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New Clam Drill Plate Rig


AlwaysFishing23

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Got my new drill plate rig last night. Dewalt brushless drill with 4ah battery’s. Spun a 8” lazer hand auger great last weekend in 6” ice. Got a 6” lazer hand auger bit to pair with the plate so it should be an excellent combo. 13.3lbs is what the whole setup weighted! That works for me. Got a heck of a deal on the setup to with price matching and coupons so I can’t complain to much. Can’t wait to get the thing out it should rip the ice up. Anyone else have one they’d like to share there thoughts about it? 

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Can't go wrong with that set up . I have similar with Milwaukee M18 . I have a converted 6 '' Mora and an 8'' Nils. I have quick connect pins so changing bits is easy. I use the 6'' to find fish and drill an 8'' hole for fishing. You can also drill the 6'' close to the 8 '' for your transducer. 

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Everything I’ve heard most guys have had nothing but good things to say about this setup! Can’t wait to try it. Planning on keeping the 8” if I want a bigger hole or chasing other species. Think I might pickup the clam adjustable extension for a little more length so it’s not so short. And maybe a few spare bigger dewalt batteries.

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With the crappy weather this week I decided today was a good day to go for a drive. Lake had 5-6” ice ( top was all honey combed) so the strength was not that great. But none the less ice is still ice. Tried the plate rig out. 26 holes and it still showed full battery. Very happy with the rig totally worth the money and wait no doubt! There was close to zero torque for the operator which will make drilling a lot more enjoyable. I didn’t try the 8” bit but I’d imagine it’s a lot less that it was with just the drill on it. 

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I've had the clam plate for 3 years, started with a DeWalt but didn't like the Chuck which constantly came close rounding the clam plate hex shaft. Moved to a Milwaukee Mud Mixer with a keyed ckuck which held great. Mud Mixer issued is a thermo cut-out that shut the drill down on second or third hole drilled from 2 to 5 min. Finally went to take M18 fuel 2806-20 (1200 ip) 9ah battery. Chuck also occasonally came loose so I removed the chuck, made a chuck adapter and added the ION quick release. Retired the clam plate and made auger bit adapters for the quick release. Made a lot of usefull effective quick connect drills, slush, bank etc. running on my M18 drill.

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  • Official Fishing Report Team - MN

Chill that thing looks awesome bet she was one happy camper getting that !

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She was very happy to have it and loves showing the guys that think because she is a girl she can't fish or doesn't know what to do.  This helps her be more independent especially early ice when we are scouting areas.  Late ice we have to put it away but it is nice up to about 18 inches of ice.  The company that dipped it had a ton of cool dips that I personally would have liked better but this matches closer to her jacket so thought it was a better fit for her.

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  • 2 months later...

Just wanted to give everyone an Update. Still rocking the drill plate and absolutely love it. Was out a couple weekends ago and drilled 40-50 holes through 18-20” of ice and it only drained the battery one bar out of three. And the battery had sat on the ice all day on the drill. Bought a power head cover to protect the drill from the snow and elements and so far the entire setup has been rock solid and haven’t had a lick of trouble! Tempted to try it with the 8” lazer bit to see how the performance is to have a little bigger hole than the 6”. If any of you are thinking about this setup or in the market for a setup I’d recommended looking around right now as there’s a lot of good sales going on for the drill plate, conversion kit, k drill, pistol bit, lite flite ect. 

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Thanks for update...there are some AMAZING deals going on out there especially at your local bait shops.  Ours in Perham has been doing amazing deals on the SM Lite Flite's, I bought one and I've seen a few hit FB Market Place for more used than mine was new.  An 8 inch on most models will drain a hair more than normally expected because of 2 parts...1. obviously 2" extra but in most cases you go from no bit at the end to one and that will have higher drag also.  I'm a fan of the center bit personally but each their own.

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Chill, have you used the lite Flite yet? How do you like it? I’ve been interested in them since they came out and with the sale prices in the area now it’s tempting to try one. 

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

I set one up with a 7" lazer hand auger, a 16" extension and modified the blade cover with ice hogger magnets.  Nice compromise between the 6 and 8 inch drills and only a 1/2" smaller than the kdrill 8". 

 

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I have a Milwaukee 1/2" drill and several 8 and 9ah batteries that I use with my other Milwaukee tools.  I got out yesterday on a tough bite and got at least 60 holes out of an 8ah drill through about 2 feet of ice and it was still drilling.   Swapped it for a new battery when I got to the next lake.  Thing cuts like crazy but does grab a bit as it breaks through.  Gotta make sure to lift up a bit for the last inch or so. 

 

So far it seems that I'm getting more holes out of this set up over my 6" kdrll.  The down side for this is its definitely heavier and the grab at the bottom of the ice.  Up side is it's faster, more holes per battery and a bigger hole. 

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

Looks nice. I had a clam laxer that  hung up right at the bottom like that.  Hated that. That’s when all got the nills. Then to the drill. Who knows what I will have next winter. ?

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1 hour ago, Borch said:

I set one up with a 7" lazer hand auger, a 16" extension and modified the blade cover with ice hogger magnets.  

So far it seems that I'm getting more holes out of this set up over my 6" kdrll.  The down side for this is its definitely heavier and the grab at the bottom of the ice.  Up side is it's faster, more holes per battery and a bigger hole. 

 

Jeff you may want to consider adding a float, or an old frisbee to the shaft to prevent it from ending up on the bottom of the lake if it ever comes loose

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

I love living on the edge! ?

 

Everything is bolted in so not much different than a power auger in that regard.   I have replacement flush head bolts but decided to use the wing nut version as I don't see them becoming a safety issue unless I wear a long scarf. It's easier to do a quick check for tightness with the wing nuts.   I checked them 3 times yesterday to see if they'd loosen.  They remained tight.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders
1 hour ago, Borch said:

I love living on the edge! ?

 

Everything is bolted in so not much different than a power auger in that regard.   I have replacement flush head bolts but decided to use the wing nut version as I don't see them becoming a safety issue unless I wear a long scarf. It's easier to do a quick check for tightness with the wing nuts.   I checked them 3 times yesterday to see if they'd loosen.  They remained tight.

Jeff after 3 years my wing nut sheared off. I went to local hardware store about the strongest bolt a could. I as almost lost my auger down the hole.

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Same issue here with the grabbing at the bottom with lazer. Yes it’s annoying but man can I drill a lot of holes on a charge plus in no time flat! I can live with it grabbing for the speed, holes per charge and price. 

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators
1 hour ago, monstermoose78 said:

Jeff after 3 years my wing nut sheared off. I went to local hardware store about the strongest bolt a could. I as almost lost my auger down the hole.

I might switch it the the other bolts then that came with my clam plate.  

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On 2/6/2020 at 10:07 AM, AlwaysFishing23 said:

Chill, have you used the lite Flite yet? How do you like it? I’ve been interested in them since they came out and with the sale prices in the area now it’s tempting to try one. 

 

My buddies have been using their Lite Flites on their drills (6 and 8 inch) both are loving their's.  I put mine on the V40 and absolutely love it.  It seems about the same speed maybe a hair faster but with the V40 and battery life I'm able to drill a ton of holes and not kill myself going hole to hole.  My buddy who has a v40 in a 10 in lifted mine and was ready to switch augers.  I will not go back to regular shaft for 8 inch.  It doesn't clean out the hole as good as a metal auger when I power through and flush the holes there always seems to be some debris remaining.  That is scraping the bottom of the barrel for things I don't like.


I am glad its so light because we put tracks on the ranger this weekend and putting it on the back end in the brackets I'm glad it's soo light!

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