Question for folks with the k drill

[RallyGreen]

I haven't been able to find a solid answer one way or the other - does the k-drill clean the hole as it turns or do most of the shavings stay in the hole? I have a 25cc gas drill that turns at 650rpm and I'm on the fence if I should get a k drill for ice trolling without a shack. Appreciate any firsthand info!

[gunnerdog]

Looks to me it clears the shavings.  It has flighting

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I haven't been able to find a solid answer one way or the other - does the k-drill clean the hole as it turns or do most of the shavings stay in the hole? I have a 25cc gas drill that turns at 650rpm and I'm on the fence if I should get a k drill for ice trolling without a shack. Appreciate any firsthand info!

I haven't ran one. I have looked at them in the store, and watched many videos on them. the flighting on the auger does have gaps in it, but the drill turns the auger at a higher rate of speed, so it will throw the ice shavings out of the hole pretty easy. Plus you can run it in reverse to clean the hole. If your thinking about running it on your gas auger head, I think you'd be better off running a mora shaver on a gas head.

here is some video on it.

[RallyGreen]

Looks to me it clears the shavings.  It has flighting

I should have specified, sorry. I'm interested in the 8". That's a 6" which has nearly continuous flighting - different design. I'm confident at this point that I've watched every video on youtube multiple times.

I haven't ran one. I have looked at them in the store, and watched many videos on them. the flighting on the auger does have gaps in it, but the drill turns the auger at a higher rate of speed, so it will throw the ice shavings out of the hole pretty easy. Plus you can run it in reverse to clean the hole. If your thinking about running it on your gas auger head, I think you'd be better off running a mora shaver on a gas head.

here is some video on it.

I've seen all of these videos. The guy cleans his hole at least a few times, so that suggests there may be a pile of shavings in it. This is why I'm asking the folks who own one. Flighting can be designed to extract material or to keep it moving in a suspension. I think running a mora shaver at 650rpm on a gas drill might take my foot off. My gas drill has a reverse gear, so that's an option, but I'd rather have the bulk of the shavings removed than to flush everything down

I'm hoping someone with an 8" who drills more than 12" of ice will chime in - it just comes down to if the flighting is there to extract material or just toss it around inside the column.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I should have specified, sorry. I'm interested in the 8". That's a 6" which has nearly continuous flighting - different design. I'm confident at this point that I've watched every video on youtube multiple times.

I've seen all of these videos. The guy cleans his hole at least a few times, so that suggests there may be a pile of shavings in it. This is why I'm asking the folks who own one. Flighting can be designed to extract material or to keep it moving in a suspension. I think running a mora shaver at 650rpm on a gas drill might take my foot off.

I'm hoping someone with an 8" who drills more than 12" of ice will chime in - it just comes down to if the flighting is there to extract material or just toss it around inside the column.

A number of people have put the mora shaver augers on a gas power head. For speed and reducing weight for hole hopping. What are the reasons do you want a K Drill auger on a gas power head? I mean it can be done, but its designed for the milwaukee drill and to bite/cut ice at the higher rpms of a drill.

if your just looking to reduce weight, cut fast and femove the shavings from the hole without a reverse the $50 mora is hard to beat, and would have the full flight to remove the shavings.

[RallyGreen]

A number of people have put the mora shaver augers on a gas power head. For speed and reducing weight for hole hopping. What are the reasons do you want a K Drill auger on a gas power head? I mean it can be done, but its designed for the milwaukee drill and to bite/cut ice at the higher rpms of a drill.

if your just looking to reduce weight, cut fast and femove the shavings from the hole without a reverse the $50 mora is hard to beat, and would have the full flight to remove the shavings.

I have a utility gas drill that turns at 650rpm. I wouldn't worry about putting a mora on a 220rpm Solo. The kdrill requires 500-750 rpm and mine turns at 650, so this seems like a reasonable idea. The difference between a gas drill and a milwaukee cordless is that a gas utility drill puts out much more torque, so it means you wouldn't have to clean the hole repeatedly... assuming the flighting is designed to remove the shavings.

I cut a lot of holes in dirty ice so have been using chipper blades for the past 4 or 5 years and was hoping that the lightweight k-drill with its chipper blades being built to run at the rpm my gas drill turns would be the ideal solution

[Ice Scratcher]

I cut a lot of holes in dirty ice so have been using chipper blades for the past 4 or 5 years and was hoping that the lightweight k-drill with its chipper blades being built to run at the rpm my gas drill turns would be the ideal solution

Sounds like a good solution to me...

<°)))>{

[3300]

it's been a while since i looked into the k drill, but it seems to me it claimed to be the best for ice house's for not throwing shavings all over the floor. this may explain the openings or breaks in the flighting. also why it was designed to reopen holes such as those in ice houses.

[RallyGreen]

Sounds like a good solution to me...

<°)))>{

It did to me too, but I was reading how they designed it to not "throw ice shavings all over your shack" and "it makes it easy to scoop out the slush" so I went "hmm." So I emailed the company to ask and they said "Oh yeah, you've got to clean the hole every few seconds otherwise your drill will be overwhelmed." But like I keep saying, I've got this 25cc gas drill so bogging isn't so much an issue. So they said "Well, you've got to clean every few seconds or we'd invalidate the warranty." OK, but all I want to know if the thing is built to extract shavings or leave 'em in the hole.

it's been a while since i looked into the k drill, but it seems to me it claimed to be the best for ice house's for not throwing shavings all over the floor. this may explain the openings or breaks in the flighting. also why it was designed to reopen holes such as those in ice houses.

Exactly, thanks - that's why I don't already have one in my hot little hand, haha. The company says that, but then there are posts from people saying "I'm using this outdoors and it's just wonderful. Better than this other brand I own" but I go and read the whole thread or whatnot and see they have a 6" or they're cutting pretty thin ice in any case.

[Ice Scratcher]

Even with my electric drill auger which has reverse, or my gas Eskimo, I've always cleaned out my "single" holes for scouting by kicking away most of it then flooding it with water.. Instantly fishable and almost able to sight fish through it.. Although if there is another hole within 3 ft it gets filled with chips..

The reverse idea of ridding chips has never worked that well for me..

<°)))>{

[luv2fish2]

i own an 8" kdrill / milwaukee 2604 drill clam plate 1st gen   i bought 2 years ago most ice i went through was 18" never had a problem clearing shavings and yes i've reversed it to clear the shavings works ok but it seems some find there way back ,  i've never noticed that i had to pull the auger out to clean shavings while drilling a hole  but with so little ice i've got not alot of experience ,  lack of ice last year . but i will tell you this as for dirty ice its very aggressive so i'm not thinking you'll be fine , buy an extra set to send in for sharpening ( lifetime ) to swap,  i absolutely love mine but its pricey if your on a budget go mora i've tried all augers except nils ( if i'm spending that much i got a k drill , way tougher and easier to get sharpened) i highly recommend  the kdrill light and fast and composite flite's don't ice up my 2 cents


 i also do what scratcher does for cleaning holes

[HardH20Fishin]

Well, I run the 8” K-Drill and have never had an issue with it clearing shavings. I run the Milwaukee Mud Mixer drill on it and love it.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

At this point, I would like to see and Eskimo pistol with the k drill cutting head,

[DTro]

It cleans it out partially, but IMO it helps quite a bit to quickly clear it out every few inches and that is also what the mfg recommends doing.   

[RallyGreen]

That's true, but thats a recommendation when using an electric drill, not a gas utility drill like a linesman would use (which is what I built my auger on).

I think some folks might be missing the juicy bit where this was all proofed out. I should add that when I drilled a test hole 36" deep on the river next to my house before and after I  reconfigured the flyting on thr kdrill to get a sense if the kluge configuration removed more shavings - it does.

So yes, in its factory form, the 8" kdrill mainly keeps shavings in suspension, but take it apart and alternate the flyting sections and it will move more shavings out of the column, provided your engine has the torque.

If you compare your 8" kdrill to mine in the photo, I think you'll what I mean about "reconfigured the flyting sections."

[52isntbigenough]

it's been a while since i looked into the k drill, but it seems to me it claimed to be the best for ice house's for not throwing shavings all over the floor. this may explain the openings or breaks in the flighting. also why it was designed to reopen holes such as those in ice houses.

I dunno, to me this thing makes as much of a mess as my Jiffy did. You're still "cleaning" the hole out as you go or the KD will get stuck and when you pull out a couple of times, you're still making slop. (that's what she said).

[eriksat1]

I have the 8" K-Drill I don't see much if any difference from cleaning shavings from my jiffy mod 30  8". Just a heck of a lot lighter weight.

[Drift Dodger]

I have the 8" K-Drill I don't see much if any difference from cleaning shavings from my jiffy mod 30  8". Just a heck of a lot lighter weight.

The same here. K-Drill 8" with DeWalt brushless hammerdrill ... very similar to Jiffy 30 drilling and re-opening holes but much lighter, quieter, cleaner (fumes) and easier to handle in any shack.

[Bryfish84]

I have a 6” and I think it does a pretty good job of cleaning the hole.

[RallyGreen]

I think some folks are skimming over post #11 where I explain about building a high rpm gas auger around the kdrill and how well that worked last season. The ice shaving movement honestly isn't in question any more. Reconfiguring the auger flytes on the 8" to match the 6" improved its performance when drilling thick ice.

[Damn Yankee]

I haven't been able to find a solid answer one way or the other - does the k-drill clean the hole as it turns or do most of the shavings stay in the hole? I have a 25cc gas drill that turns at 650rpm and I'm on the fence if I should get a k drill for ice trolling without a shack. Appreciate any firsthand info!

The K-Drill DOES WHAT YOU MAKE IT DO. Run it full rpm thru break-through and lift up and you'll have all your ice chips on the ice.  Ease up just before break-through as you break through, lift up, then reverse the rotation and you'll send most of the shavings back down the hole only to be rewarded with them later in the day, usually as you're trying to bring up the the fish of the day. The K-drill is a really nice auger bit but it doesn't have any mystical power to make the ice shavings disappear.

[RallyGreen]

Oh internet, I wear sadness as a blanket.

[IceAddict87]

The K-Drill DOES WHAT YOU MAKE IT DO. Run it full rpm thru break-through and lift up and you'll have all your ice chips on the ice.  Ease up just before break-through as you break through, lift up, then reverse the rotation and you'll send most of the shavings back down the hole only to be rewarded with them later in the day, usually as you're trying to bring up the the fish of the day. The K-drill is a really nice auger bit but it doesn't have any mystical power to make the ice shavings disappear.

Well said! It’s not magic, it’s a light well made ice auger designed for a high torque cordless drill. I own an 8” attached to a clam plate and still question if it is really worth the money I paid for it. My biggest gripe is that when you go out with a group and you are the only guy with an auger and you are drilling through 24” of ice it doesn’t last very long. I like It because it’s light weight and I don’t have to worry about gas spilling everywhere! Go to a store get some hands on time with one then make up your mind. I know people that use a mora hand auger with an extension and wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

[RallyGreen]

Please, consider reading post 11, 15 or 20

[3300]

Well said! It’s not magic, it’s a light well made ice auger designed for a high torque cordless drill. I own an 8” attached to a clam plate and still question if it is really worth the money I paid for it. My biggest gripe is that when you go out with a group and you are the only guy with an auger and you are drilling through 24” of ice it doesn’t last very long. I like It because it’s light weight and I don’t have to worry about gas spilling everywhere! Go to a store get some hands on time with one then make up your mind. I know people that use a mora hand auger with an extension and wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

are you using large enough amp hour batteries? have you looked into buying larger capacity batteries? are they discharging due to the cold? do you keep them warm when not in use? does the drill have enough torque or is working too hard for the bit size?
i've read the k drill is aggressive cutting angle like the strike mater lazer.

[RallyGreen]

I would say that the blade angle is less than a lazer, as I have had to maintain a small amount of pressure on the the kdrill, whereas the dual shaver blade auger I used to own would practically pull itself through the ice. I would say the kdrill is about as aggressive as my strikemaster chipper.

It works great in 3-4' of ice with a gas drill

[DTro]

Hey Rally, what information are you looking for exactly?   The KDrill was designed primarily for a consumer level elec battery powered drill.  The MFG recommendeds clearing the ice every few inches or so.  It doesn't do a very good job of pushing it back out like a standard continuous flyte screw would do.   The excess chips/ice/slush in the hole will cause unnecessary force against the drill and cause premature battery failure if you don't clear the hole out. This is why if you keep clearing the hole, it doesn't matter if you are drilling through 8" or 58" inches the drill has no idea how thick it is.  With a power auger attached and nominal ice thickness,  this shouldn't be a concern. 

Watch the videos posted, that's exactly what happens to the ice chippings when you drill.  WYSIWYG

[RallyGreen]

Did you read the entire thread? I followed up on my question with a significant update. I am getting the impression most people don't read beyond the first post on any thread.

[eriksat1]

Look nobody is going to go through the trouble you did Rally. We buy a m-18 drill comes with 2 batterys plus I bought a 3rd battery. I have never had to use the 3rd battery yet. People buy the M-18 and K-drill to hook it up as is and run, no screwing around with configurations.

[RallyGreen]

And they cut over 3' repeatedly too, right? Look, the whole reason I posted an update was to clarify the scope of the thing I initially asked about (which honestly, I thought was a very straightforward question of "does it act in this manner or that manner"). So I updated to say "It removes even more shavings configured as the original kluge auger was","yes, it can be used for deep ice" and "yes, I'd say its probably worth it." Because there is a lot of discussion about comparatively thin ice but litttle about 36" and more. The kdrill is a good bit for either condition, contingent upon setting it up the way that its inventor designed it for.