drill through eats up brushes. Hammer drills are nice cuz the better ones are built a bit tougher to withstand the hammering and have a slight edge on torque from what I've read.

I couldn't get the chuck off my drill and I had one of the original plates. I made a simple adapter so I didn't have to remove it.

I add a little downward pressure, but not much or it will stall my 525 in/lb ridgid drill. But I use an HT auger and some other augers might be a better choice. I was fishing with a guy the other day and he was using a drill with a Nills and said he didn't have to add any weight at all, it just sucked into the ice.

As far as the blades them seem to look good but can a person really tell visually? How often does a person need to sharpen the blades? And if they were on upside down I'm assuming I wouldn't have been able to even a drill hole successfully right? And as far as it only shaving and not going down the couple times it did that wouldn't it do that more often then not?

I would add a pic but for some reason this site won't give me the option to actually browse for any files....

Thanks everyone

[Gills-only]

4 th year on my blades, still like the day I bought them. Guard on till get in ice and put in before leaving ice, dont loan to anyone and don't bang on ice to get ice/snow off!!

[hardwater diehard]

jessb_55

http://www.cpooutlets.com/factory-reconditioned-dewalt-dcd985br-20v-max-cordless-lithium-ion-premium-3-speed-hammer-drill--bare-tool-/dewrdcd985br,default,pd.html

http://www.cpooutlets.com/factory-reconditioned-dewalt-dcd995br-20v-max-xr-cordless-lithium-ion-3-speed-1-2-in--brushless-hammer-drill--bare-tool-/dewrdcd995br,default,pd.html

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I had the 771 ....it got burnt up ....NOW a refurbished 995 hammer w/5 amp hr batteries on Clam plate(Gen 2) with SM 6" lazer