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another possibility is that the prototype was aluminum but then when it got closer to production they switched it to a composite and did the cosmetic redesign to save cost and/or weight. I did a little more looking at both the catalog and the website and found that in the catalog it is listed as being composite but on the website it is listed as aluminum. I am going to have them get a hold of the person the runs the website and see if they can get it corrected on the website.
Where do you get this catalog?I've been using Clam since 1984, haven't ever seen the "catalog"...But with the gear box being on backorder for over a month, someone had the time to contact folks who already paid for one..Something like.. Dear Customer,The product you have paid for and agreed on is not going to be available.. We have a different product that we've decided fills the same need.. But it's made of plastic..Would you like us to still send it, or refund your money? "I'm saying that because it took them a month between payment and receiving the gear box...The price of $70+ tax seemed slightly on the high side but for a quality gear box it was alright. But $70 for anything in a plastic box I'm going to wonder what happened to my money..<°)))>{
Scratcher come in off the ledge lil buddy.... I still remember back in the early 80's my grandpa ordered a new 3/8" corded hand drill thinking it was going to be an aluminum frame, when it came it was plastic/composite. He sent it back and swore it would never work.... heck, today I doubt that you can find one that is not composite or mostly composite. Give the thing a chance, your worried about a plastic gearbox for some reason and had the thought even occurred to you that your powering a plastic drill reduction with a plastic drill? It looked like pretty beefy thick composite to me and may be much stronger and impact resistant than some thin die cast aluminum housing that would be likely to crack under load in a extremely cold environment. I understand it wasn't exactly what you ordered but it doesn't mean it won't be the quality product that is going to get you twice as many holes per battery like you want it to.
here is the PDF copy from the Clam Website. if you want a actual print copy contact customer service and ask them to send you one.http://96bda424cfcc34d9dd1a-0a7f10f87519dba22d2dbc6233a731e5.r41.cf2.rackcdn.com/clamoutdoors/2016-catologs/2016-2017_Clam_Master_Catalog.pdf
Do you still think your going to be able to get twice the holes on 1 battery as you did before? I mean after seeing the whole thing assembled and seeing that the drill will be turning twice as much and not nearly as fast?
In short, yes..The motor is not drawing nearly the same amps.. See how many holes you can drill in high speed, going by your theory you should get three times as many holes.. <°)))>{
Aint nothing wrong with plastic. cars and trucks are 50% plastic these days. I've seen snowmobile gearboxes made of plastic. many intake manifolds on car engines are made of plastic.Plastic is lightweight and strong.
We were talking about chainsaws the other day.. I said I'm glad for plastic parts on those, the old all metal saws were really heavy. <°)))>{
I still don't understand paying $70 for a gear box....thing should cost $30 or less. Clam is a greedy greedy company. I mean $75-$100 will get you the bare brushless hammer drill with torque that will be better anyway.
X2 I dont think the plastic is the problem but the price shure is. Im also not sure where the fairy tale of more holes per battery with gear reduction came from either??? Like Agronomist said $70 is nearly the price point for a bare tool 1200 in/lb Milwaukee that i promise doesnt need any gear reduction to make a 8" hole.
What I don't think you guys realize is you are already running some type of gear reduction..Those two gears are designed for general purpose use.. Why do real trucks have a granny gear? <°)))>{