Clam Plate Troubleshooting

[Russellhess]

Our Clam Plate is not functioning. Here is our setup: 6 inch, Strikemaster by Mora hand auger; Dewalt DCD791 brushless 20V Drill; Clam Plate we got for Christmas 2016. We used the plate and auger combination all last year with no issues. We loved it. 18 inches of ice, no problem. 5AMP batteries really helped.

This year, it is non functional. Thing seems to just wobble all over the ice. Can't get through 4 inches without binding up. Burned up previous drill, this year (my fault for not stopping when setup clearly wasn't working.) Got the new drill listed above and same issues. It doesn't seem like the auger wants to stay in the hole. It wobbles and jumps around. When I push down with some pressure, it seems to cut but then bogs down. I can hear the motor of drill still whirring but not turning auger anymore.

Could it just be dull blades? I bought one of the little handheld sharpener things and used it last night. No noticeable difference today. I also noticed last night that a couple of the screws holding the blades were loose. Tightened those screws, but no difference today. The new drill seems to be more powerful, but I don't think that has anything to do with it since it worked fine last year and people in this forum are using even more powerful drills than I am.

The drill has 2 to gears and 15 torque settings. It has a variable speed trigger. I have tried them all and no combination works.

Is it possible that the blades are misaligned or something? I have been cutting holes by taking the Clam plate off and using the hand crank. Seems to drill fine, but I haven't hand drilled a hole for 2 winters so not sure how it cut before.

The only adjustment I made when attaching the new drill was the u-bolt thing that holds the drill handle. Could there be other plate adjustments I need to make with the new drill?

This is all very frustrating because we love this Clam Plate so much and it allows me to fish while my 13 year-old wanders around drilling holes all over the place. Any ideas would be great.

[3300]

welcome!
start with new blades. if the drill can't turn it try the handle that came with it. if it still won't cut, then it sounds like bent auger where it holds the blades.
mora augers are one of the cheapest to buy. so you may just want to buy a new one and send your old blades out to be sharpened.

[Deal Ninja]

Take a close look at the drive shaft on your Clam Plate.  A couple of years ago some were shipped out with drive shafts that hadn’t been properly hardened and they twisted and bent under load causing exactly the condition you describe.  Clam replaced mine under warranty.  Notice the ‘teeth marks’ from the chuck, indicating how soft the metal was.  It wasn’t very noticeable to the naked eye, but made the auger wobble like crazy.



See also:  https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=336670.msg3570689#msg3570689

DN

[Russellhess]

I just ordered new auger blades. I have had the auger with original blades now for about ten years. I will take the old ones to the local bait shop for sharpening. Just seems weird they would go so bad so fast. Drive shaft on the Clam plate looks fine. If new blades don't work, there must be something wrong with the plate. Otherwise, the new drill should work fine.

Thanks for the help and ideas. I think I am going to really love this site.

[3300]

the drill settings should be on drill mode, not hammer drill mode and in speed one for slow speed/high torque. if after installing new blades and the drill won't turn it correctly, just slip the manual handle back on it and see how it cuts.

[Kevin23]

Take a close look at the drive shaft on your Clam Plate.  A couple of years ago some were shipped out with drive shafts that hadn’t been properly hardened and they twisted and bent under load causing exactly the condition you describe.  Clam replaced mine under warranty.  Notice the ‘teeth marks’ from the chuck, indicating how soft the metal was.  It wasn’t very noticeable to the naked eye, but made the auger wobble like crazy.



See also:  https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=336670.msg3570689#msg3570689

DN

This right here! Buddy bent his up with the EXACT same setup with a 2016 plate.. same drill, same auger. The lazers bind at the bottom of the hole, and when his did it twisted the untreated adapter in the clam plate. I took it out and called clam for him and they sent out a new heat treated one no questions asked. With the bent one, it would wobble and jump all over the place. If yours is not golden with green/blue hue then you do not have a hardened one. All of the plates I have seen since then, including mine, have had the heat treated adapter.

[Kevin23]

I just ordered new auger blades. I have had the auger with original blades now for about ten years. I will take the old ones to the local bait shop for sharpening. Just seems weird they would go so bad so fast. Drive shaft on the Clam plate looks fine. If new blades don't work, there must be something wrong with the plate. Otherwise, the new drill should work fine.

Thanks for the help and ideas. I think I am going to really love this site.

10 years??? I rarely get through one season before mine are dull. That may help with cutting for sure! But if your blades are dull then the auger wouldn't bind, it would just spin and spin on top of the ice.

For how fast they dull, a buddy of mine ruined his new set of blades in 1 hole a few years back. Went to check the ice just off shore and drilled right into a sand bar. Done. 

[Monticatgeek]

here is a few things to look at or think about. first try the new blades and if there is still a issue you might want to see if the auger some how got dinged and threw the pitch of the blades off a little. it might be where it is not a issue when using the hand crank but it becomes a issue once on the plate and being driven by the drill.  if that is ruled out then may be try less downward pressure, to much will cause it to bind and to little will have the mora auger walking. another thing in regards to the binding you my need to up to the Dewalt 995, 996, or 997 instead of the 791.  the brushless compact drill are not recommended for use with the plate. it is best to have the full size drill with these. the 900's listed above are hammer drills but you don't run it in the hammer mode as this will mess up pitch on the blades and even damage the auger shaft it self. another thing if you have a friend with a hand auger too maybe try switching out the auger with a different one and see if it is still having issues if so then it would be in the plate somewhere but if not then your auger is bad. If all else fails and you happen to be up around the metro area stop in to Clam at Rogers and let them look at it in person.

[Russellhess]

Thanks for the great ideas everyone. I am holding out hope it was the blades. There was a couple screws loose when I checked them. I tightened the screws, but maybe using them when it was loose messed them up. They are also probably pretty dull. It could have also been the 13 year-old banging them on the ice or something. And I get a bigger drill is better. But I used a compact Dewalt with brushes for 2 years and it work fine for my purposes up until the first day of this season. For the amount of fishing I get done (3 weekends a month) and where (Mississippi River backwaters) that drill combo has seemed to work fine. Just hard to justify more drill sitting on the tool bench than I need the rest of the year.

I work in Saint Paul, so if new blades don't work, I guess a little lunch trip to Rogers might be in order. Always wanted to stop by anyway....

[hardwater diehard]

Tighten the blade bolts evenly ..had issues with my 6" Lazer out of the box . I had to loosen them up and tighten them evenly.

[Charman03]

I’ve seen it happen before, I bet your auger pitch is off especially since you said your son was banging it on the ice.

Definitely try hand cranking with the new blades and just experiment. New moras are pretty cheap.

[Russellhess]

UPDATE: Ordered new auger blades. Of course, wrong ones were sent, not sure if that was my fault or theirs. So took a chance buying blades at the Prairie Bait Shop in Kellogg, MN. Shorty's for any locals. Was a little skeptical, they only cost $7.00 and gave him my old ones. Put them on and the hand auger cut through with no pressure. Hooked up the Clam Plate and still had a slight issue, until I remembered to put drill on the "1" speed setting. Cuts just like I remembered it working. So it appears it was just dull blades or some sort of blade issue.

Thanks for all the advice on here. We were able to drill a bunch of holes, unfortunately, no fish below any of them.

[3300]

that's cool, thanks for the update!