Clam plate wobble issue?

[lefty2053]

Why do so many people have trouble with reading comprehension?

"You get what you pay for" as he pats himself on the back for not understanding the issue is the Clam plate that he just bought....

I guess he assumes no one should have the same troubles if they own a Milwalkee and a Kdrill. Like they are the top of the line. My trouble was the clam plate only. With just the extension on it my drill vibrated in my hands. Ever try and hold something still that is vibrating?  Yeah that bad.

[Kevin23]

To give him a little credit, if he didnt read the last couple pages, at the beginning there was talk it was the rigid drills that were the issue... And i talked about how mine wobbles with certain strikemaster augers.

[MinnesotaPike]

He's literally posting in a thread titled "CLAM PLATE wobble issue?" where the third reply states the same issue with a Milwaukee and numerous other combinations of drill and auger with the only common theme being they're all attached to Clam plates and he somehow concludes that its price based. You can't make up that level of ignorance....

His first reply is on page 1, directly after a guy reports the same issue on a Fuel/Lazer combination.

[jr50]

I have a dumb question, is the extension that seems to be the issues.  Is the extension a necessary part or is it only needed to get through thick ice.  I still use a gas auger and have thought about going this route.  Are there any issues with the ht auger plate that is in the Reeds flyer?

Sorry if this has been answered before

[Kevin23]

I have a dumb question, is the extension that seems to be the issues.  Is the extension a necessary part or is it only needed to get through thick ice.  I still use a gas auger and have thought about going this route.  Are there any issues with the ht auger plate that is in the Reeds flyer?

Sorry if this has been answered before

Its just short without the extension, you will have to bend over to drill. I havent used my extension and not planning on it.. fits better in the sled being short and i dont mind bending over. Any ice over about 6" and i think you would want it for sure

[lefty2053]

I have a dumb question, is the extension that seems to be the issues.  Is the extension a necessary part or is it only needed to get through thick ice.  I still use a gas auger and have thought about going this route.  Are there any issues with the ht auger plate that is in the Reeds flyer?

Sorry if this has been answered before

Not a dumb question at all. I was asked once if I hooked just the auger to the clam plate without the extension if it still wobbled.  I was curious and tried that as well. It wobbles horribly no matter how I hooked it up. No one is saying all clam plates do this but certainly there are a few that does. Mine was real bad. Mine got sent back to Dicks. It is scheduled to be back there on Monday.

[3300]

my advise is go to the store and bring your drill that works fine with out the plate and test the clam plate shaft with out assembling it into the plate. if you see it run true with out wobble or wave or run out then you found a keeper.

after looking at mine much closer, it appears as tho the machining done to the end where your drill chuck attaches is where the problem is. how ever it is done it is being done wrong.
the bend is where it looks like it is welded at that point and where the shaft becomes round. it looks like that section was welded to the round part crooked. not that it was welded, but looks like it was and is crooked at that location.

adding their extension to their plate amplifies the situation big time. adding tape to their plate's shaft helps with that amplification problem by taking up much needed slack, but does not make up for the bent shaft issue. the extension being tight to a bent shaft will amplify the movement of the bend.
you would think being they built these two parts to go together, they would make them fit correctly.

[VTMatt]

my advise is go to the store and bring your drill that works fine with out the plate and test the clam plate shaft with out assembling it into the plate. if you see it run true with out wobble or wave or run out then you found a keeper.

after looking at mine much closer, it appears as tho the machining done to the end where your drill chuck attaches is where the problem is. how ever it is done it is being done wrong.
the bend is where it looks like it is welded at that point and where the shaft becomes round. it looks like that section was welded to the round part crooked. not that it was welded, but looks like it was and is crooked at that location.

adding their extension to their plate amplifies the situation big time. adding tape to their plate's shaft helps with that amplification problem by taking up much needed slack, but does not make up for the bent shaft issue. the extension being tight to a bent shaft will amplify the movement of the bend.
you would think being they built these two parts to go together, they would make them fit correctly.

If the clam plate shaft is not square, it would cause this issue, although I don't see how it could be that far out judging by the fact that it woud have been done on a cnc mill or live axis lathe for high productuon purposes, also meaning they would have a way to measure perpindicularity (squareness) and reject any bad ones.  Can't imagine the shop they used to produce them was given such loose tolerances to get away with what people are seeing.  I'm ordering one soon and will get hands on with one.

[lefty2053]

after looking at mine much closer, it appears as tho the machining done to the end where your drill chuck attaches is where the problem is. how ever it is done it is being done wrong.
the bend is where it looks like it is welded at that point and where the shaft becomes round. it looks like that section was welded to the round part crooked. not that it was welded, but looks like it was and is crooked at that location.

I looked at that weld also on mine. It appears one side of the weld is much wider than the other. Thus making it out of round.

[lefty2053]

By out of round while welding I mean like these 2 circles. One being the shaft and the other being the chuck connection. Mine was weld similar to this. Where you can see the inter circle wasn't centered.

[VTMatt]

By out of round while welding I mean like these 2 circles. One being the shaft and the other being the chuck connection. Mine was weld similar to this. Where you can see the inter circle wasn't centered.

So then the fixture they used to weld them sucks.  They're not concentric, which would also cause a wobble and make flat blade augers walk even more.

[Kevin23]

I guess ive never really looked that close to mine, but the shaft is welded? I figured they would just lathe round stock to spec then cut/grind the drill chuck spot using a cnc. The production count cant be crazy high, seasonal product for northern 1/3 of the USA pretty much. Not like they are selling a million a year... heck maybe they are, i dont know.

No man likes their shaft bent

[DR.SPECKLER]

I got to run my octane and clam plate today.works great!cut 35 holes  in 6" of ice using a 8" mora and 3 bars left on battery.i didn't keep the battery warm either.cutting slow it wanted to walk around but if you just give it full power it chews a hole fast and didn't even feel any wobble.ran it with a extension and 8"mora.little rough on break thru but I just let the auger do its thing.cuts so fast no scoop is needed.

[kayl]

The extension is clearly the cause of the wobble in my case. I'll try to find one locally that is less out of true.

[Huntindave]

I guess ive never really looked that close to mine, but the shaft is welded? I figured they would just lathe round stock to spec then cut/grind the drill chuck spot using a cnc. The production count cant be crazy high, seasonal product for northern 1/3 of the USA pretty much. Not like they are selling a million a year... heck maybe they are, i dont know.

No man likes their shaft bent

I have not seen one of these shafts but it would only make sense that they are made as you describe.  No need for the added production step of welding. Especially if the shaft is later heat treated.  I'm not sure it needs heat treating if the right grade of steel is used in the first place.
It is quite easy to imagine sloppy machining resulting in the "flats" being cut out of centerline with the shaft. 

[3300]

I got to run my octane and clam plate today.works great!cut 35 holes  in 6" of ice using a 8" mora and 3 bars left on battery.i didn't keep the battery warm either.cutting slow it wanted to walk around but if you just give it full power it chews a hole fast and didn't even feel any wobble.ran it with a extension and 8"mora.little rough on break thru but I just let the auger do its thing.cuts so fast no scoop is needed.

that's cool! where did you find 6 inches of ice?

[VTMatt]

I guess ive never really looked that close to mine, but the shaft is welded? I figured they would just lathe round stock to spec then cut/grind the drill chuck spot using a cnc. The production count cant be crazy high, seasonal product for northern 1/3 of the USA pretty much. Not like they are selling a million a year... heck maybe they are, i dont know.

No man likes their shaft bent

I'm sure they subcontracted the machined parts at some random shop somewhere that gave them the cheapest quote. All depends on the process engineer that came up with it. It's not that hard to keep a say ..005 tolerance when in a live lathe...the entire part sounds like it could be made from bar stock and then cut off.  If the flats were done at then same time as the lathe work, there is no reason that the milled flats are off centerline. The spindle just rotates 120 degrees and they just come in with an endmill for each flat.  Still trying to understand how some people have such bad wobble...! Parts are way too easy to make perfect for very cheap...

[lefty2053]

I got to run my octane and clam plate today.works great!cut 35 holes  in 6" of ice using a 8" mora and 3 bars left on battery.i didn't keep the battery warm either.cutting slow it wanted to walk around but if you just give it full power it chews a hole fast and didn't even feel any wobble.ran it with a extension and 8"mora.little rough on break thru but I just let the auger do its thing.cuts so fast no scoop is needed.

Glad you got out and you Plate is good.

[Huntindave]

I'm sure they subcontracted the machined parts at some random shop ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,If the flats were done at then same time as the lathe work, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Parts are way too easy to make perfect for very cheap...

Too many SMALL shops still producing parts in a multistep process.  They don't have a lathe capable of milling flats.  They may just be throwing the part in a vise jaw with the shaft not square with the spindle. 

If the shafts are being produced out of specs, no matter the process, it all boils down to lack of quality control on the part of Clam Corp. 

[lefty2053]

OK I have to admit, I am getting old and there is a chance I was remembering the Clam Extension and not the Shaft on the plate that I say out of round. I don't have the shaft anymore but I do have the extension and I have it hooked up to my Drill and a Kovac Adapter. It spins smooth that way.

[joefishmore]

Are they made in China ?

[ActiveTrapChecker]

Just had to take my Fuel off my clam plate to remove bindings from skis so I can make a smitty sled (first world problem, my 2702-20 didn’t have the nuts to remove the screws)

Just notice the wobble on the clam plate. 3rd season with it, haven’t had any issues as of yet.

[Ice Scratcher]

YouTube if full of videos showing augers cutting well with wobble issues.. All makes..

<°)))>{

[3300]

i'm no machinist, but i used to help a double amputee (war time) grind/polish edm marks in molds for plastic injection. i see edm marks on the flats of the shaft. they run perpendicularly. these are the marks i used to have to remove. if this helps any one evaluate what might be going on.
the lines are very tiny and you see them when you catch the light on them just right.

to try to keep every one interested in this topic on the same page, here are two videos showing a clam plate and extension with wobble and one with with major wobble that made the user have to stop using it.

user had to quit using it and sent it back for refund. switching to kovac that has "float" in it removes any wobble under load so it is not transferred to the plate or drill.

what i, and i would think everyone would expect to have when spending, here is one that runs true.

you can all see a huge difference.

[Ice Scratcher]

Wobble that ain't working...

Wobbles that still work..

Don't forget to bring a chocolate chip cookie the size of a manhole cover..

Learn to be thankful for what most of us have..

<°)))>{

[zubie]

I finally got the chance to test my setup again after installing electric tape to my clam extension and plate shaft and it cut great. Yes, there is still a little wabble but I have no issues while drilling a hole. I currently have the extension at the shortest setting and the wobble is worse as I lengthen the extension but I do not believe I will have any issues cutting holes even with the extension at the longest setting.

[TNT5859]

I finally got the chance to test my setup again after installing electric tape to my clam extension and plate shaft and it cut great. Yes, there is still a little wabble but I have no issues while drilling a hole. I currently have the extension at the shortest setting and the wobble is worse as I lengthen the extension but I do not believe I will have any issues cutting holes even with the extension at the longest setting.

Where did you put the electric tape?

[VTMatt]

ALRIGHT ...

Went and picked up a clam plate today.  Ridgid drill hasnt arrived yet so I set it up with a 20v craftsman to see how it spun.  My 6" Ion fits pretty well on the shaft without any kind of adapter.  

Auger spins fairly true, with no noticeable wobble at all.  I DO however feel the "slop" when I wiggle the plates handles up and down.  This seems to be the bearings, and has no affect on the actual turning of the auger.  The metal piece that goes through the bearing has a pretty nice slip fit on mine.  Diameter wise I would bet the OD/ID variations are well within tolerances. I'm tempted to pull the bearing housing apart to see exactly where the play is coming from, but like I said, the handle wobble has no affect on the auger spinning.  That being said, sounds like the issue everyone is having has to do with their extensions. Even my Ion extension causes a little wobble. 

[DR.SPECKLER]

My plate has wobble with or without the extension but it doesn’t hinder cutting what so ever.im over the wobble concern.it just not  made with super tight/precision tolerances.i like the plate so far.i can control the auger real nice  at breakthru running the 8” mora.

[VTMatt]

My plate has wobble with or without the extension but it doesn’t hinder cutting what so ever.im over the wobble concern.it just not  made with super tight/precision tolerances.i like the plate so far.i can control the auger real nice  at breakthru running the 8” mora.

So, does your shaft that your auger fits over wobble when you spin it?  Or does it look like it's in a "fixed" crooked position?  Mine has almost no wobble at all.  When you slid the shaft into the bushing, did it feel like a nice tight fit, or did it just fall in?