Damaged Nils drill style auger

[prospector]

A guy should try 7/16 hex shank from a Milwaukee quick release bit. Put a chuck adaptor in the drill and be able to separate the auger from the drill for storage and transport. With this set up, one would be able to use ready made extensions when the ice thickens as well. This will be my set up when my nils shaft needs addressing.

[Icepuppy]

I think this is going to be much stronger than a hex adapter or threading it, you'd be surprised how soft the factory steel is. If you went with the threading method you'd make it very weak and it would probably break. If you didn't file it with very much precision it would affect the thread pitch (missing or uneven material). The only reason I reduced mine was to fit the hole saw mandrel which was then welded on, large diameter steel to large diameter steel. The nils has a circular plate built in (mounted near the end of the auger screw on the top side) so it's impossible to have it go down a hole even if the shank breaks off.

I've got a brand new unit and this repaired unit so I'll be taking both on my next trip.

[JRFlatlander]

Same thing happened to mine last year.  I got the same response from Nils also.  Very disappointed in their customer service for sure.   It's to bad because  it cuts awesome and fast with a drill. I was really happy with it in till I  started eating away the bit.  They need to redesign the top and make it harder or make it replaceable.  Keep posting alternatives to fix it.  I'll need to do something with mine soon.   

[ship of fools]

Same thing happened to mine last year.  I got the same response from Nils also.  Very disappointed in their customer service for sure.   It's to bad because  it cuts awesome and fast with a drill. I was really happy with it in till I  started eating away the bit.  They need to redesign the top and make it harder or make it replaceable.  Keep posting alternatives to fix it.  I'll need to do something with mine soon.

I was surprised their customer service was so poor. If there are such specific instructions you would think they would include them with the auger!

Good thing it cuts so well by hand 

[JRFlatlander]

Their specific instructions are BS.  It's just their way to put the problem on their customers instead of their design . 

[ship of fools]

Their specific instructions are BS.  It's just their way to put the problem on their customers instead of their design .

Yeah .....   it's too bad because i would never buy another one .... nor sing their praises any more.

[Icepuppy]

Yeah .....   it's too bad because i would never buy another one .... nor sing their praises any more.

Yeah their customer service could be better. They insist this problem doesn't happen but it obviously does. I even sent them a picture of my repaired one. You need recesses in something like this to prevent the chuck from grabbing and spinning around the bit. As someone pointed out, most good quality drills have little micro teeth in the chuck. These are great but this is where the problems start with the nils. Take a look at any drill bit, hole saw arbor, impact rated bits and what's the common denominator? Hardened steel. A replaceable sleeve made out of,hardened steel would have sorted out this problem nicely. I even looked at a cheepo auger drill adapter today for $9.99 and even it has recesses for the chuck.

[Townie]

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.

My cordless auger adaptor is made from a solid piece of hardened steel; ground into 3 points and has performed flawlessly for many seasons now. Wish I remembered  the maufacturer

[Icepuppy]

Yeah I really don't get why flats or recesses and hardened steel aren't obvious, this is a "drill bit" after all.

[snuffcan]

Same thing happened to mine second time out last season. Cuts great by hand, but the convertable idea still needs some work. Thanks for the fix suggestions. I'm all ears.

[Icepuppy]

I sent the photo to nils. If they respond I'll post it here.

[Jessechop]

Sadly customer service for may ice fishing supply companies are terrible. I have a stove that will not work and cant get anyone to answer any questions. I have traps that are "top of the line" that the flags wont stand up on, yet have been promised replacements for almost a year. Sorry for the thread de rail, it just seems to be way to common place any more to sell it and forget about it

[Kinkyline]

   I would cut off the crap end and weld a hex nut and Allen stub to the nut. Cheap fix.

[fish-kabob]

like said cut the bad end off punch with center punch drill it so it big enough to fit a new bit then weld it in. like a new hardened hex stock welded in.  if you cut it smooth or grind it smooth then come back and center punch it dead center it should drill strait so it does not wobble when drilled and welded correctly i would use some thing like a Allen wrench cut off to length i would use like a 1/2 inch Allen key  if it strips out you could at least grind the old weld down punch and re-drill the hole again and again... like also said it a new design just take it with a grain of salt that why i did not buy new one wit hte drill bit attached cause it's a new design.  i bought the old blue one so i can buy a adapter to make it work.  for this very reason stuff can and will happen to new items like cars it happens all the time look at the air bag recall going on and etc recalls.   kind like the 1994 for thunder bird you did not know when you bought it they would have a head gasket issue at 100k miles you find out later on after you buy it. that why it better to wait 3-4 model years in to those models to find out if there any good...   

[Icepuppy]

like said cut the bad end off punch with center punch drill it so it big enough to fit a new bit then weld it in. like a new hardened hex stock welded in.  if you cut it smooth or grind it smooth then come back and center punch it dead center it should drill strait so it does not wobble when drilled and welded correctly i would use some thing like a Allen wrench cut off to length i would use like a 1/2 inch Allen key  if it strips out you could at least grind the old weld down punch and re-drill the hole again and again... like also said it a new design just take it with a grain of salt that why i did not buy new one wit hte drill bit attached cause it's a new design.  i bought the old blue one so i can buy a adapter to make it work.  for this very reason stuff can and will happen to new items like cars it happens all the time look at the air bag recall going on and etc recalls.   kind like the 1994 for thunder bird you did not know when you bought it they would have a head gasket issue at 100k miles you find out later on after you buy it. that why it better to wait 3-4 model years in to those models to find out if there any good...

If you were to repair this multiple times it probably wouldn't work out well. The auger has been out for four years, so it's not really new. The auger adapters that have been sold for ten years or more for this purpose are all made of hardened steel and I've never heard of one breaking or stripping. The blue auger cutting head is not the same blade pitch as the orange "slick head" cutter. Using the blue one on a drill will put a lot more stress on your drill than the orange due to its aggressive blade pitch. It was specifically designed for hand use. For $150 it's better than killing a $500 drill, IMHO.

[mc1984ss]

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.



Could you please post what they said to do "differently" I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

[fish-kabob]

@Icepuppy
that why i did not go with the orange ones cause of potential failure of the drill bit  attachment point of the permanent adaptor...   that is why i like the blue auger better cause of the kovac drill adaptor i think it is that sold for 39.99... cause it  was removable if it broke. by the way you can buy the orange blade for the blue auger and mix match parts  i thought?    that the other reason i went with the blue auger... all you got to do is swap out the head form a hand drill head to a power drill head... by the way i don't think you will burn out a drill motor  with how easy these thing cut my laser in a 8 inch yes but a 8 inch nils no way.....       

[Buttonbuckslayer!]

I went ahead and bought the trekker because of this.  You can get a replacement section that includes the drill adapter and the disc that keeps it from falling in the hole, for $29.99.  I then pounded a deep well 10mm socket on the addapter with a pinned drill addapter conected to the It, so it shouldn't ever need replaced anyway.  The week link should be the drill addapter, which will be cheap and easy to replace.

[buz23]

As a one time metallurgist, I'm going to have to stand up for Nils on this one.  You guys are trying to run their one piece drill with your cordless, hoping the chuck will grab.  It would be foolish to make the whole Nils out of hardened steel.  And although it could be done, making the part that goes into the drill chuck  hardened could be done too, but you probably couldn't afford it.  Some kind of adapter is really called for, that can be harder than the Nils shaft.  I see a couple good solutions posted.  But remember, hard steel doesn't machine easily, doesn't weld well (and retain its hardness) , and in some applications is brittle, too.  The design is a compromise.

[ship of fools]

Well then they should let us know it is needed in the packaging or directions. 

I don't remember exactly what the guy said .....  i was too ticked off to listen since the damage was already done and i have a hand auger now 

My concern on these "fixes" is having it be off kilter and not spin properly.

[maxis31]

As a one time metallurgist, I'm going to have to stand up for Nils on this one.  You guys are trying to run their one piece drill with your cordless, hoping the chuck will grab.  It would be foolish to make the whole Nils out of hardened steel.  And although it could be done, making the part that goes into the drill chuck  hardened could be done too, but you probably couldn't afford it.  Some kind of adapter is really called for, that can be harder than the Nils shaft.  I see a couple good solutions posted.  But remember, hard steel doesn't machine easily, doesn't weld well (and retain its hardness) , and in some applications is brittle, too.  The design is a compromise.

what would you do to fix your Nils if you were having this issue?

[JRFlatlander]

As a one time metallurgist, I'm going to have to stand up for Nils on this one.  You guys are trying to run their one piece drill with your cordless, hoping the chuck will grab.  It would be foolish to make the whole Nils out of hardened steel.  And although it could be done, making the part that goes into the drill chuck  hardened could be done too, but you probably couldn't afford it.  Some kind of adapter is really called for, that can be harder than the Nils shaft.  I see a couple good solutions posted.  But remember, hard steel doesn't machine easily, doesn't weld well (and retain its hardness) , and in some applications is brittle, too.  The design is a compromise.

The orange Nil's auger is advertised  as a cordless drill auger.  So why wouldn't you try to run it with a drill?  Maybe your confused it with the blue nils.   I would hope the chuck would grab, that's why I bought it. That's what Nils advertised this product  to do.   Of course it would be foolish to make the whole auger out of hardened steel, plus why would you need to.  It's the hex bit that's the issue here.    I think your right on track about them using some kind of adapter with a hard steel piece for the chuck to grab.  Like I said before its a bad design that was destine to fail.  It's a great idea  with poor execution.  Look around and it's not just fluke, isolated case or lack of following their directions.  There are a lot of people in the same boat as me and not happy about it.  The right thing for Nils to do would be stand up and admit their faults in the product and fix it.  If they have to charge more than so be it.  I'm sure they will change the design moving forward at some point.  If not there will be that many more unhappy customers.  But they should also take it on the chin and do what's right and back their products, name and their customers that support them!!!!!!!

[ship of fools]

The orange Nil's auger is advertised  as a cordless drill auger.  So why wouldn't you try to run it with a drill?  Maybe your confused it with the blue nils.   I would hope the chuck would grab, that's why I bought it. That's what Nils advertised this product  to do.   Of course it would be foolish to make the whole auger out of hardened steel, plus why would you need to.  It's the hex bit that's the issue here.    I think your right on track about them using some kind of adapter with a hard steel piece for the chuck to grab.  Like I said before its a bad design that was destine to fail.  It's a great idea  with poor execution.  Look around and it's not just fluke, isolated case or lack of following their directions.  There are a lot of people in the same boat as me and not happy about it.  The right thing for Nils to do would be stand up and admit their faults in the product and fix it.  If they have to charge more than so be it.  I'm sure they will change the design moving forward at some point.  If not there will be that many more unhappy customers.  But they should also take it on the chin and do what's right and back their products, name and their customers that support them!!!!!!!

It surprises me that they are basically turning their backs on their customers. They have such a good reputation that it seems like they wouldn't want to jeopardize it   

[fishingsurveyor]

mine also is showing signs of this defect 

[ship of fools]

mine also is showing signs of this defect 

Just had a separate post from someone else who experienced it.   

[sunniewally]

will that nils ice auger cordless drill adapter slide over the orange auger if you cut the damaged shaft off. or how can a guy make one that does. that's what we need. better yet if the sleeve and the shaft were separate held on by a couple set screws so you could replace it.

[Icepuppy]

For what it's worth, my modified one that I posted pictures of has drilled 20+ holes in a foot of ice with no issues. It no longer loosens and grabs the arbor directly with the chuck teeth. I have not seen a single metal shaving from it. I'm confident enough that I haven't taken a backup, twice now. Sheath or adapter this works and could be designed to work in a removable fashion.