A $5 find at the yard sale

[steven c newman]

Still cleaning it up, but299880

This little brace was just $5 Markings say it is an 8" Stanley Rule & Level Co. VICTOR

299881

Started to remove all the grime on the handles, has some nice wood under all the blackish dirt. Still trying to read the model number, though..

As for the rest of todays $9 I spent?
299882
The router is a B&D 2720, and cost $3. The chisel ( Stanley?) and the 2+ pound hammer head were $0.50.....BTW, the router runs like new.

Stanley made VICTOR hand braces????

[Jim Koepke]

Nice score. The chuck look like a Stanley design that came after the days of Leonard Bailey being in charge of the Victor trade mark.

Is there a spring on the jaws? I have seen early versions without the springs in the jaws. 8" braces are nice to have. Now I would like to find a 6".

My recollection is Leonard Bailey started another company, ~1875, after making a deal with Stanley Rule & Level. He used the Victor name. My memory is like a steel trap... rusty and illegal in 37 states. :eek:

Somehow the name came to be owned by Stanley.

Not sure if Bailey's Defiance brand came after this. Stanley also ended up marketing the Defiance name. There is Defiance and Defiance by Stanley markings on items that have been brought to my attention. One of my 1/4" chisels is marked Defiance. It looked like it was cut out of steel with a hacksaw. A lot of lapping on the sides has made it smooth. A little has been left to indicate the origin. Not sure if there is any collector value to such things. If there is, it was likely destroyed by cleaning it up to make it look better.

jtk

[Jim Matthews]

You suck.

* sigh *

[Bill Houghton]

The chisel looks like a Stanley No. 60, but those usually had a steel cap on the handle. Odd.

The router - although this is a hand tool board, and we shouldn't be talking powah tools, you got a serious deal there. I sold one of those last year for $35 to someone delighted to get it. I sent you a related private message, by the way.

[steven c newman]

Jim: FOUND a Model number on that brace...No935, or No 985?

The chuck has a
"STANLYEY RULE & LEVEL Co."

NEW BRITAIN CONN USA

stamped on it.

On the arm with the model number, on the other side of that arm: "VICTOR" is stamped.

Wood LOOKS like Rosewood, lots of dark brown and black striped grain. Ratchet parts work great, didn't find any springs inside the chuck.

[Jim Koepke]

Jim: FOUND a Model number on that brace...No935, or No 985?

The chuck has a
"STANLYEY RULE & LEVEL Co."

NEW BRITAIN CONN USA

stamped on it.

On the arm with the model number, on the other side of that arm: "VICTOR" is stamped.

Wood LOOKS like Rosewood, lots of dark brown and black striped grain. Ratchet parts work great, didn't find any springs inside the chuck.

According to the John Walter book, the No 935 was made between 1905 and 1917, and the wood is rosewood.

My inquiry about the spring is in relation to the jaws. I have a few different braces with a chuck shell that looks like yours. One has a style of jaws with no spring. I think those are called alligator jaws. They are just loose in the shell. All the others have springs with the jaws. I prefer the style with the spring to hold the jaws apart. If I am reading Walter's correctly yours should have a spring for the jaws.

jtk

[Rich Harkrader]

That chisel looks just like the one I have from Harbor Freight. Great for scraping glue off.
http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-chisel-set-42429.html

[steven c newman]

The chisel is 1-1/2" wide.

Need to find out what size wrenches the router takes. Haven't seen anything like a shaft-lock on it.

Need to remove that epoxy "plug" on the 32 oz (+++) hammerhead, to allow a new wooden handle to be installed.

For fifty cents, a sharp, "beater" 1-1/2" chisel isn't too bad. Fits in with the rest of the set, from 1/2" through 1". Might look for a 1/4", 5/8", 7/8'. and a 1-1/4" like these.

[Jim Koepke]

I have a few different braces with a chuck shell that looks like yours. One has a style of jaws with no spring. I think those are called alligator jaws.

After posting this it came to be time to head out to the shop. Took a look at the braces mentioned above and found that the 'springed' jaws from an old Dunlap brace were interchangeable with the 8" Stanley brace with the 'alligator'(?) jaws. So now there is another 8" brace when needed and a Dunlap that is a little funkier than it was before.

jtk

[steven c newman]

All shined up and ready to go300038
300039
Rosewood cleaned up nicely300040

As for that Routah, it has found a home as well
300041
ala Norm Abram? $3 router hanging from a $20 table.