Clam plate wobble issue?

[TNT5859]

I am not sure if this has been discussed. I have just put together my clam plate with a Ridgid octane drill to a 7 in Mora. There seems to be a lot of wobble? Does anyone know why this would happen? Thanks guys!

[Ice Scratcher]

There are several areas on your set up to cause this..

First thing I'd do is check the shaft on the plate for run out..

Is it wobbly because the Mora (or any auger bit) is inevitably off balance, and your just holding it up in the air and running it?

<°)))>{

[TNT5859]

Thank you for a quick reply!! I am not sure what you mean by "run out". Yes, it wobbles when I just run it in air.

[Mancaveburnett]

I have that set up but with Milwaukee. Yes theirs a wobble, that's normal. Use it, works great.

[SLAYERFISH]

My fuel/clam/mora has no wobble. On either the 6" or 8" augers.

[pmaloney86]

Could the fuel have the same torque at a lower RPM?  I’ve got the octane setup and there’s a lot of wobble, to the point where it walks on the ice if you don’t put down pressure to start the hole. Once it bites the ice the wobbles gone n it cuts through the ice w ease.

[Kevin23]

I am not sure if this has been discussed. I have just put together my clam plate with a Ridgid octane drill to a 7 in Mora. There seems to be a lot of wobble? Does anyone know why this would happen? Thanks guys!

Most likely your auger is bent. I have 4 hand augers and 2 of them wobble like crazy on the clam plate and two are smooth as can be.

[Gills-only]

They are not perfectly balanced, they will wobble a little bit, normal, use it. Does not scoot or anything. Have yet to see one that does not have a little “play”

[swnoel]

What's wobbling? The auger?

[stinkyfingers]

I think you'll find that the problem is the marriage of the Ridgid Octane and the Clam plate. The drill just doesn't align with the plate like the Milwaukee Fuel does. I have both drills

and have used both boring holes with a 7" Nero. In fact the problem goes well beyond wobble and actually creates more of a "stirring" motion. That effect is greatly reduced using

the Milwaukee which gives a truer alignment. I took the drill off the Clam yesterday and screwed it directly to the Nero with a Kovac adaptor, and with the drill's auxiliary handle was

able to drill straight and true (and fast). It ain't the auger that's the issue, it's the plate tied to that particular drill. Anybody need a Clam plate?

[Laker 11]

I posted last year about the wobble in my plate, seems like a lot of others had the same thing. This year I change augers from the mora to the k-drill, big difference. No wobble at all detected drilling, I dont think I would even need the plate with the k-drill. Big difference when you break through the end of the hole too, alot smooother.

[lefty2053]

I think you'll find that the problem is the marriage of the Ridgid Octane and the Clam plate. The drill just doesn't align with the plate like the Milwaukee Fuel does. I have both drills

and have used both boring holes with a 7" Nero. In fact the problem goes well beyond wobble and actually creates more of a "stirring" motion. That effect is greatly reduced using

the Milwaukee which gives a truer alignment. I took the drill off the Clam yesterday and screwed it directly to the Nero with a Kovac adaptor, and with the drill's auxiliary handle was

able to drill straight and true (and fast). It ain't the auger that's the issue, it's the plate tied to that particular drill. Anybody need a Clam plate?

I think you are dead on with this. I have only used mine 3 times now and my Ridgid drills way better without the clam plate. I am taking mine off today as well. Anyone need another clam plate?

[DR.SPECKLER]

I think you are dead on with this. I have only used mine 3 times now and my Ridgid drills way better without the clam plate. I am taking mine off today as well. Anyone need another clam plate?

oh great.ive  got a ridgid on clam plate with extension.i didn't want to break the handle off the drill running a 8' but I will if I have to.my setup  doesn't wobble much in the air but I haven't had any ice to  cut either.theres a lot of play in the clam plate bearing and chuck area.not tight tolerances.but the setup probably needs some slop here and there or stuff will break or shear.

[Seamonkey84]

oh great.ive  got a ridgid on clam plate with extension.i didn't want to break the handle off the drill running a 8' but I will if I have to.my setup  doesn't wobble much in the air but I haven't had any ice to  cut either.theres a lot of play in the clam plate bearing and chuck area.not tight tolerances.but the setup probably needs some slop here and there or stuff will break or shear.

If it doesn’t wobble like crazy you’ll be all set then. The little bit of wobble happens with my lazer and fuel drill too, my plate is a gen2 though and the chuck had to be taken off the drill.

[3300]

mine also has about one inch of wobble with only a clam extension on it. every thing is tight. probably will not be using it. i think i can still get my money back.

done. dicks sports has a 60 day return policy. they emailed a shipping label to ship it back free of charge.

there have been several users ditching this plate because of the auger not being able to stay plumb on ice and making one blade work harder than the other.

you might want to do the same doc.

[DR.SPECKLER]

mine also has about one inch of wobble with only a clam extension on it. every thing is tight. probably will not be using it. i think i can still get my money back.

returning extension or plate?lol

[3300]

plate only.

[pmaloney86]

mine also has about one inch of wobble with only a clam extension on it. every thing is tight. probably will not be using it. i think i can still get my money back.

done. dicks sports has a 60 day return policy. they emailed a shipping label to ship it back free of charge.

there have been several users ditching this plate because of the auger not being able to stay plumb on ice and making one blade work harder than the other.

you might want to do the same doc.

what auger are you using?  I'm concerned using a Mora, or really any shaver style blades, without the plate due to the blades grabbing at the bottom of the hole.  Last year someone posted a seriously injured thumb, wrist and shoulder because their auger grabbed the ice and that 1200/1300lbs of torque broke the handle (believe they are mostly plastic on the fuel.  the ridgid's seems quite strong) and then left one of his arms useless.  I think I'd only go without the clam plate with a nils or K-drill.  I typically have some less experienced fisherman that come out so I don't want anyone getting hurt.  I don't think the wobble would matter as much if you are using an auger with some type of centering point. 

[DR.SPECKLER]

mine also has about one inch of wobble with only a clam extension on it. every thing is tight. probably will not be using it. i think i can still get my money back.

done. dicks sports has a 60 day return policy. they emailed a shipping label to ship it back free of charge.

there have been several users ditching this plate because of the auger not being able to stay plumb on ice and making one blade work harder than the other.

you might want to do the same doc.

im going to stick with it and see how it cuts.mines not too wobbly with or without the extension.i pretty much have to run the plate now with a 8” mora because i either ripped a tendon or sprained my wrist.i timed a hookset while the boat just started moving right into a log and my wrist buckled.

[Kevin23]

If your drill is properly mounted in the plate, there's nothing to cause a wobble other than the actual shaft. I can't see how that could be bent, its lathed and then hardened... If your drill doesn't wobble with the auger, then it wobbles when you put it on the clam plate, I would say it was incorrectly mounted... but that's just my opinion. I have yet to see a clam plate that wobbled that wasn't a slightly bent auger. including my own! Like i said, I have two augers that wobble (a more and a lazer) and two that are smooth as butter (mora and lazer). Strangely (not really) the two that wobble are ones I have previously used the drill adapter on without a clam plate, my guess is that the torque and not holding the drill completely straight through the whole hole drilling bent the shaft just a tiny amount. Clam plate should keep that from happening.

[3300]

it has that much wobble with just clams extension on the plate. i haven't bothered including an auger because theirs no ice. i could, but i really don't like the plate because of the weight of it and needing to make have a decent trigger pull and now all the people who have them are ditching them and some are just not bothering with it and cutting 8" holes.

the milwaukee issue was their aux. handle was breaking their gear case on the tab on the same side as the handle is on. they since have redesigned it. those using their last years and prior design should use/keep using the plate of some kind.

i bought the plate because i was worried about it breaking at the same location with the ridgid octane, but because ridgid, milwaukee and ryobi have the same parent company they know not to put out out inferior products that can hurt some one due to poor quality. that's why they redesigned the fuel for this year and forward and clearing the poorly designed fuel.

after seeing folks running it with out and folks running it with and having issues, i know it's not for me to use on the octane drill. i have no ice to check it out any further.

my kovac icemaster 2 adapter has slop in it, but that's not the same thing we are talking about here. even tho the slop remains, it does not affect the cut like these wobbling plates have been.

the wobble in the plate is a fixed wobble that will not be removed by putting it on some thing. i already tested it putting the extension tip between my shoes and it made the entire plate move up and down from side to side at least one inch.

[lefty2053]

mine also has about one inch of wobble with only a clam extension on it. every thing is tight. probably will not be using it. i think i can still get my money back.

done. dicks sports has a 60 day return policy. they emailed a shipping label to ship it back free of charge.

there have been several users ditching this plate because of the auger not being able to stay plumb on ice and making one blade work harder than the other.

you might want to do the same doc.

I took the auger off mine and just left the Clam Extension on it. Ran the drill and saw over an inch wobble in mine. I tried ajusting the the drill to the plate many different ways including where the light stayed on and still it has that much wobble. The Ridgid drills are just not made to work with that Plate. I was happy without the plate and will be again.

[VTMatt]

I don't get how so many people have wobble issues....doesn't the plate have bearings in it to prevent runout?  Wish I could see one in person to find out what's going on...sounds like a stacking of tolerances is to blame with adapters and shafts...

[lefty2053]

I don't get how so many people have wobble issues....doesn't the plate have bearings in it to prevent runout?  Wish I could see one in person to find out what's going on...sounds like a stacking of tolerances is to blame with adapters and shafts...

The shaft going through the bearings has a lot of slop. I can wiggle the shaft on my Clam plate with out anything on it and get almost 1/4" slop.

[TNT5859]

The shaft going through the bearings has a lot of slop. I can wiggle the shaft on my Clam plate with out anything on it and get almost 1/4" slop.

I emailed Clam a few days ago, regarding the  "slop". This is the response I was given

"There will be a little play in the conversion kit seen where the shaft runs through the bearing block, but this is nothing to be concerned with. When drilling holes through the ice it will perform just fine! Thanks and have a nice weekend!"

[tbern]

I emailed Clam a few days ago, regarding the  "slop". This is the response I was given

"There will be a little play in the conversion kit seen where the shaft runs through the bearing block, but this is nothing to be concerned with. When drilling holes through the ice it will perform just fine! Thanks and have a nice weekend!"

.    FWIW, on mine there is virtually no play at all. Had the opportunity to put a Milwaukee fuel and a ridgid octane drill on it and with both of them the short quicktatch extension ran true. So maybe different production runs of the plate have different play?

[Seamonkey84]

It will work just fine! These are not precision parts nor do they need to be. unless your auger/shaft is actually bent, once you get the thing started on the ice that wobble isn’t even felt. Just make sure you get started slow until you know how your auger bites into the ice.

[Ice Scratcher]

Anyone with wobble issues might try switching around their extension 180 degrees, and their bit, you might find a magic combination. With an extension, there's actually six different ways you can put it together. One of those ways is probably going to be better than others..

<°)))>{

[lefty2053]

It will work just fine! These are not precision parts nor do they need to be unless your auger/shaft is actually bent, once you get the thing started on the ice that wobble isn’t even felt. Just make sure you get started slow until you know how your auger bites into the ice.

I had mine out 2 times and the wobble turns into a dangerous thing. My auger would never go threw straight. I would have to say they is some Clam Plates that are a lot worst then others. Mine is one of the worst. Those bearings are the worst I have even seen. If it was on a car like that you would be on the side of the road cursing.

[lefty2053]

Anyone with wobble issues might try switching around their extension 180 degrees, and their bit, you might find a magic combination. With an extension, there's actually six different ways you can put it together. One of those ways is probably going to be better than others..

<°)))>{

I worked on mine yesterday trying all kinds of different ways. No go.