Wooden brace questions

[Will Brauneis]

Ive notice quite a few brace and bit posts and I have yet another question about them so sorry if you guys are getting tired of the subject.;)

I'm looking for and old English style brace the kind made from wood but I don't know much about them i wanted to ask you guys a bit about them. First will regular auger bits fit in them with the button locking mechanism? or do you need ones with notches for it to latch into? ( i remember seeing an episode of the woodwright's shop where his bit kept getting pulled out because he didn't file a notch in the top of the bit) Second what makers are the best? Finlay are there any pitfalls i should make sure to look out for with this style of brace?( such as commonly worn out parts, or things to look for, etc..)

Any input would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance

[Robert Rozaieski]

The old wooden braces typically came with a set of bits that were matched to the brace. They had the notches filed in the correct spot to hold the bits in. Standard auger bits will fit (I use them in mine), however, they will not lock into the brace unless you file in a notch at the correct location. I have not filed any notches into my bits and have not found this to be a problem to date, but perhaps someday I will.

The areas to watch out for are the shoulders mostly. Because of how the grain is oriented in these old braces, the areas where the stock curves can be very fragile and are prone to cracking. Also, make sure that the stock has not warped or twisted so that the axis of the pad does not line up with the center of the chuck. And don't try to remove any of the screws in the brass side plating to clean them up. These screws are small and likely have some corrosion making them very weak and susceptible to having their heads twisted right off. DAMHIKT :(:o.

[harry strasil]

FWIW, the original wooden braces had the bits imbedded in special wooden attaching pads, and real early ones had a fixed bit in them as workmen usually only used one or two sizes, and often there was a fixed brace to each size bit as they needed only a couple to their respective jobs. The really good wooden braces, called braces because of the usually brass reenforcing metal braces, bring scary amounts of money.

[Jim Holman]

Marples, and Brown & Flather made pretty good ones.

[Will Brauneis]

OK thanks for the info guys at least now ill have some idea what to look for in a brace.