Earth auger chuck adapter

Joined
11 Jan 2011
Messages
380
Reaction score
22
Location
Oxford
Country
United Kingdom
I've seen this adapter from Makita (327687-6 Adaptor D). It adapts a normal drill chuck to their earth Auger. It's a bit on the expensive side for a piece of metal with a hole in it at about £40. Amazon have loads of similar items for SDS, SDS plus and SDS max, but there's no hex-> earth auger like this for a normal chuck. Anyone know where I can buy a similar non-Makita item, preferably at lower price?

makita_adapter.jpg
 
Sponsored Links
By normal drill chuck I meant three-jaw, square isn't going to work in that. Wait.. did you mean hex -> square and then I find a square earth auger?
 
How big is the item? I'm thinking a standard extension bit and drill your own hole in it or am I way off the mark?
 
Sponsored Links
Ground augers usually nake holes in the earth big enough to get a fence post into, @conny, so 75 to 200mm or even bigger (there are versions to go onto JCBs for concrete raft piling work which are humungous). The smaller ones (for fence posts) are often driven with a petrol motor that is slow, has a clutch in the drive and wide set handles, although Makita has recently introduced a cordless model where the operators hands are about 18 to 24in apart - obviously to reduce kickback and injury risk if the auger sticks in the hole (similar to what can happen when diamond coring or using a large diameter hole saw - think Grommit drilling that hole in "A Grand Day Out", only not as funny). Personally I would have thought using one of these things on an SDS drill or standard power drill would be a bit risky unless you have a really long side handle fitted, but I'd be happy for a professional fence builder to correct that view

Here's the cordless Makita:


Augers @ 0:28, ground "drilling" @ 1:50. I'm told this thing is actually too fast (at 400rpm in low ratio) and that it should have been limited to maybe 100 or 150rpm

There's this bonkers Kiwi on Youtube who shows a 40 volt Makita drill (with a massive side handle) driving a 150mm ground auger into clay soil. He also comments that the adaptor is expensive, but that it's the only game in town
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I would have thought using one of these things on an SDS drill or standard power drill would be a bit risky unless you have a really long side handle fitted, but I'd be happy for a professional fence builder to correct that view
I said 'normal drill chuck' I didn't say 'normal drill'. You underestimated me, it's OK I get that a lot ;).
 
I doubt that. An engineering approach: at the end of the day it's a simple turned piece with a hole drilled through it but with a 1/2in A/F hex machined on one end. The catch is that it will probably have to be heat treated to harden it meaning that you aren't going to be able to get a copy made for much less, if any less than the Makita original, unless you change the design, which you didn't mention doing. Looking around the Makita is a relatively new product and differs from all the other earth auger motors on the market (petrol, corded electric and battery) by having a chuck instead of a direct adaptor, ergo the reason you can't get an equivalent is because the Mak is currently the only game in town and it's hardly a big market

To my mind it would be lot cheaper to take a piece of something like, say EN39 bar stock of the right diameter, drill a hole through the side to take the pin, drill a hole in the other end (I believe 29/64in from my Zeus) and cut an internal thread of 1/2in x 20tpi UNF so that you can thread this device onto a standard drill, once the chuck is removed. Should cost you a bit less than the Mak item if you know someone with a lathe (under an hour's work) and if you could get a piece of appropriate diameter bar stock is a job you could do yourself with a drill press, drill bits and a 1/2in x 20 UNF tap. It means that the (home-made) adaptor could be used instead of a chuck - but I still have my doubts that without considerable modification it would be safe on any drill, the issue to me being the ability to hold the speed constant at low revs. But I'm sure you thought of all this
 
Last edited by a moderator:
That or (for the future) get a mate who either (a) has a lathe or heavy drill press or (b) get your own. I'm lucky in that the lads who took over my old workshop are engineers and are friendly towards me (most often when they need some wood cutting or a door installing) and that I have access to a heavy drill press and a selection of taps and dies.
 
Always good to have access to a workshop. I had that in my old job. They wouldn't let me near the lathe but I could use the pillar drill, band saw and sheet metal bender which was enough for many small projects. They also had loads of off-cuts and scrap which was probably as valuable as the machines themselves. I miss all that, even if I don't miss the salary!
 

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top