Ice drill from a chainsaw - how to make it yourself

A motor drill, or, as it is also called, an ice drill, is a useful household unit that allows you to make holes in the soil for installing a pile foundation, or prepare holes in the ice for winter fishing. The inflated cost of modern motor drills does not allow everyone to purchase them. In this case, you can make an ice screw from a chainsaw. By following our instructions, you can make a reliable homemade unit, which in its characteristics will not be inferior to store-bought counterparts.

Preparation of equipment and materials

Before making a drill from a chainsaw, you should carefully prepare the materials and tools necessary for the work. For materials you will need:

A serviceable household chainsaw;
Gearbox;
Solid steel sheet, or plywood, 2 cm thick;
Set of various fasteners;
Metal tube;
Steel pipe, diameter 15 cm;
Metal tube, 25 cm long;
Steel auger;
Rubberized insulation for the handle.

To work on making a motor drill from a chainsaw, be sure to prepare the following tools:

Head for 27;
Screwdriver;
Bulgarian;
Electric jigsaw;
Grinding machine;
Welding machine;
A set of nozzles for working with metal.

To create some parts for a motor drill from a chainsaw, you will need a lathe, so you need to agree in advance with a specialist in the manufacture of metal parts.

Preparing for the manufacture of a motorized ice drill

Before you start making a drill, you need to carefully prepare. First, you need to find detailed drawings that should tell you how and in what sequence to install the elements into the overall structure of the device. The diagram should also indicate the dimensions of all parts used.

Then you can start preparing the parts for your homemade project.

Their list includes:

a fully operational and ready-to-use household chainsaw with an internal combustion engine power of at least 2.5 liters. With.;
all-metal gearbox;
2 mm sheet of plywood or sheet steel;
bolts, screws and other fasteners;
all-metal tube of small diameter;
1 steel pipe, the diameter of which is 15 cm;
1 metal pipe, the length of which is 25 cm;
metal screw;
rubber insulation for mounting on handles.

All metal parts should not show signs of corrosion, as they will quickly become unusable.

The list of equipment required for work includes:

key head No. 27;
manual grinder with disc;
screwdriver;
jigsaw;
manual grinding machine;
electric welding machine.

Some parts for a homemade drill can only be made on a lathe. If the manufacturer does not have experience in working with it, then it is best to order ready-made spare parts.

Tips for choosing a gearbox for a motor drill

The design of a chainsaw motor drill necessarily includes a gearbox, which can be taken from unnecessary electrical equipment. When choosing a part, be sure to make sure that it has the necessary parameters, namely:

The gearbox must have direct rotation;
The gear ratio of the element should be from 1:25 to 1:50;
The shank and shaft of the selected part must rotate in the same direction.

It is best to equip a chainsaw motor drill with a gearbox having a gear ratio of 1:30, in which the shaft serves as a continuation of the motor rotor.

Chainsaw snow blower

A small-sized snow blower requires 4-6 hp to operate, which the engine from a chainsaw can provide. To manufacture the working shaft of the rotary cleaner, a solid steel pipe is used; it is possible to use a composite element connected by welding. A gear borrowed from an old motorcycle is installed on one end of the shaft. The part is mounted without distortions or wobbles.

The working elements of the auger are made of steel sheet 2-3 mm thick and are attached to the shaft by welding. The design of the harvesting machine provides for the installation of 2 elements mounted on 1 shaft in a mirror image. The top of the unit is closed with a steel casing made of steel sheet 1-1.5 mm thick. The roller bearing supports are attached to the sidewalls, on which the working shaft rotates. On the surface of the casing there is a round hole necessary for the ejection of collected snow. The direction of the outlet is adjusted using a pipe equipped with a movable damper.

A drive gear removed from the motorcycle engine is installed on the saw housing. The part is adjusted to the diameter of the engine shaft and secured with a nut. The power unit is mounted on the frame through dampers. A device is attached to the frame that allows you to manually change the direction of movement. The handle has a speed controller and an ignition switch. The drive chain is selected according to length, and links can be removed. The top of the unit is closed with a protective casing. The chassis consists of skis rigidly attached to the frame.

Chainsaw hole drill - how to make it at home

Before making a motor drill from a chainsaw, you should carefully study the drawings. The diagram will help you determine the correct procedure and avoid mistakes.

If you do not find plywood of the required thickness, then instead you can take two thinner sheets and glue them together. Having received a product of suitable thickness, mark it to make the required holes for fasteners. Using a drill, you will need to make 2 additional holes - one of them should be located opposite the sprocket of the chainsaw drill, and the second - next to the first - is intended for mounting the nuts.

The further procedure for making a motor drill from a chainsaw is as follows:

Make an indentation in the top of the plywood piece using a sander. After this, attach the gearbox to the treated area to find out where it is installed in the chainsaw drill. In this case, be sure to take into account the features of the household tool that is used to make the structure. If the saw device has a sprocket with 6 beams, then use a 27 mm gearbox;
Next, secure the gearbox, center it, and securely fasten it to the bottom of the plywood. Then attach a chainsaw to the top of the plywood. After this, start its engine and check the reliability of the design;
At the next stage, you need to attach an auger to a homemade ice auger made from a chainsaw. To do this, take a pipe with thick walls and attach it to the gearbox with two bolts. The auger is attached to the gearbox in a chainsaw drill using an adapter that acts as a shock absorber. It can be made from a 15-centimeter steel pipe onto which rings are welded. Next, process the adapter on a lathe;
To make it more convenient to work with a chainsaw motor drill, the unit must be equipped with handles. To make them, a curved steel pipe is taken, onto the edges of which rubber seals are placed. You can attach the handle to a chainsaw drill using self-tapping screws or other available fasteners;
Excess parts of plywood are cut off using a chainsaw motor drill, and the edges of the remaining sheet are processed with an electric jigsaw;
Next, the finished chainsaw motor drill should be equipped with cutting knives. To do this, cut the steel sheets and weld them to the pipe that was used as the auger. In this case, the steel sheets should bend around the screw in the form of a spiral. The edges of the sheets must be sharpened carefully.

A self-made motor drill from a chainsaw can be used for ice or earth. During operation, regularly sharpen the blade of the unit. For this, it is best to use a fine- or medium-grained stone or sandpaper marked H4 or H6.

How to make an ice screw from a chainsaw with your own hands?

The chainsaw drill is assembled in several stages. Each of them needs to be treated carefully. Otherwise, there will be a risk of rapid breakdown of one of the important elements of the device.

How to choose a gearbox?

First you need to choose a gearbox for the chainsaw for the drill. When purchasing an item, you should take into account such important factors as the power of the chainsaw engine and the size of the drill. It must be remembered that the motors of most gasoline tools have high power. If during operation the chainsaw motor drill rotates at too high a speed, then it will be impossible to work with it. At the same time, if the gearbox transmits too low a rotational force to the output shaft being used, then there will be very little benefit from using a gasoline tool. For these reasons, it is necessary to make accurate calculations of the gearbox parameters.

In most cases, in addition to the gearbox, a power take-off shaft is installed on a chainsaw hole drill. It regulates the speed of rotation of the engine crankshaft without loss of power. This makes it possible to make the drill more efficient and reduce the amount of fuel consumed by the engine.

Self-manufacturing of the case

The chainsaw attachment for drilling ice must be equipped with a reliable housing. This element of the device will protect all internal parts of the equipment from mechanical damage, as well as dust, debris and moisture entering the structure. To make the body, you need to use metal pipes that have no traces of rust or other defects. The pipes will need to be bent into the shape of frames.

This is done in the following order:

To begin with, you will need to measure a piece from the first pipe, the length of which should be equal to the perimeter of the planned frame. The optimal length would be approximately 160 cm;
Then, cuts will need to be made on the surface of the prepared section, the depth of which should not exceed 1/3 of the radius of the pipe used. These cuts should be located where the segment bends. In order for the pipe to bend easily, 4–6 cuts must be made at each point of its bend at a distance of 5 mm from each other. If, when bending the pipe, it is not possible to obtain an even right angle, then the cuts made will need to be slightly ground off with a grinder;
After bending the section, all joints and corners will remain welded with a manual welding machine.

In the same order, you will need to make another frame, the perimeter of which should be approximately 40 cm. Then the two frames must be connected so that the distance between their planes is about 35 cm. When assembling the frame, you need to make sure that the pieces of metal pipes of approximately the same size.
The result should be a body with the shape of a quadrangular uniform truncated pyramid. Inside it you will need to securely fasten the engine from the chainsaw, as well as the gearbox and other elements of the drill.

Methods for installing a motor for a drill

The result of the previous actions was a previously removed chainsaw engine, as well as a reliable housing, inside of which the gearbox is located. The existing elements will need to be connected to each other. To do this, you need to consider a method for connecting them.

If in the future the motor will be used exclusively for drilling holes, then a chainsaw drill for earth or ice can be made as a one-piece structure. In this case, the used engine will not be removed, and its mounting will be more reliable.

If the motor will sometimes be removed to mount it back on the chainsaw, then its mount will need to be made removable. This option is more practical to use, but the engine mount will be less reliable in this case.

To make a removable mount, you need to make a large hole in the manufactured housing to fix the motor. Its diameter must be the same as the dimensions of the internal combustion engine used. Next, you will need to carefully consider the engine mount. It should be as reliable as possible and time-efficient. It is best to use several bolts and nuts to secure the motor. In this case, the owner of the drill will only need to unscrew the bolts, lift the housing cover and carefully remove the motor.

When planning the engine mounting, free access to containers for refilling fuel and engine oil should be provided. Also, the owner of the drill must have access to the valve, which is needed to regulate the pressure in the engine cylinder.

It is best to equip a fishing drill with an engine from an old chainsaw. This motor can be installed permanently and not removed throughout the entire life of the drill. A frame will be needed to mount the old engine. It should be located at the top of the equipment. When installing the engine on the frame, you will need to remove the neck for filling fuel and oil. An emergency switch must be installed in the same part of the device. This element is very important in cases where the drill will be used not only for ice, but also for land. An emergency switch will make it possible to turn off the equipment when the soil is too hard.

Most often, motors from Ural chainsaws are used to make drills. These internal combustion engines require minimal modifications. The only negative is that only people of average and tall height can work with these engines.

Self-mounting drill

The working attachment of a homemade drill must be securely fastened. There are several ways to do this. The first of them is to use a pipe on which the gearbox and the drill used are mounted. An important advantage of this method is that, if necessary, the damaged element can be quickly replaced.

The second method is more difficult to implement, but it will make it possible to drill not only in the vertical, but also in the horizontal direction. To do this, you need a frame made of a metal pipe. In the future, you will need to weld another piece of vertical pipe to the frame. Several metal rings also need to be welded to the finished body. There should be no gaps inside the rings. When installing the drill, the rings must be put on the vertical pipe. After this, you can start using the chainsaw drill.

There are two disadvantages to this method. The first of them is the increase in the weight of the equipment, and the second is the difficulties during operation due to the vertical pipe.

Drill attachment for chainsaw - application features

Of course, making a motor drill from a chainsaw is a more exciting and budget-friendly procedure. However, if you don’t want to waste your time and effort, then you can purchase a ready-made attachment that can be installed on a household tool to make a hole in the ground or ice.

This kind of ready-made attachment for a chainsaw is significantly superior to a homemade ice drill, since it is made of steel, which is many times stronger than plywood. It is smaller in size and easier to transport. In addition, thanks to the use of factory sharpening technology, it is much less necessary to restore the dull blades of the purchased attachment.

Installing and using the ice auger attachment is quite simple. To do this, the bar and saw chain of the chainsaw are removed, and an auger with blades is mounted instead. After this, all you have to do is install the lower part of the motor drill over the place where you need to make a hole and start the unit’s motor.

Chainsaw sawmill

A chainsaw sawmill is a tool mounted on a movable coupling welded from a steel profile. The assembly must be strong and geometrically smooth, which will improve the quality of work and reduce vibrations. A thick-walled pipe with a smooth surface or other devices are used as a guide. Modification of the saw consists of installing upgraded chain mounts made of 6-sided steel rod. The thickness of the cut is adjusted using a movable stand.

The design of the device allows you to deploy an improvised machine at the site of wood harvesting. The side surfaces of the aluminum ladder are used as guides. Since no modifications to the saw body are required, it can be used as a separate tool, unlike a chainsaw snow blower.