ice bit for a cordless drill

Which hand auger bit works best with a cordless drill? Nils Master isn’t in the budget so I was looking at the curves blade model from Eskimo.

Don’t know about the Eskimo. I had back to back pitch problems on both a Lazer and a Mora; for three years now, I’ve been running a 6″ HT Enterprises hand auger and an adapter from http://www.icemasteradapter.com.
Average on my 18v Dewalt is 25-30 holes per battery through 8″-10″ of ice-closer to 15 once I start poking through 12″ or more. Less than 8″ it’ll bore a ton of holes. Keep your batteries warm-I stick mine in an old sock or stocking cap with a hand warmer.
For running and gunning or just traveling light, it’s been a real sweet set up. Just used my power auger for the first time in three years this past weekend, only because I didn’t have to carry it far.
My $.02

-Rev

The Nils while spendy will save a lot of stress on your drill, keep that in mind

I’ve been using a 6″ K Drill this season. You owe it to yourself to check it out. Very cool tool. I’m thinking of selling my gas auger.

I just had a couple of customers on the ice yesterday that had a 4 inch Strikemaster bit that he made an piece from the auger end that fit on to his cordless drill and worked very well a bit small but I am sure it would work for a 6 inch hole as well. I am not so sure how it would work for an 8 inch hole. Good luck and hope this will help you out.

I use a 5″ Strikemaster Lazer with the Clam Conversion kit and it smokes. I get about 15 holes per battery with the stock 1.2 AH batteries. Just ordered a 2.6 AH lithium for my drill hoping to get about double the holes per battery. One thing I did notice is keeping the batteries warm really makes a huge difference. Resorted to sticking them in wool socks with hot hands in them in a cooler to keep them warm. Worked well. I definitely think the Lazer is the way to go to ease stress on the drill. Moras/similar augers turn a lot harder than the Lazer.

Thanks guys. I’m definitely going with an 8″ but, won’t be punching a ton of holes. My jiffy is leaking fuel and no matter what I replace it won’t stop. I’m not giving up on it I just want an economical alternative.

Ht high velocity hand auger, Eskimo silver tip,laser, frabill has their version.. 6″ is the way to go for cordless drill setup plenty big and way faster then an 8″

ElFuegoOnIce wrote:

My jiffy is leaking fuel and no matter what I replace it won’t stop.

Well, that statement just makes no sense. Of course SOMETHING will fix it. Every part is replaceable, you just have to find which one or combination of ones. New tank, cap, fuel line, clamps, etc.

I’m not a motor guy so, it’s just going to take some tinkering. I guarantee I’ll be a 2 cycle motor guy by the time it’s done.

Ahh, take pictures with your cell phone of the parts you are about to dismantle so you have some reference on how to reassemble, keep your parts organized as you disassemble and explore! Worst case scenario, take the dismantled mess you have made to a shop and have them repair it. Good luck!

One of the slickest things I’ve added to my truck in the last couple of years is an inverter to change DC to AC. Now I can just plug in my cordless tool chargers and charge batteries right in my truck. The chargers don’t draw a ton of current, so it’s very easy to do. Also handy for keeping all the kid’s electronics, iPads, etc powered up.

I got a nice one at Menards for $40, you can plug in 3 things at once, 150 watts total. Perfect for charging up cordless drill batteries.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

One of the slickest things I’ve added to my truck in the last couple of years is an inverter to change DC to AC. Now I can just plug in my cordless tool chargers and charge batteries right in my truck. The chargers don’t draw a ton of current, so it’s very easy to do. Also handy for keeping all the kid’s electronics, iPads, etc powered up.

I got a nice one at Menards for $40, you can plug in 3 things at once, 150 watts total. Perfect for charging up cordless drill batteries.

Grouse

I’d been wondering about that for my stuff-thanks Grouse!

An inverter is a hell of an idea. I love this website and forum for all of the ideas.

Got the jiffy back up and running like a champ. Also went with the Eskimo silver tip 8″. Will report on performance.

ElFuegoOnIce wrote:

Which hand auger bit works best with a cordless drill? Nils Master isn’t in the budget so I was looking at the curves blade model from Eskimo.

,
Mora pro ice with tournament blades

The Eskimo silvertip 8″ cut fast for the first 6″. After that my drill battery took a crap. Need to update my drill now. That’ll make the wife happy.

Are people adding an extension to the hand augers when using an electric drill? Seems like it may be a bit short if I don’t?

I’ve had great results up to 18,20 inches with 6” Nils and 18v Makita

I think the Nils hand auger is longer than the strikemaster hand auger. I was planning to use a 5″ strikemaster hand auger. Starting drilling should be fine, but while cutting down i may be bending over a long ways to the point of kneeling without an extension.

fish-them-all wrote:

I was planning to use a 5″ strikemaster hand auger.

Clam makes an extension that works well with strikemaster hand drills. It can be adjusted to 6, 12 or 18″.

Cool, i saw one in Fleet Farm last week. Wasn’t sure if it would work or not. Thanks for the confirmation Fishwater!

Ion extensions work for Strikemaster hand augers as well. I keep the adjustable Clam extension on my Mora all the time but have swapped it for the 24″ Ion extension on Lake Winnipeg.

Strikemaster has a hand auger extension as well that goes right on to take some extra strain off your back. I run a 5″ Lazer and it can be a little short with out it when the ice gets a bit thicker.

https://www.rapala.com/strikemaster/auger-accessories/hand-ice-auger-accessories/hand-auger-extension-adjustable/EXT-1A.html?cgid=strikemaster-augerAccessories-handMiscAccessories#start=3&cgid=strikemaster-augerAccessories-handMiscAccessories

you can buy two of the Clam extensions for the price of one strikemaster extension. plus the ones from Clam are adjustable where as the strike master is not.