Clam plate with K-drill

For those of you with K-drills, is the Clam plate needed? Does it help? Marine general has a deal with the Clam plate and 6″ k-drill, thinking about pulling the trigger.

I personally don’t feel the need for the Clam Plate. With the handle on the Milwaukee 18fuel it works great.

last year we used the clam plate on the kdrill/M18 combo.

this year we just use the T bar on the drill if that tells you anything about what we think about the necessity of the plate.

quite frankly i have no idea why you’d want the plate at all if your drill has a tbar.

the only thing i can think of is if you have big mitts on and its easier to thumb the lever. but for 70 bucks thats not much of a reason.

Just my 2 cents:

Biggest benefit: Clam plate adds a bearing between the KDrill and the M18 (or whatever drill) which, in my opinion, is a good thing for eliminating or at least minimizing impacts on the drill itself. None of the downward force/impact is placed on the cordless drill itself.

Clam plate allows you to securely bolt the KDrill on, not just use the chuck which can come loose and “ploop!”. See an earlier post about now the KDrill does not really float despite having the foam float on it. With Drill plate, it’s bolted on – another good thing IMO.

For most of us used to a gas auger, the drill plate makes it a seamless transition in terms of handling. Plus makes it easier and probably safer for use by those not familiar with ice augers. I wouldn’t hesitate to hand the auger to a kid who never used one before, but I might think twice about it without the plate …

I like the Clam Plate on there for easier handling but also to keep my drill out of the snow/water. Those drills aren’t waterproof and could short out easily if water/snow get into them. So the plate makes me feel more comfortable laying it down on the ice since it keeps the drill off the ice.

I’m guessing other who have the drill without a plate have to put it back in their shack or lay it on something.