Clam plate to 8" power auger adapter

[AdirDONdack]

Looking to go from Clam plate (3/4" male shaft) to my StrikeMaster power auger 8" auger (7/8" female).  Can't find an adapter.  Any Ideas?

[Ice Scratcher]

Most or all that money to buy a heavy adapter for a heavy bit  would buy a used mora bit on Craigslist...

<°)))>{

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Looking to go from Clam plate (3/4" male shaft) to my StrikeMaster power auger 8" auger (7/8" female).  Can't find an adapter.  Any Ideas?

It looks like you are going to try and use an auger shaft from a gas powered auger on the clam plate? Usually the gas auger bits are heavier built and won't work to well trying to turn them with an electric drill. Hence why they don't seek adaptors for doing it. like stated above a used hand auger on Craigslist is pretty cheap and effective.

[AdirDONdack]

Kinda what i figured.  Bought the 18v fuel and clam plate for my 6" fin-bore !!!.  Thought it would be nice to use the 8" off my blown power auger for tip-up holes.  keep my eyes open for cheap 8" hand unit.  Thanks
 

[piscesman]

Does the Clam plate have an adaptor for the Strike Master Lazar hand auger?? Also where would you get an adaptor for the Clam Plate to Nils hand auger?? Thanks.
      Kim

[Ice Scratcher]

Does the Clam plate have an adaptor for the Strike Master Lazar hand auger?? Also where would you get an adaptor for the Clam Plate to Nils hand auger?? Thanks.
      Kim

No adapter needed for a Strikmaster hand auger..

<°)))>{

[Monticatgeek]

Does the Clam plate have an adaptor for the Strike Master Lazar hand auger?? Also where would you get an adaptor for the Clam Plate to Nils hand auger?? Thanks.
      Kim

only hand auger that need a adapter to work on the Clam Plate is the Nils like was stated and also when using a K Drill from Vexilar on the plate. The K drill adapter has to be bought directly from Vexilar. as for using a auger off a power head you could go to a machinist and have them make a adapter to use the auger off a power unit but by the time you do this you could buy a new 8 inch hand auger. Clam had one of their R&D guys make a adapter so they could use a 9 inch power auger bit to test it on the new gear box they put out this year. with the 8 inch hand auger bit they were able to get through 600 inches total of ice on one full charge of the battery and 480 inches of ice when they upped to the 9 inch power auger bit on the gearbox. this was using a Milwaukee Fuel Drill (don't know which Amp Hour battery they were using thou.)

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Does the Clam plate have an adaptor for the Strike Master Lazar hand auger?? Also where would you get an adaptor for the Clam Plate to Nils hand auger?? Thanks.
      Kim

A guy off of eBay makes a clam plate to nils adaptor. I have one. Works well. The Normal hand augers (strikemaster, Eskimo, HT, and Etc.) don't need adaptors, the shaft from the clam plate slides right into the auger. However, it leaves you with a short auger so many get the $15 clam auger extension so the auger sits taller.

[piscesman]

Thanks for the help. Clears up some things.
      Kim

[Oodalink]

Ok, I would like to simply answer this question, rather than give an opinion. The answer to your question AdirDONdack is a simple "YES". It will cost you $10 and about an hour of garage tool time.

I too had this question as I have several "gas" auger bits, and did not wish to purchase something else in order to make my Clam auger adapter work with my existing "gas" auger bits.

First, you will need to purchase a brass machined bearing sleeve that steps from 3/4" ID to 7/8" OD. You can buy 3 of them on Amazon for $10.57 with prime 2-day delivery. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G8X8284/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Second, you need to drill out the bolt hole in your Clam auger shaft to 11/32 inch to accommodate the larger auger bolt used on gas auger bits (mine is a strikemaster, you should verify the size of the bolt on your gas auger for this step  )

Once you have received your brass sleeves, simply mark the center of the sleeve and drill an 11/32*** hole through the center to match the new hole in the Clam auger shaft.

My brass sleeve was a bit loose on the clam shaft, and a bit tight for the auger bit, so I simply cut a groove length-wise through the brass sleeve which allowed me to compress the sleeve slightly and allowing it to slide smoothly over the Clam shaft, and slide smoothly into the strikemaster auger bit shank.

Simply line up the holes in all the pieces, install the retaining bolt, and you now have full use of you gas auger bits on your Clam auger adapter!

Note: The bearing sleeve takes up the room between the smaller Clam auger adapter shaft and your larger diameter "gas" auger bit shank. Because it does not change the length of the retaining bolt, you do not lose any strength at the joint. Because there was only 1/32 in difference in the bolt size from my strikemaster gas auger bolt and the original hole in the Clam auger shaft, there is absolutely no fear of snapping the solid steel Clam auger shaft by enlarging the hole 1/32". This also allows you to still use the strikemaster auger bits on your gas auger. If you want to also use a hand auger bit on your modified Clam auger adapter now, you only need to enlarge the assembly hole to 11/32 inch on the hand auger bit and get a larger linch pin or bolt for the hand auger handle!

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Ok, I would like to simply answer this question, rather than give an opinion. The answer to your question AdirDONdack is a simple "YES". It will cost you $10 and about an hour of garage tool time.

I too had this question as I have several "gas" auger bits, and did not wish to purchase something else in order to make my Clam auger adapter work with my existing "gas" auger bits.

First, you will need to purchase a brass machined bearing sleeve that steps from 3/4" ID to 7/8" OD. You can buy 3 of them on Amazon for $10.57 with prime 2-day delivery. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G8X8284/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Second, you need to drill out the bolt hole in your Clam auger shaft to 11/32 inch to accommodate the larger auger bolt used on gas auger bits (mine is a strikemaster, you should verify the size of the bolt on your gas auger for this step  )

Once you have received your brass sleeves, simply mark the center of the sleeve and drill an 11/32*** hole through the center to match the new hole in the Clam auger shaft.

My brass sleeve was a bit loose on the clam shaft, and a bit tight for the auger bit, so I simply cut a groove length-wise through the brass sleeve which allowed me to compress the sleeve slightly and allowing it to slide smoothly over the Clam shaft, and slide smoothly into the strikemaster auger bit shank.

Simply line up the holes in all the pieces, install the retaining bolt, and you now have full use of you gas auger bits on your Clam auger adapter!

Note: The bearing sleeve takes up the room between the smaller Clam auger adapter shaft and your larger diameter "gas" auger bit shank. Because it does not change the length of the retaining bolt, you do not lose any strength at the joint. Because there was only 1/32 in difference in the bolt size from my strikemaster gas auger bolt and the original hole in the Clam auger shaft, there is absolutely no fear of snapping the solid steel Clam auger shaft by enlarging the hole 1/32". This also allows you to still use the strikemaster auger bits on your gas auger. If you want to also use a hand auger bit on your modified Clam auger adapter now, you only need to enlarge the assembly hole to 11/32 inch on the hand auger bit and get a larger linch pin or bolt for the hand auger handle

If you look at the thread, the OP is running a 6in finbore on it, and was wanting an adaptor to run a 8in power bit. I don't think he would want to drill out the hole on the clam plate shaft due to it causing a bunch of slop and issues when using his 6in finbore on it.

So, he would either need to make a different adaptor, or simply find a used mora for $20 on Craigslist like some of the members were suggesting. While your do it yourself engineering was a great job, and works. I don't think it would accomplish what the OP is wanting to do with switching between his 6in finbore and 8in power auger bit.

Nice job on the mod though. How's it spin the power auger bit? Also, are you seeing reduced hole number per battery vs a hand auger on it.

[Oodalink]

"Looking to go from Clam plate (3/4" male shaft) to my StrikeMaster power auger 8" auger (7/8" female).  Can't find an adapter.  Any Ideas?"


The post above was the very first post in the thread, and what I was referring to, completely missed his second post about the finbore.  I wanted to offer AdirDONdack an answer to his question. I converted my hand auger to fit a slightly larger bolt so that everything works with everything, and inexpensively!

Anyhow, to answer your question, I have not done a side by side comparison, but I have not noticed any diminished hole numbers by using the heavier auger bits. Since the actual cutting surface is the same using a 6" power auger bit or a 6" manual auger bit for example, the increased weight doesnt seeem to play a factor. I am using a  DeWalt hammer drill and the larger 5 mah batteries. I normally dont punch more than 10 holes in a day of fishing, and I have yet to change out a battery, however I do bring along a spare battery every outing as well as the gas power unit for my strikemaster.

Since I have yet to find a commercial adapter that fits this bill, this was an extremely inexpensive and simple solution that will work with everything as long as you are willing to do a very slight modification to a couple of pieces. In the end, its all personal preference!

[Monticatgeek]

Clam started to make one now. when using a k drill with it you remove the part where the drill hooks on and replace it with this.  the inside diameter of the k drill is the same as a power auger bit, that is why you can hook a k drill to a power head. so with this adapter you can use either the k drill or a power auger bit.

http://stores.clamoutdoors.com/clam/augers/k-drill-power-auger-adapter-for-conversion-kit.html

[Oodalink]

Figures!! I saw that adapter weeks ago, but had no idea the K Drill shaft was the same diameter as a gas anger shaft! I couldn't find specs for it anywhere so I figured it was proprietary for the K Drill only and moved on. As much as I like a challenge, sometimes it's much simpler to buy and move on! Good info to pass on, thanks!