Can I put my hand auger blade on my power auger?

[Grumpyoldman]

I finally got a power auger. Saved my pennies for a long, long time. Got the stink-eye from my wife when I got it. Still have a headache from it.     

Bought a Strikemaster lazer mag 2.5hp w/ an 8" blade. The 8" auger blade is heavy.
Is it possible (or adviseable) for me to put the 6" blade from my Strikemaster hand auger on the power head? 

I'm trying to cut down on weight. I hand pull my sled. If I'm going to a lake that doesn't need an 8" hole, I would just as soon cut down a couple pounds and put on the 6" auger blade.

Thanks in advance for any help.   

[Woodsman]

Although I don't know that particular auger what I have seen is that changing the blade size does not work. The augers are designed to work with a certain size of blades. IE: if you have a 8" auger changing to 10" blades will not give you a 10" hole or cut properly. If you go from 8" blades to 6" blades the cutting surfaces will not cut wide enough to allow the auger portion to go down.
Best advice is to stick to the parts that are designed to work together.

Rick

[maizenbrew]

Are you asking about the auger blades or the auger itself? In essence putting the power head on your hand auger.

[SPARKYICE]

you're talking about changing the entire auger/blade assembly, right? not just the blades from one auger to another, as rick sugggests?

while i think you could match up a smaller diameter auger to your power head, i would think it would need to be one designed for a power head.
a hand auger would probably "work", but i think it would not hold up to the tourque generated by the motor. if it hogged in, the motor might just twist it and wad it up.
i'm pretty sure you could get different size augers from your power head's manufacturer, but i don't think you would see much difference in weight.

[fishville]

I've seen guys with 6'' SM lazers mounted on Echo gas drills. They say it works good, the only problem is after a few years of hard use the augers welds tend to break.

[Wiener]

I don't see why you couldn't.

After all, the Icegator is just a powerhead.

You will probably wear out the blades faster, and I would make sure that the top of the auger can handle the torque.


Wiener

[Grumpyoldman]

Thanks for all the input.

I have looked at the hand auger blade and the power auger blade and there is a huge difference in metal thickness where the auger blade connects to the power head. Hand auger blade would probably snap off after a couple holes.

It was an idea. Think I'll stick w/ the factory auger blade.

[Jignut]

works for me. read my past posts. long story short.  i have a nice light compact Nils/Tanaka power head attached  to a strikemaster Lazer hand auger. resulting in a 17 pound 39" tall power auger.
 you said "a huge difference in metal thickness" well, lets hope so cause you wanted too make it lighter as i did, and did it. do it.

[davef]

I have an 8 inch mora hand auger blade that we rigged up to use with an eskimo gas auger and it has worked fine for 2 years.

[keng52]

   Go for it!!

     Ken...

[Gamalot]

Have someone make you a reducing collar for the shaft difference. I think if you drill carefully and don't let it bog at the bottom it should work fine.

Gary

[Tainterslayer]

I don't see why not. People attach power drills to their hand augers. Obviously not as much torque. If you try to reopen holes, it can cause problems and I would hate to have that bind up at the bottom of the hole.
The question is, where do you get an adapter for it??
Someone will need to chime in here. Does the ICEGator  have the same output shaft as the strikemaster augers??? I think they must, because there is no adapter listed to fit the power auger blades.

I think your best bet is to have someone make an adapter for you. If you have a machinist friend, have them make a reducing fitting.

Also please consider the "LAZER/MORA HAND AUGER ADAPTER SHAFT" at the Ice Gator website. http://www.icegator.com/products.html
But before you buy, make sure someone can verify that it will fit on your power head.

[kasilofchrisn]

What is the weight of such an adapter? If you cut 2 or 3# by running the smaller auger  then gain most of it back what is the point? Would take up less space though.
Also most power augers use notched chipping blades witch cut faster.Most hand augers use smooth shaving blades witch cut easier but slower. Not really that big of a deal but if you drill a lot of holes you might notice.
I would try it if I were you. If you screw it up then you still have the factory setup to use. Bring both setups down to a local lake and try it. If it doesn't work then you just switch and keep on fishing.
You could leave the 8" set up in the truck and just drill a hole 20 foot out or so then if it works you just go out and fish.
Tight Lines Chris

[Gamalot]

The adapter would be something close to a 7/8" to half inch reducer and weigh very little. Never try to open an old hole with it.

I doubt you will save much weight by doing this but you will have a smaller hole on lakes where you don't need an 8 or 10 inch opening.

Keep in mind that Jiffy augers spin in the opposite direction from Strike master and so do some others.

Gary

[Jignut]

 i didnt want any extra weight or length of an adapter. if i remember i think a little grinding, drilling, and some washers and through bolted the whole kabutal. wobbles a bit but maybe thats what makes it cut so good and fast, no binding ,pushing or any funny buisness. it just rips.
Nils/tanaka power head- 6"lazer hand auger.
 17 pounds and 39" tall!
come on guys, this aint rocket science.
 

[korn_2956]

Although I don't know that particular auger what I have seen is that changing the blade size does not work. The augers are designed to work with a certain size of blades. IE: if you have a 8" auger changing to 10" blades will not give you a 10" hole or cut properly. If you go from 8" blades to 6" blades the cutting surfaces will not cut wide enough to allow the auger portion to go down.
Best advice is to stick to the parts that are designed to work together.

Rick

i put a  10inch blade on my old 8in auger and it works just fine minus the extra slush.

[Gamalot]

Almost any power auger head can accept the various sized power auger bits from that company. I have both 8 and 10 inch augers for my strike master but they are complete separate auger attachments.

You can't put the cutting blades themselves from different size augers on the bottom of the auger bit and expect them to cut at all.

Putting a 10 inch cutting blade on an 8 inch auger bit is a great way to loose a foot!

[davef]

The question is, where do you get an adapter for it??



My buddy is a a welder and we just cut the first couple of inches off each of the two seperate auger shafts and he welded the hand auger shaft to the top couple inches of the old single blade shaft from the gas auger.

[Gulfman]

realistically ......what are ya gonna save 2-3 pounds.......... not really worth the hassle in my opinion........

[davef]

I didn't do mine to save any weight. I found an older eskimo gas auger with a single cutting blade and it was slow cutting. We put the 8 inch mora auger on and it cuts great. I have about $95 in the whole thing