Drill Plate Drill

[CamozKool]

I apologize for asking a question or two that may have already been asked..., but I'm thinking about changing to a brushless hammer drill for my drill plate this season, but I don't really know the difference between brushed and brushless, also whether or not a hammer drill would function as well as a drill driver or vise versa, I used a drill driver last season with no problems, however I only was able to use it a few times late in the season and during the off season I borrowed it out and did not receive it back... yet... so then, what's the difference and is a HD equal to or better than a DD ??

Any answers would be greatly appreciated... Thanks!

[hydro]

There is no need for the hammer function when drilling ice.

That said, most of the drills capable of turning the necessary torque to survive this operation will be sold as "Hammer Drills". Just set it to normal drilling function and away you go. When looking for a drill try to find one with at least 600 inch/lbs of torque (50 ft/lbs), 18 volt minimum battery voltage and at least 3 amp hour capacity on the batteries to be sure they last as long as possible.

Brand does not really make a difference, I run a Hitachi, Milwaukee's "Fuel" is nice, Dewalt has good products, and take a look at Chicago Pneumatic's new cordless line. I saw them at SEMA last week, they look to be a real winner here, and will be priced lower than Milwaukee.

[Zenit]

Previous post answered most of your questions, but just to make sure, you definitely want a brushless unit.

[Brad B]

A brushless drill will produce more torque then a brushed drill. as for a hammer drill vs a regular drill the hammer drill will have heavy duty gears where as a regular drill the gears will be lighter duty. as was stated set the hammer drill to the regular drill setting and not the hammer setting. if you do put it on the hammer mode it will wreck your auger by throwing it out of pitch and making it so it won't cut and could even bend the shaft of the auger. I will be switching to a Dewalt hammer drill for my plate this year and in a month or two I will be adding a couple 5ah batteries too.

[CamozKool]

Hey Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the helpful hints and insight, its nice to get answers here, everyone is so helpful, hope you all have a great Ice Season this year...

[Agronomist_at_IA]

If you want it easy simply get a milwaukee fuel 18volt hammer drill kit with a charger and two 4amp batteries. put on a clam plate with a 7in shaver auger........That's the optimal set up everyone talks of. You can run an 8in on the milwaukee, but you don't get has many holes out of a battery. The 6in hole is a little small so the 7in is a happy compromise between the 6in not being big enough, and the 8in getting fewer holes.

[CamozKool]

Here's a good one, I picked up a new hammer drill, removed the retaining screw, inserted the allen wrench and gave it a whack, "nothing" tried this for over an hour and gave up, so I took it to an authorized service center thinking I was inept.. but guess what, the service tech tried and he couldn't get the chuck off either, he ended up striping out the motor and now I am left waiting for a new drill... LOL LOL LOL

So is there a difference in removing a chuck from a hammer drill compared to a regular drill??

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I tried with my milwaukee a number of times and couldnt get it. So, I took it out to the farm shop put a towel around the top of the drill and put it in the vice. Then tightened the chuck onto a bolt has tight has I could get it. Then I used an impact driver on the bolt. it took a few seconds of impacting then it spun the chuck right off. Personally, that's the easiest way.I tried breaker bars and everything before that and felt like I eas going to snap the handle off the drill.

[MuskieJunkie]

So is there a difference in removing a chuck from a hammer drill compared to a regular drill??

Not that I know of, I wrestled with mine for a while until I put the gear box in low gear, then it came right off on the first try.

[amateurfishing]

I tried for 3 days last year with dewalt drill,finally ended up stripping screw and drilling it out. Got conversion kit on it but then could not get unscrewed again after ice season was over so I just leave it on permanently now.

[Crappyfisherman]

Make sure you put some anti seize on it before you screw on the adapter if you plan on removing it. I used the 6 inch Mora last year with great results on the plate with the Milwaukee Fuel. Just got a 7 inch Mora and will try it tomorrow.