For a hobby such as winter fishing, it is necessary to have, in addition to ordinary fishing accessories, additional equipment that allows you to carefully make an ice hole and thus get to the water. About the basic requirements for such ice drills, about how to choose such a device and how to make it yourself using a screwdriver, later in the review.

What is a winter fishing screwdriver for?

In most cases, the term “winter fishing” is understood as such a method of fishing in which a hunter is located on the surface of an ice-covered reservoir, and the tackle is lowered into the water through an ice hole or a hole specially made for this purpose.

Accordingly, one of the main devices without which it is impossible to organize such a process is scrap (the so-called ice pick) or ice drill, and the latter option is considered more preferable, since allows:

• to break through a much larger thickness of ice with less physical effort and time (specialists with an ordinary drill can cope with a meter layer of ice in just a few minutes, while an ice pick is suitable for an ice cover of no more than 30 cm);
• create a hole in the form of a regular cylinder, avoiding chips and even more dangerous cracks in the ice for the life of a fisherman;
• act relatively quietly, which is of particular importance when fishing, because noise, as you know, can scare away the fish, and all efforts will be in vain.

The simplest drill device is a rotor, that is, a knee-shaped handle with a special chuck for clamping a cutting tool, a drill (auger) and knives - spherical or straight. However, working with such a device, although it is considered easier than conventional scrap, but still requires the application of quite a lot of physical effort.

Did you know? At a temperature –40 ° С ice hardness is 6 units on the MEPA scale, at 0 ° С this indicator decreases to 1.5. For comparison, under normal conditions, some metals have the following hardness indices: aluminum - 3, zinc and silver - 2.5, tin - 1.5.

In the cold, handling a hand tool is especially inconvenient, and given that after warming up after a long and very intense torsion of the knob, the fisherman will have to remain completely motionless for hours in the cold - it is also fraught with the risk of a serious cold.

A battery-powered screwdriver is ideal for automating the operation of the drill. With this device, the productivity of the tool increases significantly, and you can connect a drill with an ice drill using a fairly simple adapter (adapter).

What power should a screwdriver be?

When choosing a machine, you need to understand that the main purpose of drills (including a screwdriver type) is to tighten fasteners, for example, screws, dowels, screws, screws or nuts, as well as drilling holes in relatively soft materials - this is wood or non-hard metals. The specified type of power tool is used mainly where precision is needed, and not strength, for example, a drill is used for work on concrete, but a perforator.

Important! For comfortable work on ice, it is advisable to purchase a tool with a torque of at least 60 Newton meters.

The ice, especially thick and reliable enough to support the weight of an adult man, is strong enough material, and operation at very low temperatures is an extreme mode for any power tool.

Thus, not every screwdriver can be suitable for the task, moreover, when choosing the best option, several important criteria must be taken into account at once, both technical (torque, maximum rotation speed, power, type and capacity of the battery, etc.), and purely household - dimensions, weight, material of manufacture, the presence of a convenient carrying case.

Video: Which screwdriver to take for fishing

For work under heavy load

First of all, indicators such as torque and shaft rotation speed are fundamental for ice drilling. It ultimately depends on them what hole diameter can be obtained using the tool in question. The product of the torque and speed that provides this rotation determines the power of the device.

From this point of view, the first rule to remember: for winter fishing, you should not buy a screwdriver, but a drill screwdriver.

The main difference between these two devices is that the second is capable of performing two tasks - to twist and drill, while the first is oriented only to twist and, accordingly, is less powerful.

In addition, since a drill / driver assumes a more complicated work from the point of view of the applied efforts, it is usually lighter and more compact than an ordinary screwdriver, and for a fisherman these two criteria are also extremely important.

Comparative characteristics of a screwdriver and a drill / driver are clearly presented in the table:

However, it should be remembered that overdoing such an indicator as power is also not worth it, since it is in direct proportion to the battery voltage used, and in conditions of autonomous operation, the battery charge may turn out to be no less important criterion than power.

It is also worth paying attention to the presence of a special safety device for the purchased tool, which turns off the engine when working with heavy loads: since ice is a difficult material from the point of view of drilling, such a function useful in other respects can make the tool completely useless - it will simply turn off constantly.

Important! Experienced fishermen advise to abandon those models in which high torque is provided due to the impact mechanism. When working with ice, such a device does not justify the declared technical characteristics.

For the possibility of prolonged use in extreme mode, the screwdriver must meet these additional requirements:

• high-quality and durable material of which the body is made;
• the presence of an additional handle in the kit, which can be installed on the opposite side under the second hand to reduce vibration and, accordingly, reduce the load on the brush.

Finally, experts advise buying professional models, not domestic ones, preferring well-known Western brands (such as Bosch, Hitachi, DeWalt, Metabo, AEG or Makita) and not trying to save on buying: a cheap electric screwdriver is not the tool that you can drill a hole in a thick layer of ice.

For long battery life

Modern screwdrivers use three main types of power:

• from a network or other external source, such as a generator;
• from the compressor or tank with compressed gas;
• from the battery.

Did you know? The wireless battery charging system, which was a revolutionary breakthrough in the use of smartphones and other mobile devices, was first introduced by Bosch in 2015, but today, without portable batteries, or so-called external batteries, millions of people in the world cannot imagine their life.

Since the socket is not available for winter fishing, and the compressor units are too heavy for their use in traveling conditions, only cordless screwdrivers are suitable for the manufacture of drills. At the same time, it is very important that the battery voltage is sufficient for continuous autonomous operation under high load conditions.

In the line of power tools offered for sale, batteries with voltage indicators from 1 to 36 V are installed, where:

• two-screwdriver allows you to tighten a couple of screws;
• voltage of 6 V is used in household minor repairs;
• 18 V battery is suitable for working with wood or plastic;
• at 20 V - will allow working with metal.

For ice drilling these parameters are completely insufficient. Here it is necessary to choose a tool with the most powerful battery, at least 30 V. The next important indicator when choosing a battery is its capacity.

Important! Even a very good battery in the cold can fail, so professional fishermen are well aware that in winter fishing you always need to have a spare battery.

This parameter changes in Ampere-hours and defines a stock of time during which the device can work without recharging. Experts recommend purchasing screwdrivers with batteries with a capacity of at least 3 Ah: this is enough to drill several tens of holes in a fairly thick ice surface in cold conditions.Dear models today are almost always equipped with an additional battery in the kit. Both batteries, of course, must be fully charged - this will allow them to be used alternately, without interrupting operation, and if necessary, recharging the battery using special portable devices such as Power bank.

Important! In order for the battery to be easily recharged, it is important to buy a screwdriver with a removable battery, however, most modern models are just that.

This moment is also very important in order to be able to keep the battery warm until it works: the battery is very quickly discharged in the cold, and hiding it under a padded jacket can solve the problem, while heating a large ice ax is much more problematic.

Finally, when choosing a product, you must always pay attention to the year of its release, since the battery capacity is lost over time even if the device is not used.

Video: Screwdriver Battery Case

For working in cold conditions

In modern devices, three types of batteries can be installed - lithium-ion, nickel-metal hydride and nickel-cadmium, and the last two options are used less and less. And it is they who lose their consumer characteristics to a much lesser extent at low temperatures than the most common lithium-ion batteries.

However, the maximum capacity of the nickel-metal hydride battery is only 2.5 Ah, and the nickel-cadmium battery is up to 2.0 Ah. Thus, you have to agree with the purchase of a screwdriver equipped with a lithium-ion battery, but in this case, keep in mind that the battery will need to be kept warm.

The lithium-ion battery weighs a little, the dimensions are small, so it is not at all difficult to provide an additional inner pocket for such an item in clothes.

Costly professional devices sometimes require special heat-insulating containers to store a spare battery, but there is no objective need for such accessories. The best source of heating in winter fishing is the human body.

A screwdriver, unlike the battery for it, does not need additional heating, so usually it is just laid on the snow next to it. However, if, at the end of the fishing process, the frozen fisherman moves into the car and turns on the stove at full power, the power tool will be intensely covered by condensate from a sharp temperature drop, and from this the device may well become worthless.

There are two ways out of the situation - either purchase special containers for storing the screwdriver that protect it from overheating and overcooling, or put the ice ax and all its accessories not in the cabin, but in the trunk of the car.

How to make an ice drill with a do-it-yourself screwdriver

In general, it’s quite simple to adapt a manual ice drill to a screwdriver. For this purpose, any model with a direct articulation is suitable, for example, this:

However, before starting work, it is necessary to decide whether the ice drill will be exclusively with an electric drive (without the possibility of using it in manual drilling mode) or universal. In the first case, you can take advantage of the numerous offers on the market of ready-made adapters, which are offered as an option along with a new product or sold separately.

In finished form, it looks like this:

However, since electrical components tend to fail at the most inopportune moment (especially in winter, in conditions of severe cold), the universal design for drilling ice seems more preferable.

The essence of such a rework of a standard manual ice drill is to solve three main technical problems:

1. Calculation of dimensions and manufacturing of an adapter (adapter) for a screwdriver chuck with subsequent modernization of the standard ice drill handle.
2. Making a safety lock against drowning the screw part of the unit.
3. Changing the angle of inclination (attack) of cutting knives.

The adapter for the screwdriver is a solid metal rod. Structurally, the adapter shaft has three sections: a hexagon for a screwdriver chuck and two cylindrical sections of the same length.

The size of the hexagon and its length depend on the particular cartridge and in most cases are standard 1/4 "(quarter of an inch). The rest of the shaft is divided into two cylindrical parts of equal length and is used to connect the upper and lower parts of the handle.

Important! Aluminum and other soft alloys should not be used for the manufacture of the adapter, since high local mechanical stresses will lead to its rapid wear.

The diameter of the cylindrical parts should provide a free, but at the same time sufficiently tight connection of the upper and lower parts of the handle. The total length of the adapter is determined by the dimensions of the standard ice drill handle and should be 10-15% less than the distance between the hinge and the first bend of the handle.

When calculating the adapter parameters, it should be understood that the longer its length, the stronger the fastening of the standard handle will be. However, the severity of the structure increases proportionally, and, accordingly, the process of replacing a standard handle with a screwdriver is complicated.

After calculating the lengths of all three sections of the future adapter, you can determine the cut location of the standard handle at the level of the boundary between the two cylindrical parts of the adapter.

Next, work is performed in the following sequence:

1. The standard handle is removed from the main working unit (it is necessary to disassemble the hinge for folding the ice drill in the stowed position).
2. In the previously noted place, the handle is cut with a hacksaw or grinder, deburring is removed, then the inner diameter of the pipe is accurately measured.
3. The manufacture of the adapter. The diameter of the cylindrical section of the adapter, which will mate with the hinge part of the handle, should provide a tight (tight fit) connection of these parts. This part of the structure will be non-separable and subsequently can be additionally fastened by welding, rolling or riveting running across the pipe. The diameter of the cylindrical section for the removable part of the handle should allow it to be freely put on and removed from the adapter. The removable part of the handle is fixed on the adapter by means of a screw with a “wing” nut passing through a through hole across the pipe at the junction.
4. The final stage is cutting the hexagon.

The drill drowning guard is only necessary if a screwdriver is used and can be made in the form of a flat circle, whose outer diameter is obviously larger than the size of the hole obtained by drilling, and the inner central hole allows you to put it on the free cylindrical part of the adapter. The circle is fixed with a screw with a “lamb”.

Important! All work on the manufacture of the adapter should be carried out in a workshop or ordered by a specialist.

On this, the mechanization of the manual ice drill is basically completed, however, depending on the power of the screwdriver, it may be necessary to adjust the angle of inclination of the cutting blades. It should be remembered that the lower the power of the electric drive, the lower the angle the main knives of the drill should work.

If the first ice tests show that the aggregate is weak, the angle of attack should be reduced. In most cases, such a modification can be done on the spot. To do this, loosen the screws that secure the knife to the screw, place a piece of steel wire under the knife on one side and tighten the screws again.

Important! Using a wire of various diameters, you can quickly find the optimal position of the knives.

Popular models

Although the independent manufacture of a device for overcoming the ice layer before the start of winter fishing is not a task of increased complexity, in the absence of free time or the desire to engage in such work, as well as with the appropriate financial capabilities, a large number of ready-made ice drills can be found in a specialized store.

But even when creating a home-made device, a lover of winter fishing still raises the question of acquiring a cordless drill suitable for these purposes. Considering the criteria described above, it is much easier to navigate the widest range of commercially available models and choose the best option for yourself. Below are some of the most successful solutions.

Video: Drilling ice with a screwdriver

Makita DDF441RFE

Kabusiki-gaisha Makita is a well-known Japanese corporation that has been steadily operating in the market of professional electric and gasoline tools for over 100 years.

In the line of products manufactured under the Makita brand, you can choose several suitable for winter fishing screwdrivers. One of these models is DDF441RFE encoded and meets the following specifications:

• torque: 70 Newton meters, 16 steps;
• battery capacity: 3.0 ampere-hours;
• battery voltage: 14.4 V;
• the presence of three speeds;
• device weight: 2 kg;
• Dimensions (height, length, width): 370 × 480 × 135 mm.

The main disadvantage of the product is its high cost. In the Russian market, an instrument costs about 18 thousand rubles, but it is not so easy to find in stock, therefore, most likely, it will be necessary to order and wait a long time for receipt.

The kit includes a charger and a spare battery, as well as a side handle and a convenient case. The manufacturer guarantees a year of trouble-free operation of the tool and another 4 years of free maintenance (repair) in the service centers of the company.

Metabo BS 18 LTX Impuls

The Germans are worthy of competition to the Japanese. Metabowerke GmbH is a time-tested manufacturer of professional power tools; it has been on the market since 1924.Estimated price in the Russian market - 26 thousand rubles. Included is a spare battery.

The model of the BS 18 LTX Impuls cordless screwdriver is characterized by the following parameters:

• torque: adjustable in the range from 1.5 to 24 Newton meters; in hard mode - up to 110 Nm, in soft mode - 55 Nm, in pulse mode - 60 Nm;
• number of speeds: 2;
• shaft rotation speed: up to 500 and up to 1700 rpm, respectively, at 1 and 2 speeds;
• battery capacity: 4.0 Ah;
• battery voltage: 19 V;
• weight: 2.3 kg.

Makita 6337DWD

Another model of a drill / driver from a well-known Japanese brand, but, compared to the DDF441RFE described above, is less powerful and, accordingly, cheaper. One of the advantages is also compactness.A spare battery is included. The approximate price in the market is not more than 10 thousand rubles.

Main characteristics:

• torque: 65 Newton meters;
• shaft rotation speed: 1300 rpm;
• battery capacity: 2.6 ampere-hours;
• battery voltage: 14.4 V;
• the presence of two speeds;
• device weight: 2.1 kg;
• Dimensions: 241 × 95 × 65 mm.

Bosch GSR 18 VE-EC 0 L-BOXX

The Bosch brand does not need additional advertising. In the range of the Bavarian manufacturer, it is worth highlighting the powerful cordless screwdriver GSR 18 VE-EC 0 L-BOXX with the following parameters:

• torque: 75 Newton meters;
• battery capacity: 2 Ah (two of them are included);
• battery voltage: 18 V.

The price is consistent with the brand and starts at 27 thousand rubles. The device is equipped with a modern engine and overload protection (which in relation to the task may turn out to be more a minus than a plus). In addition, the price is affected by the ultra-modern CoolPack battery, with a doubled, according to the manufacturer, service life.

AEG BSB18CBL

AEG is a German electronics and home appliance manufacturer headquartered in Berlin.

The AEG BSB18CBL cordless impact drill / driver is an excellent modern device that meets the following technical specifications:

• torque: 60 Newton hours;
• shaft rotation speed: 2100 rpm;
• capacity of a lithium-ion battery: 2.0 Ah;
• battery voltage: 18 V;
• number of steps: 12;
• weight: 1.8 kg.

Included is a spare battery. The price, taking into account good quality, is relatively low - about 20 thousand rubles. For drilling holes in ice, winter fishing enthusiasts use various devices, but one of the most convenient, perhaps, is an ice drill made from a cordless screwdriver. This design is far from cheap, since only professional and powerful tools can cope with work under high load, at low temperatures and the inability to recharge the battery. However, any real hobby requires costs, especially if they pay off the pleasure of doing what you love and good catch.