Brace and bits gloat

[David Gilbert]

I have read with envy some of the gloats that you guys have posted. Sadly, I never thought that I would be worthy.

All of that changed last night when I arranged to purchase a Stanley brace and two sets of bits. One set is Irwin in the home-made carrier and the other is Greenlee. Both sets have all the bits, 2/16 through 16/16. They were listed on Craigslist for $20 and with my impressive negotiation skills, I got them for $20! There isn't any rust on any of the the pieces and several of the bits appear to be unused.

Can anyone estimate what these might be worth? It's OK of you rain on my gloat. I still have lots of bits and a brace to work with.

I'm looking forward to generating some holes.

Cheers,
David

[Roy Wall]

I think that you scored well.......

I was watching Roy Underhill last week thoroughly enjoyed his use of the brace n auger bits........later on in the show he used an eggbeater drill......cool stuff. Nice clean holes and very quiet.

Nice snag for sure!

[David Gendron]

I think it worth at the most $15.00... just kidding... it is a good score to me! No real idea of the worth price, with used tools it always worth what people are ready to spend!!

[Gary Herrmann]

$20 for two sets of bits and a brace is definitely gloat-worthy - nice score.

[James Taglienti]

it depends on the age and the swing diameter of the brace but they all look to be great condition and i would guess that you got 60-80 bucks worth of stuff there easily.

[Jim Koepke]

...

Both sets have all the bits, 2/16 through 16/16. They were listed on Craigslist for $20 and with my impressive negotiation skills, I got them for $20!
Can anyone estimate what these might be worth? It's OK of you rain on my gloat. I still have lots of bits and a brace to work with.

I'm looking forward to generating some holes.

Cheers,
David

I would bet you actually have all the bits starting at 4/16. Check eBay for bit sets, but they usually go for more than $20 for a good set of bits.

Your negotiating skills will get better, but this deal may not have had any room for negotiations.

You will likely want to get some information on proper sharpening technique and an auger file to give them a little tune up. Even straight from the factory auger bits can benefit from a tune up.

One last thing, if you have a caliper, you might want to check the actual diameter of the bits. It is not likely, but one of the sets may be for dowelling and the other for general work. General purpose bits may have a coarser lead screw for faster boring and are usually about 0.015" over their marked size. Dowelling bits are dead on. Usually dowel bit sets had only the first 5 sizes.

Looks like a good score.

jim

[David Gendron]

Haaa, Thats why The holes are allways a bit to big:mad:!
Thank you Jim!

[David Gilbert]

Jim,

You are correct, I have 4/16 (1/4") through 16/16 in each set. I measured them and the Irwin set is about 0.010 - 0.020" over-sized and the Greenlee set is about 0.005" over-sized. The Greenlee set appears to be a bit higher in quality. Both sets need to be sharpened so I will need to find some time to work on them.

Thanks for the good information.

Cheers,
David

[Harlan Barnhart]

Nice bits and brace. You will never be satisfied with Borg style "spade bits" again.

[matt braun]

Regarding the oversize issue, is it enough to make bench dogs fit poorly?

[Jim Koepke]

Regarding the oversize issue, is it enough to make bench dogs fit poorly?

Not sure, since my bench dogs are European, they are 18mm and do fit poorly in a 3/4 inch hole.

A 3/4 inch dowel will not fit in the holes on my bench without a little sanding or sometimes they get chucked in the lathe and material is removed. Then the top stays above the bench with out any problem.

The idea behind the bits being slightly oversize was for craftsmen using them for putting things in walls having a little wiggle room.

With all the ones in my accumulation, they are just kept so that the fat ones are separated from the right on size bits.

If I get the time, I will try to take some photos and post a mini-tutorial on sharpening bits. Either that or see if someone else has already done it here. I have seen a few around the web, but we may as well have our own right here on SMC.

jim

[Jim Koepke]

Here is a good thread by Bob Smalser:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=13090

His is more general on usage, but does show an auger file and where to sharpen.

Maybe there is enough in my shop to augment his post.

jim

[Michael Schwartz]

Here is a good thread by Bob Smalser:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=13090

His is more general on usage, but does show an auger file and where to sharpen.

Maybe there is enough in my shop to augment his post.

jim

definitely worth reading up on how to sharpen auger bits even if you don't frequently use a handheld bit and brace.

I was drilling dog holes in my 4" thick ash bench-top and even my 28v cordless drill struggled to drive the brand new 3/4 irwin self feeding auger bit so I gave up after a few holes, sharpened the bit quickly and lubricated it with bit/cutter lubricant and my 18 volt Makita would drive the bit with no problems.

[lowell holmes]

I have a set of Irwin bits from the 60's. They came in an oak box. The booklet that came with them indicates they ar 1/64" oversize. I think that is common in auger bits.
Do you know about bit files for sharpening auger bits?I didn't know untill 3 or 4 years ago.

[Mike Henderson]

Lie-Nielsen sells an auger bit file (http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1359) for a decent price.

If the bits are in decent condition, they can be significantly improved with a modest amount of sharpening. If the spurs are gone, the bit is usually done for.

Mike

[James Davis]

Here is a pretty good write up on sharpening. It coveers a lot of ground and comes in handy a lot of times.

http://books.google.com/books?id=CtkWaJw5iXkC&pg=PA195&lpg=PA195&dq=sharpen+auger+bit&source=bl&ots=TznKOMM8VF&sig=PV0ilrjXAey33MnvWfpcX58nSkA&hl=en&ei=ByEAS8HnNI75nAfm-KiYCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=sharpen%20auger%20bit&f=false

James