Clam Ice Auger/Cordless Drill Review

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Clamp the drill to a bench. Then put a bolt in the chuck. Thenj use an impact in reverse to break it loose and spin it off.

[tubby67]

OK, In the morning, I'm going to it to work chuck it up with a3/8 allen and hit it with a IR 1/2in. impact in reverse rotation, hope this works!    Starting o bum out!

[buz23]

OK, In the morning, I'm going to it to work chuck it up with a3/8 allen and hit it with a IR 1/2in. impact in reverse rotation, hope this works!    Starting o bum out!

That didn't work for me, but it was an electric impact wrench.  A BIG allen wrench with either a cheater bar or hammer is the way to go.  And clamp that drill down.

[hardwater diehard]

I didn't have any issues with the chuck removal on my DeWalt  drill ...but its  only little over a year old and limited use in that time ...I think more "experienced" drills may require a tad more persuading . 

[evobassfish]

Use the cheater bar method. Clamp drill down, Position the allen wrench in the chuck at the 12 o'clock position, longer the bar the better, and pull down counter clockwise.

[reeleyz]

I tried the 7" lazer bit today and it worked awesome! No binding and the drill did not sound like it was working overly hard. I was only drilling through 5"-6" of ice.

[tubby67]

I tried the 7" lazer bit today and it worked awesome! No binding and the drill did not sound like it was working overly hard. I was only drilling through 5"-6" of ice.

Reeleyz,  What drill are you using?

[reeleyz]

Reeleyz,  What drill are you using?

Milwaukee M18, 2604-22.

[Gills-only]

That didn't work for me, but it was an electric impact wrench.  A BIG allen wrench with either a cheater bar or hammer is the way to go.  And clamp that drill down.

         The electric impacts are not as strong as the air impacts!!  Air has a lot more power!

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Maybe it is just me, but when I impacted off my chuck on the milwaukee fuel, it took a bit of time just letting the impact impact on the bolt. Then once it broke loose It was good to go. I think it took about a min. of letting the impact impact on it before it broke loose. I did try a large breaker bar before that, and it felt like I was going to snap off or bend the chuck on the drill.

I guess my question is, how long are you guys using/allowing the impact to work on it. I would think after a bit of time it would break the chuck loose.

[reeleyz]

Over 20 holes now and still on the first battery and have 2 bars left. Going to try to kill the battery this afternoon.

Argo - the breaker bar should work. I just went slowly with it and it came loose fairly easily. I almost think the Allen head would break before the chuck would. It has to be clamped securely.

[hardwater diehard]

I have the Clam extension on mine too ...that 6" Lazer is way to short...I don't know how I would have drilled without the height  . Great add on .

[evobassfish]

Just got back from fishing and the Milwaukee performed flawlessly, easily drilled over 30 holes with a 6" lazer with 8-12" of ice. Definitely get an extension if using a mora or lazer  auger bit. FYI,  the ion extension is compatible with the lazer and mora. At the end of the day I went home with one bar left

[tubby67]

Well I just had to put my review in since I have been a hardcore Manual Nils 6" owner for the past 15 years and only went through 3 heads it's now for sale. I purchase the Clam conversion kit with a 6" auger, I was going to put a Dewalt DCD980 on it but I had a very hard time trying to remove the chuck I watched many U-Tube videos and even asked the question on here, I have removed them before from drills and lathes with out any problems, I gave up and bought the Milwaukee Fuel M18 2604-22 Brushless Drill and it came with 2 Red Lithium 4ah Batteries and Charger. Chuck came off very easy I noticed it had the Blue Loc-tight on it. Put the conversion together and tried it out all I can say, Awesome it cut through 7" of ice like butter did 32 holes with ease then checked the charge status of the battery and still had a 3/4 charge left, I'm very impressed      

[yakattack13]

I'm in, ordered the plate in stock  from BPS $49.97/free ship order over $50, extension direct from clam in stock $14.99 w-shipping. No tax in Pa. I have a 18v Milwa. compact and a 6" Mora that I hope will handle western Pa. 4-8" ice for now. We just got our first real cold spell and almost have safe ice throughout our region. I hope to get 2 doz. holes or so out of 2/batts. Tight Lines!

[Fisherman-Andy]

We all know by now how well a good drill and the clam plate cuts 0"-15" ice regardless of what auger bit you used.

So now that were mid season how are your drill/clam plate setup stacking up against thick ice?

About 3-4 weeks ago I had little issue cutting 18" ice on Upper Red with the Milwaukee Fuel M18 and the 7" hand Lazer bit.

Yesterday about 2hrs+ North of the twin cities MN I had my first issues drilling 20"+ ice.  I had a combination of issues with the 7" lazer binding at the bottom,  getting stuck and the drill stopping before a punch through,  also binding not being able to pull back up instead being pulled down having to release the trigger to stop it.  Then putting in reverse to back out.  And yes I made sure to pull up several times to clear ice chips during the drill.  Also the crappy China blades that came with my Lazer bit may be part to blame as they didn't seem to want to cut down well without minimal pressure.  Also using the clam extension causes wobbles during the drill.

We also were fishing in sub zero temps with little wind, kept my batteries in a cooler bag in the car but purposely did not keep them warm just in attempt to simulate real usage conditions.  In 20"+ ice I barely got 20 holes drilled per 4ah battery on the 7" lazer and I carry 3 batteries.  I will be doing further drilling in the coming weeks to try to see if this setup is justifiable to sell my powered gas auger.  At this point im leaning towards a no.

[Dark Cloud]

Well I just had to put my review in since I have been a hardcore Manual Nils 6" owner for the past 15 years and only went through 3 heads it's now for sale. I purchase the Clam conversion kit with a 6" auger, I was going to put a Dewalt DCD980 on it but I had a very hard time trying to remove the chuck I watched many U-Tube videos and even asked the question on here, I have removed them before from drills and lathes with out any problems, I gave up and bought the Milwaukee Fuel M18 2604-22 Brushless Drill and it came with 2 Red Lithium 4ah Batteries and Charger. Chuck came off very easy I noticed it had the Blue Loc-tight on it. Put the conversion together and tried it out all I can say, Awesome it cut through 7" of ice like butter did 32 holes with ease then checked the charge status of the battery and still had a 3/4 charge left, I'm very impressed      

I think im doing the same thing buddy. My 99$ craftsman aint gonna make it. Works fine for a while then just wont spin more than a few turns. Shes going back tomorrow and im gonna bite the bullet on the Fuel

[tubby67]

I think im doing the same thing buddy. My 99$ craftsman aint gonna make it. Works fine for a while then just wont spin more than a few turns. Shes going back tomorrow and im gonna bite the bullet on the Fuel

Yea it did put a dent in my wallet, but well worth it. Went to Long with Ted, and I drilled almost two holes to his one and he was using his Strikemaster Lite Gas with new blades   We haven't fished together in a long time, we should get all of the old buddies together for a gathering with some vittles. 

[Dark Cloud]

Well Tubby, I bought the Fuel today after talking with you. Last one they had, I almost had to get mad at you 

For everyone else, I originally went with a Craftsman 19.2, not the hammer-drill model, and not the low end one.  Dont get me wrong, its a nice drill but she went back to the store today. Would work like a champ then just cut out when drilling. Drill just fine up in the air, then 3 seconds into the ice, stop. It wasnt over heating either, or the battery....

[evobassfish]

Any idea on what the torque output is on the craftsman? The fuel has 725ft lbs I think.

[Dark Cloud]

I think it was 465. They make one with less and one with more...
Yes 725 with the Fuel... plus brushless and better built with the hammer feature.
I was on the fence between this and the Ridgid or Dewalt. They didnt have any of the 4ah ridgid batteries and the Fuel had a 5yr warrante vs 3 on the Dewalt. Probably cant go wrong with either of the 3. My "cheaper" option didnt work but I drill alot of holes and wanted to be able to drill ALOT of holes

[tubby67]

Well Tubby, I bought the Fuel today after talking with you. Last one they had, I almost had to get mad at you 

DC have you put it together yet? Let me know when you try it out? 

[BlackHillsIce]

My sister in law will prolly drill 10 holes max each trip.  She has a little used 6" hand auger and her son got her the clam plate for Xmas.  There is about 0% chance of her using a cordless drill the rest of the year.  I am thinking pawn shop drill.  What would you get to drill a max of 10 holes a trip, 5 trips a year, and 8-14" of ice?

I have read through the thread and it looks like everyone here wants the Binford 9000, I am looking for the Binford Light.

Thanks,
Scott

[buz23]

Well I just had to put my review in since I have been a hardcore Manual Nils 6" owner for the past 15 years and only went through 3 heads it's now for sale. I purchase the Clam conversion kit with a 6" auger, I was going to put a Dewalt DCD980 on it but I had a very hard time trying to remove the chuck I watched many U-Tube videos and even asked the question on here, I have removed them before from drills and lathes with out any problems, I gave up and bought the Milwaukee Fuel M18 2604-22 Brushless Drill and it came with 2 Red Lithium 4ah Batteries and Charger. Chuck came off very easy I noticed it had the Blue Loc-tight on it. Put the conversion together and tried it out all I can say, Awesome it cut through 7" of ice like butter did 32 holes with ease then checked the charge status of the battery and still had a 3/4 charge left, I'm very impressed      

According to Milwaukee web site, the chuck is supposed to have the red (strongest) loktite (mine did).  The screw has the blue (medium).  Maybe your chuck came off easy cause someone put the wrong loktite on it.

[evobassfish]

My fuel didn't have a lick of locktite of any sort on the chuck collar I did see some blue stuff on the screw though

[Dark Cloud]

My Fuel - the screw had a smidgen of blue on it and she was a bear to get out. The chuck came loose after two wacks on the allen wrence tightened in the chuck. The threads on the inside of the chuck had quite a bit of red....

[tubby67]

According to Milwaukee web site, the chuck is supposed to have the red (strongest) loktite (mine did).  The screw has the blue (medium).  Maybe your chuck came off easy cause someone put the wrong loktite on it.

buz23, When I saw it was blue (medium strength)on the chuck, I thought I just pass the word along to what I found.

[Rugburn]

 My clam plate / fuel / 6" mora (Sweden blades) drilled 3 holes for each 7 moves, in 9" good ice. Temp was 8 deg average. 2 bars left after 189" of ice. Thing never grunted, I'm pleased. Just saying.

[tubby67]

buz23, When I saw it was blue (medium strength)  I thought I just pass the word along to what I found.

I failed to mention the screw also had blue locktite on it.

[tadeusz]

I want to buy clam ice auger conversion kit and use it on my laser strike master 8 inches auger. I need some advice which cordless drill should i used to get efficiency drilling in ice 8 inches thick or sometimes even 18 to 20 inches.I would be gladly thankfull for god advice in this matter.