Damaged Nils drill style auger

[Icepuppy]

Hey guys. I ran into some trouble with my 6" nils drill style auger. I use a Milwaukee M18 drill with this which is awesome, I can drill 2' of ice in about 30 seconds. Problem is some chuck slip etc. has mangled the hex grip of the auger.



The best way I can think to fix it is to chop off the bad part and have a machine shop weld a new pice on. I have many of these hole saw arbors/mandrels which are hardened steel. The nils also should have hardened steel here, mild steel is just not up the torque modern drills are capable of.

A hole saw mandrel looks like this, I would chop off the hex "arbor shaft" portion and have it welded on. Anyone have a better idea?

[moneypit2]

id cut it off tack the new shaft on spin it to make sure its true then mig it on just my 2 cents

[Icepuppy]

Yep, that's what I was thinking. I have a wire feed mig but no gas, welds pretty decent but not as pretty as shielding gas will give. I guess if I want it pretty I'll have to take it to a shop.

[ready2fish]

now that blows

I was wondering if this would happen, to me it looks like a bad design

Couple quick ways you could fix this, try machining or grinding down so you can create a new hex  or cut off and buy a piece of hex stock and have it welded on

good luck

[Townie]

My bud's Nils had the same issue. Pretty poor material design.

[Sharp Nils]

   Get a hold of NilsUSA and let them know of your problem.
I'd imagine you can cut the shaft off and us a Nils drill adapter.

[Icepuppy]

Good ideas guys, definitely this is not a good design. The metal here needs to be hardened steel. I had small shavings come off it since it was brand new. A fair bit of the damage is done just tightening and un tightening the chuck before and after drilling. Going to try Nils too.

[eiderz]

Can you clean it up, thread it and put a long nut on it? A longer, larger diameter fitting might help avoid stripping. Obviously it has to be small enough to fit in the chuck.

[Icepuppy]

Well, I had also considered getting a shop to machine down the shaft and then install a hardened sleeve with a hex grip. Have sent an email off to nils with pictures  will let you guys know how that goes. I've used nils augers for years and have been super happy other than this issue.

[Corndog]

Keep in mind that when you cut off the existing shaft, and weld on another one, it may make the Nils wobble unless it is a perfect weld and piece that you use is balanced as well. Just my two cents...

[Icepuppy]

Yes, Corndog I'm sure you're right. That's why I would take it to a proper shop. I can weld but I'm sure it wouldn't be dead straight which would cause a lot lf wobble. Hoping Nils steps up and sends me a new one.   

[ship of fools]

I had the same thing happen to me too. Thanks for sharing.

[Damn Yankee]

Cut off the bad end, make a adapter to fit the Nils shaft with a ID to fit Mora, Strikemaster, Clam, Ion output shaft. Buy the Clam drill extension
($15-$20 depending where you buy it). The Clam drill extension fits the adapter you just made. If your drill battery dies, cary a Mora or Strikemaster handle.
My own adapters.

http://s751.photobucket.com/user/frs578/media/P1010188_zps3fb5fb53.jpg.html?o=1
http://s751.photobucket.com/user/frs578/media/P1010189_zps09b84cc9.jpg.html?o=0

[ship of fools]

I just got off of the phone with them.

They will NOT stand behind their product.

It's a shame to say the least 

[ship of fools]

Someone else just called back .....   he explained how they recommend it be used.

He didn't have an answer when i asked him if he thought it made sense to include those recommendations with the auger so we know them before we use it .... NOT after we damage it.

And he reiterated that they will not be standing behind their product.

I was going to buy a 8 inch this year as well ..... can you say "Fin Bore" ?     

[ship of fools]

Good ideas guys, definitely this is not a good design. The metal here needs to be hardened steel. I had small shavings come off it since it was brand new. A fair bit of the damage is done just tightening and un tightening the chuck before and after drilling. Going to try Nils too.

I had issues from day one as well.

[Chris Raymond]

Nils USA is constantly shooting themselves in the foot with their "customer service".  :-(

[FrostBack]

Time to vote with your feet and maybe some of these companies that neglect the customer service part of their business will pay the price on their bottom line. We as consumers don't have to stand for this crap nor buy their crap !!

[fish-kabob]

@shipoffools and every one else the fin bore i have heard can get bent cause they don't got those round bars that support the blades and head when you pull it back threw the hole like lazers do so do some looking around and asking what the thought on fin bores are... 

as for the off set handle points ht enterprises polar fire augers have them and sold in the usa by dicks sporting goods. the blades are interchangeable with lazer blades just a heads up i got one to barely fit on my lazer 8 inch auger so if you like the laser better that may help you any how i only got it to slide down to the first notch on the lazer. reason being the way they punched out the holes in the offset handle maybe it bumpy. so i had to drawl file them down a tad ware they hit. you could still change out the blades on the polar fire auger to lazer sweden blades, i checked it out the holes they match up!

me too have had nothing but problems with my 8 inch nills should just throw the damn thing in the garbage the head on it is junk i could have gotten a new one it just going to happen again and at 100 each one is that worth it?? seems like there to quick to jump on a new design and put it out on the market which no research and development the products turn out the way they are... 

[OldCaveman]

   Hey kabob do you own a fin bore?

[fish-kabob]

   Hey kabob do you own a fin bore?

mite after this season or half way after this one starts will see...

[esox_magnum]

If your nils head is junk and you don't like it send it to me. I love my Nils easiest drilling unit I have used and stays sharp for 3 or 4 seasons before needing sharpened.

[Boone6590]

Hi guys, just wanted to give my personal opinion on this topic.  Milwaukee cordless drills have the worst chucks I have ever used.  They constantly loosen up on their own, which is probably what caused the wear on you auger bit.  I personally use an 18 volt Bosch for my auger and have never had an issue with it.  Just my 2cents but ditch the Milwaukee and I'm sure your nils will be fine even with it rounded off.

[bquick]

I didn't see this posted anywhere and I am no welder, but is there an issue with welding hardened steel to the steel the Nils is made out of?  Could this just be creating another weak link in the entire system?  Sorry, just curious.

[motorfixer1]

OP, the shank of that auger was obviously damaged by a slipping chuck. Nils doesn't make the shank out of hardened steel because it would break with normal use. The shank is also not made into a hex for the same reason as well as the risk of injury to the user. Does the drill you are using have a plastic exterior on the chuck? If so that is likely the cause of the slippage on the shank. Drill chucks of any quality are made from steel and nothing else. My DeWalt XRP hammer drill came with an all steel Rohm, ratcheting, hand tighten chuck that will dent the shank of a HSS drill at the first sign of slippage. By dent I mean the jaws actually bite into the shank of the driven part to prevent slippage. That being said the shank of any drill mounted accessory will surely be damaged over time as the jaws of even the cheapest drill chuck are harder than the driven part.

[swstandring]

Wow that sucks.

I was strongly thinking of going the convertible route this coming winter...not after seeing this.  Guessing this might be part of the reason why they came out with the "Arctic Trekker" series this year where that part is interchangeable / replaceable. 

Have a look here: 

https://www.redrockstore.com/sc_images/products/4208_image.png

And we thought the regular Nils were expensive!!!  Problem is that at close to $300 for the 8", a power auger does not seem all that bad.

[maxis31]

Just fixed mine, Allen wrench cut and welded in place. Works perfect.

[Icepuppy]

If your nils head is junk and you don't like it send it to me. I love my Nils easiest drilling unit I have used and stays sharp for 3 or 4 seasons before needing sharpened.

The head was never an issue, it's still laser sharp after two seasons. If you religiously use the cover and do not bang the head on the ice it will stay sharp for a long time. My 6" hand nils is 5 years old and I drill about 20 holes once a week for 10-12 weeks per seasons. The heads are also interchangeable hand vs. Drill, just the drill head has a less aggressive blade angle.

[Icepuppy]

OP, the shank of that auger was obviously damaged by a slipping chuck. Nils doesn't make the shank out of hardened steel because it would break with normal use. The shank is also not made into a hex for the same reason as well as the risk of injury to the user. Does the drill you are using have a plastic exterior on the chuck? If so that is likely the cause of the slippage on the shank. Drill chucks of any quality are made from steel and nothing else. My DeWalt XRP hammer drill came with an all steel Rohm, ratcheting, hand tighten chuck that will dent the shank of a HSS drill at the first sign of slippage. By dent I mean the jaws actually bite into the shank of the driven part to prevent slippage. That being said the shank of any drill mounted accessory will surely be damaged over time as the jaws of even the cheapest drill chuck are harder than the driven part.

Yes, the damage was caused by chuck slip. Any hex design will always have some chuck slip if it bounces and vibrates a bit as any auger will do. The hex has no way to hold the chuck teeth. The drill, this is one of the best drills made, it's about $500 new, all steel chuck and all steel gears. The chuck itself has anti-loosening ratcheting action to tighten and I make sure it's completely tight. In my trade we've tried all drill manufacturers you can think of and Milwaukee consistently outlast and out power Bosch, Dewalt,  hitachi, Panasonic etc. The shank would not snap if it was hardened steel. I use a drill almost every day as an electrician to drill large holes in steel, sometimes stainless and in 18 years I have never once broken a hole saw mandrel which are always made of hardened steel. I drill up to 6" holes in 1/4" to 1/2" steel so the torque and effort would be at least that of drilling ice.

[Icepuppy]

Update guys, JP at Nils cut me a deal on a new unit. I'm still 100% convinced this is not the best design for this product. So I ordered a new one and also modified the old one with the method I mentioned in the first post. This is a hardened steel hole saw mandrel made with proper drill chuck milled recesses and it is almost impossible to have chuck slip with this regardless of the type of drill, chuck, power etc. The old mangled hex was machined down to 1/4" which is the pilot drill size of the mandrel. This allowed for correct wiggle free alignment, my millwright friend then welded and built it up a bit for strength and tried to keep it as symmetrical as possible. I will be taking this out in a week or so and will report back!