PS&W 7010, MF 1050 braces-unique chuck

[Mike Holbrook]

I am interested in the chuck on this brace. It is a chuck design that PS&W...Pexto seems to have developed. I assume MF copied or bought it for their 1050 series of braces.

I am curious about the internals of this chuck but thus far have not found a way to get inside. Certainly getting inside to the jaws etc. is not as simple as screwing off the chuck exterior housing as in most brace chucks. I do see a screw in the knurled exterior but have not removed it yet, not know what it's purpose might be. Does anyone have experience taking these chucks apart or have other information to impart.

[Jonathan McCullough]

The top of this link (http://www.georgesbasement.com/braces/PEXTObracesII/PEXTObraces.htm) seems to have some relevant information on those funny-looking braces. Seems like that screw may be a set screw to keep the chuck shell on, at least from a cursory examination. I've seen some rusty versions out in the wild, but they just kind of looked more old-fashioned than mechanically superior. Does it work well?

[Eric Brown]

This style of chuck uses the screw to keep the two main pieces of the shell together. Unscrew the chuck from the brace and remove the jaws. Remove the screw, it is short. Spray some WD-40 on both the inside and outside of the chuck. The two main pieces unscrew (right-handed thread).
Be carefull as there are about 32 small bearings inside. Once everything is cleaned up and you are ready to re-assemble, put some oil on the inner race and arrange the bearings around it. Then lower the outside onto it and screw back together. Its a pretty straightforward construction.

Eric

[Mike Holbrook]

Great info., thanks guys. So the chuck has bearings. I was wondering about that, fairly advanced stuff for a chuck of that vintage. I got mine "on the cheap" mostly out of curiosity. I will say that for its age and heavily rusted condition it still seems to function quite well. I think the jaws are forged? They must be hard because it is one of the least damaged set of jaws I have seen regardless of age. It is soaking in a can of WD40 etc. and getting brushed at least once a day. Some of the original finish is actually emerging. I will get around to a little testing concerning what types/shapes of bits/shanks it likes soon. I will have to decide whether or not to try some sort of rust remover on it soon as I think I have about reached the point of negligible returns with the wire brushes.

[Andrae Covington]

...So the chuck has bearings. I was wondering about that, fairly advanced stuff for a chuck of that vintage...

I don't think the original Peck & Powers version has ball bearings. Take a look at the patent drawing links on the page Jonathan provided. The only one that obviously shows ball bearings is the 1908 J.P. Bartholomew patent used on some Fray braces.

Getting back to your question in the O.P. about Millers Falls copying the chuck design, you can see with those patents that there were numerous variations, often quite subtle internal changes with the exterior visible parts practically identical. Furthermore, the Peck & Powers patent was issued in 1879 and the MF 1050 series was started in 1923, long after the usual 17 - 20 year patent expiration. Although MF may have used that design earlier, I'm not sure.

[Mike Holbrook]

I certainly don't have any substantial knowledge to offer on this subject I am just interested in learning. The link above shows a large number of braces, emphasis on chucks and chuck patents. My interest in my 7010 largely relates to the enclosed ratcheting system which none of the braces in the link above seem to have. Certainly these companies often manufactured open ratchets even after they came out with closed ones, so the closed ratchet on my brace may be insignificant in the larger scheme of things.

Apparently Eric has a brace with similar appearance, and the screw. I am glad to know about the possibility of bearings since I plan on removing the screw and taking the jaws apart to clean them.

[Jonathan McCullough]

Is it the chuck or the ratchet you're curious about? Photos would help. It doesn't seem like that model has an enclosed ratchet. It looks like you just unscrew it from the back and push the ratchet gear (pinion?) out.

[Mike Holbrook]

I think you can see from the picture that this brace needs some TLC. I have been soaking it and cleaning the chuck, which was covered in the dark junk all over. Yes, I bought the brace because I was curious about the enclosed ratchet which I had not seen on these braces before. The brace did not get any bids on its first time at auction so I bid the min. when it came back up. The rest as they say is history...I have been waiting to take the chuck apart until I get it cleaned and loosened up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16891057@N05/5451143994/