conversion kit trouble

[Brad B]

Clam makes great products, but the idea of using a conversion kit to use a power drill to drill holes? Nah, bad idea. Just return it and buy a power auger. The new clam auger looks nice or you can never go wrong with a strikemaster.

the conversion kit is not a bad idea but rather a great idea. you seem to have over look the advantages of this conversion. it is great for early ice and late ice and for those places where you can't use gas augers. another thing you over looked is the weight of this system. the whole thing weights in a right around 13 pounds which is about half of a gas auger. people that have bad backs will like this conversion kit too as it is not so hard on them to use. Clam has completely sold out of these for the year so there is a great demand for them. they actually went over better then Clam had predicted, which is a good thing. I just put mine together last night and will be trying it out tomorrow after work.

[Fowlmouth]

Yeah I'm sure it would be nice and lightweight for someone with a bad back. Just not sold on the whole electric power drill idea. But with that said i'm sure it will be a quality product just like all other clam products. Good luck and tight lines.

[jmg]

Hi Brad. I just ordered the conversion plate a couple days ago, but need to get a drill that I know that will work without having to modify the whole thing. What brand and volt drill did you use? Sounds like the Dewalt or Craftsman drills I thought about might not be a good idea. I just don't want family members going out to get me a new drill for Christmas only to find out that it won't work. Does the drill have to be a big dollar one or will something for about $125-150 work? Seems like some are all about metal chucks vs. plastic, etc. Any help would be appreciated, since you seem to like the new Clam product.

[S. Thompson]

JMG... I have a Craftsman Pro 18v and discovered it doesn't work because the threaded chuck/motor shaft is a smaller diameter than the auger/motor shaft adapter from Clam that you install.

Instead of using my shop/work Dewalt, I stopped at Home Depot and picked up the Black Friday Dewalt 20v Max kit that is on sale for $99. Home Depot also has a two pack of 20v-3amp batteries also on sale for $99. For less than $200, I now have a 20v Max with two 1.5amp and two 3amp batteries. Lowes also had the same special on 20V Max.

Got it all assembled with no modifications needed. It works fantastic! And now my 13 year old son can drill his own holes!!!

[ClownColor]

JMG... I have a Craftsman Pro 18v and discovered it doesn't work because the threaded chuck/motor shaft is a smaller diameter than the auger/motor shaft adapter from Clam that you install.

Instead of using my shop/work Dewalt, I stopped at Home Depot and picked up the Black Friday Dewalt 20v Max kit that is on sale for $99. Home Depot also has a two pack of 20v-3amp batteries also on sale for $99. For less than $200, I now have a 20v Max with two 1.5amp and two 3amp batteries. Lowes also had the same special on 20V Max.

Got it all assembled with no modifications needed. It works fantastic! And now my 13 year old son can drill his own holes!!!

For that kind of money you should have just bought a nils. Power head comes of so you have a hand auger for early and late ice. Weighs less and cuts like butter. Only need one auger then so its probably more affordable then buying a gas auger and a drill/clam auger...imo

[Brad B]

Hi Brad. I just ordered the conversion plate a couple days ago, but need to get a drill that I know that will work without having to modify the whole thing. What brand and volt drill did you use? Sounds like the Dewalt or Craftsman drills I thought about might not be a good idea. I just don't want family members going out to get me a new drill for Christmas only to find out that it won't work. Does the drill have to be a big dollar one or will something for about $125-150 work? Seems like some are all about metal chucks vs. plastic, etc. Any help would be appreciated, since you seem to like the new Clam product.

I picked up the 20 volt max Lithium Ion Dewalt that Home Depot had on sale. it was $99.99 . the model number on the box is DCD771C2. it comes with two of the compact batteries and the charger and a storage bag for the drill(if you were to use it as a drill). the compact batteries will work but since they are only 1.3 AH batteries I know going in that it will mean less holes drilled. I am planing to get a 2 pack of the 3.0 AH batteies later. the 2 pack of the 3 AH batteries were on sale for $99.99. I believe the normal price for the 2 pack of batteries is like $119.99 online at home depots HSOforum and I believe the drill is also right around that $119.99 to 139.99 range.

[Brad B]

JMG... I have a Craftsman Pro 18v and discovered it doesn't work because the threaded chuck/motor shaft is a smaller diameter than the auger/motor shaft adapter from Clam that you install.

Instead of using my shop/work Dewalt, I stopped at Home Depot and picked up the Black Friday Dewalt 20v Max kit that is on sale for $99. Home Depot also has a two pack of 20v-3amp batteries also on sale for $99. For less than $200, I now have a 20v Max with two 1.5amp and two 3amp batteries. Lowes also had the same special on 20V Max.

Got it all assembled with no modifications needed. It works fantastic! And now my 13 year old son can drill his own holes!!!

I picked up that same drill from home depot. just a heads up those compact batteries are 1.3 AH and not 1.5 AH look at the bottom of one once.

[S. Thompson]

For that kind of money you should have just bought a nils. Power head comes of so you have a hand auger for early and late ice. Weighs less and cuts like butter. Only need one auger then so its probably more affordable then buying a gas auger and a drill/clam auger...imo

I have an older Strikemaster Laser Pro with 8" & 10" drills that I would not trade for anything. That thing never misses a beat after 17+ seasons on the ice.

For me the Clam auger kit will make hole hopping a whole lot faster. My normal outing can be upwards to 50, 60, to 75+ holes a day. Lighter weight, faster drilling than by hand with a lot less effort will make for a great day. And keep in mind, that the Clam auger kit comes with a hand crank, so if the batteries are dead, you can switch over pretty quick. Once the ice gets thicker (16"+), it'll be time to switch to the Strikemaster.

For me, it's all about how many holes and how fast it can get done.

[S. Thompson]

I picked up that same drill from home depot. just a heads up those compact batteries are 1.3 AH and not 1.5 AH look at the bottom of one once.

Good catch Brad. I think the AD said 1.5ah, but the $99 special for the two 3.0ah was a good buy. What I did not mention was that my wife had found a $20 off coupon for $100 Home Depot gift cards at the local grocery store. She picked up $200 of gift cards for $160.

[Brad B]

dang you did get a good deal then with the gift cards.

[S. Thompson]

dang you did get a good deal then with the gift cards.

My wife is always looking out to save a dollar. She knows how much I spend on hunting and fishing every year, so I always ask her first before I buy. Plus it keeps me in good graces with her Didn't necessarily need the extra drill, but it'll be nice not having to take apart the auger to keep up on the honey-do-list.

[axelman]

I am not sure if this has been covered yet, but I bought an 18v rigid drill and impact set on black Friday and I am wondering if it will work with this kit. So if any of you have tried the kit with the Rigid 18v drill, let me know how it worked for you, thanks. I am also somewhat skeptical of this plate because there is no gear reduction system. I know some people say it works great while others say that its not worth buying. So for any of you that have tested out one of these kits list some pros and cons and let us know how it works.

[Lawrence Luoma]

I am not sure if this has been covered yet, but I bought an 18v rigid drill and impact set on black Friday and I am wondering if it will work with this kit. So if any of you have tried the kit with the Rigid 18v drill, let me know how it worked for you, thanks. I am also somewhat skeptical of this plate because there is no gear reduction system. I know some people say it works great while others say that its not worth buying. So for any of you that have tested out one of these kits list some pros and cons and let us know how it works.

After using it this weekend I would say this is the best item Clam (or Dave Genz) has came out with since the Fish Trap!! I'm that impressed with this drill plate and so was everyone that was fishing with me. Also, you wouldn't believe the amount of people that came up to ask to see what we were using. They tried it and I bet they already bought one by now.

I'm pretty excited and after using it this weekend I'm planning on using all season. This isn't just a first/late ice deal!!

[amateurfishing]

I'm pretty excited and after using it this weekend I'm planning on using all season. This isn't just a first/late ice deal!!

this is what I am hoping for!

[fishwater]

A list of workable drills would be a super idea. I tried to setup a Bosch 36 Volt Drill (38636-01 ), it's way too big to work with the auger plate parts available.

Clam got back to me super quick, they are possibly looking into making a bigger bracket in the future. They were super and sent me an additional chuck/drill adapter to use with the 36v drill too. I picked up a cheap MasterForce 20v drill from Menards - hopefully that'll work. Anyone try that drill?

EDIT: the masterforce does not fit as-is - could easily be made to fit.

[axelman]

So I bought this conversion kit and have a Rigid Fuego 18v drill. I am trying to remove the chuck and I have the screw out but cannot get the chuck off to save my life. Any tricks?

[Brad B]

take a 3/8 or larger hex wrench and put the short end in the chuck and tighten it down then hit it with a hammer. the chuck is normal threads so it needs to turn counter clock wise to unscrew.

[axelman]

Unfortunately I have tried that already a few times without luck. When I tap the hex wrench with a hammer it just turns the motor and everything before it loosens up. Any other ideas? have any of you had this problem at all with the Rigid Fuego 18v or set up the conversion using this drill? Any other tricks?

[JohnMickish]

Put the drill in low speed and don't tap it, smack that s.o.b hard and fast! Make sure you are trying to turn it counter clockwise.

[axelman]

Man it is just a pain in the you know what to get the chuck off off. I have been working at it for about 45 min using this same method trying to turn it counterclockwise hitting the Allen wrench, with a hammer as hard as I can to try to snap it loose with the drill set to low and reverse and it just wont loosen up. Its either I am doing something wrong, or it is really on there.

[Brad B]

some brands get lock tight happy. I tried with a cheap black and decker and a craftman drill and couldn't get either chuck off these. I finally just went and bought a dewalt 20 Volt Max drill(Was one of the Black Friday Specials at home depot). the chuck came off the dewalt really easy but the screw had a lot of lock tight on it and was hard to break free at first.

[Corey Bechtold]

I'm glad everyone is getting outfitted with this amazing new product! I am hoping I can find one at the Ice Show tomorrow!

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

[mtheis]

Please keep us updated on your Ridgid drill conversion. I have an older Ridgid 18v lithium drill and hoped to use it to power the Clam auger.

[fishwater]

Its either I am doing something wrong, or it is really on there.

I don't think you're doing anything wrong, the chuck is probably stuck on pretty good. Try a bigger hammer, something pushing 5lbs. I had to put one in a vise (wrapped in a towel) and had to smack pretty hard with a small sledge to get off.

[OwatonnaHardH2O]

A tip that helped me remove the chuck. Find a straight shafted allen wrench. Lock it in the chuck of your drill and couple the other end to another (hopefully bigger) drill set on low speed and use the torque to break the chuck loose in the counterclockwise. I used a big 1/2" Makita hammer drill (with hammer function disabled) as the "chuck buster" to get the chuck off my drill. A lot of torque going on here so lock everything down in a vise or clamp to a workbench.

As a side note, the $39.99 Black Friday Ryobi 18V drill from the big orange Depot store has a shaft that is too small to fit the clam auger shaft adapter. This was a 3/8" drill. For those wondering, a 1/2" drill will likely be needed.