I haven’t used this tool in many many years. I don’t even have any bits that are designed to be held in the v grooves of the brace that I can find and I think it is not possible for it to hold a round shafted bit. The pix are included to see if there are any parts missing. When put together it just seems loose and like there should be more to it. Any thoughts ?
Replies
loose
You might be missing a spring to hold the jaws in position (you know, the spring that went sproing, and was never to be found again?), but it's a pretty simple tool otherwise. Every shop should have one, along with an array of augers, spoon bits, etc. ;-)
Springs I've got. I have never thrown a spring away. I've got a little parts drawer full of 'em. I guess it goes over the little pin at the tail of the jaws. I'll give it a try. Many thanks for the info.
swen,
I have a brace very similar to yours, that also has no spring. The higher quality brace I have that does have a spring also has a narrow groove on the outside surface of each jaw, that the spring rides in. Like your photo, my springless jaws have no such groove.
Ray
Hope springs eternal...
Just got out all my springs and tried them on the post and oval, tried dropping one into the base of the split threads, nothing worked or even came close to looking like it belonged there. Thanks for looking at yours. It seemed that the jaws were sloppy and loose without a bit in them and I thought something might be missing. I guess it is just a cheap drill. I looked all over and couldn't find any name or markings on the brace. It has an eight inch swing. I got it from an aunt who went to Nevada for a divorce in the mid forties and never came back east, so it is kinda old. If I start making Windsor chairs I'll need it though. Thanks again.
Drop a countersink intop that baby, and you will never take it out!
One like this: http://www.leevalley.com/en/hardware/page.aspx?p=32308&cat=3,41306,41328
I have several braces, and use them. Not only are they great for boring wide holes, but they make fantastic screwdrivers and, of course, countersinks.
http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/MyWorkshop_html_m494beb0c.jpg
Regards from Perth
Derek
The problem with this brace is that the v grooves in the faces of the jaws seem to be designed to hold the corners of an auger bit tang. I can't get it to hold a round bit very well. It holds until I get the drill into the wood about half an inch and then the shaft starts spinning in the jaw chuck. Perhaps a countersink wouldn't do this as it can't get hung up deep in a hole. I'll try it. I keep a countersink in a handle to use by hand a lot, sometimes just to clean the exit wound when drilling without a back-up scrap.
you will never take it out!
I tried it and the countersink doesn't spin inside the chuck at all. That works great. I'm going to leave it in just as you predicted.
Spoon bits
Derek, Do you know of a source for spoon bits. I have an old WWII Royal Marine friend who swears by spoon bits. I would like to try one out.
Hi Bruce
I have a vague memory of Lee Valley making some. Otherwise they come up on eBay. Try Georges Basement (website).
Not sure why you want them - they are best for angled holes, such as used by chairmakers - most other bits are better for drilling perpendicularly into wood.
Regards from Perth
Derek
swen,
My brace that's like yours has worked very well for me for a long while. I don't by any means use it every day, and it is a bit light in the a__ for drilling large holes in oak, but for the odd furniture-size project, it's ok.
I have accumulated an assortment of brace bits. Most are auger type bits, but I also have found a few twist (machinist- type) bits with the square tangs on them. also gimlet bits, spoon bits, 19th century spade type bits, screwdrivers, and countersinks. They usually are very cheap at antique shops and flea markets. Top of the line are the Russell Jennings double lead auger bits.
Ray
Need spoon bits.
If I try making a Windsor chair I'm going to need spoon bits I think. But now that I discovered how many hex bits and sockets and drivers I forgot I had, there are a lot of shafted things I can put in this brace, They work great and can't spin in the jaws. With the sockets I have turned my brace into a speeder with a ratchet. In case you don’t know the term speeder, that is the silver crank that mechanics use with socket wrenches when they have to make a lot of turns. But they don't have ratchets, at least mine don't. So now with my brace and hex shafted sockets I have a ratchet speeder in tasteful wood, not gaudy chrome.
Thanks for the advice on the sources of square type tangs. By the way the round shafted countersink worked without spinning, but now I have found I have a hex shafted countersink as well.
I carry a brace and the bits in my one of my tool boxes and take it to the jobsite with me. I also carry two adjustable bits that I leave preset for boring doors for locksets. I am much more comfortable doing that by hand as I've seen power drills jam up and split the door.
I also carry holes saws and power drills and honestly they get used more often but sometimes the brace and bit is just the right thing.
Bret
just the right thing...
Especially when the batteries go dead on the good old Dewalt.
Hexagonal screw driver bits work great in those. You can get a huge, but controllable, amount of torque on a screw with a brace. I've found it handy for loosening steel screws that are "rusted in" to something.
That made me think...
The hex shape of the driver bit would prevent the spippage I am getting. Thanks for the Idea, Ed. It made me think of those drill bits that are used in quick change sockets that are hex shaped too. That would give me a bunch of drills that would not slip in the brace's chuck. I have a number of these bits but stopped using quick change bits 'cause the sockets were kinda sloppy in the way they held the bits. Not only bits but a whole array of quick change hex shape shafted things. First chance I get I'm going to see how the hex shafts match up with the vee grooves in the chuck jaws.
Thanks again for making me remember.
Brace and Bit
Hi
I bought a seconhand brace here in France for 1 euro and have not used a cordless drill/driver since. I bought a special holder made to fit a brace from a company in Germany. (Link below) This company are also good for hand tools.
Mike
http://www.fine-tools.com/bohr1.htm
Thanks for the link.
I found everything I need to solve the shaft problems. I too decided to quit using the cordless and become a crank user. The first time I tried this I discovered that all the clamps holding the parts to be drilled and screwed together interfered with the swing of the brace, and there wasn't enough drag on the bit to allow the ratchet to work. So much for that. But I will start using it a lot more than I did. Thanks for the info.
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