Help me decide: why do I need a Brace?

[Frederick Skelly]

..... other than the fact that Braces are just plain "cool", or just to let myself fall further down the slippery Neader slope.

Background. The thread on Yankee Braces caught my eye and I didnt want to hijack it with this question. I have a decent drill press and an electric drill. I'm wondering what benefits I'd get by adding a Brace to my shop? Is it like handsaws and hand planes, where using a Brace is just plain easier or better for some kinds of work?

I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts.

Thanks guys.
Fred

[Brian Holcombe]

Because you can use auger bits with it. It's not practical to always put a piece on the drill press, the auger but allows you to cut an accurately angled or 90 degree hole by hand.

[Archie England]

Well, coolness does count for most.... :)

But, small bits in eggbeater drills are just easier for me to handle straighter drill holes, though backing out the bit is sometimes awkward. Braces are great for straight bits, brad point bits, and augers; but they excel at the larger size twist bits (where I have trouble chucking (or paying the price for) the bigger bit sizes. A quality old brace + a complete set 4-16 (in 16ths) of twist bits is awesome. Now, my friend Scott swears by these twist bits, to the degree, that he cut off the bottom chuck flanges and uses them with his hammer drill. (Oh, the travesty!)

OTOH, there's little need for a brace/bit if you've already got power drills. There's a great story, however, here: my son-in-law wanted to drill a hole into the back of his gorgeous office desk (feaux wood) to allow multiple power cords to support his computer. After purchasing a very reasonably priced, single Forestner bit from Woodcraft, he chucked it into his 12v Ryobi drill. I smiled, then warned him that the drill wouldn't drive that much metal (1 1/2 bit) into wood or mdf. Sure enough, it stalled at one twist. Thankfully, I had given him a quality Stanley 10" brace, which he grabbed. It drove that bit beautifully through; we even finished from the bottom to leave a clean hole. He's a believer, now!

The bigger the bit, the harder the strain to work the brace. That's why 12" and 14" braces abound. Oh, a joke--what do you call a 16" brace? A bit buster!

Have fun

[Jim Koepke]

Frederick,

You do not 'need' a brace.

A brace is handy for a portable bit driver. Many of the later models including the 2101 have the ability to be used with straight bits. A few of my longer twist drill bits, aka 'bell hanger' bits, are often driven by a brace when drilling deep holes.

There are various tools made for use with a brace such as; hollow augers, dowel pointers, reamers and screw driver bits.

I have seen them anywhere from a couple of bucks on up. Not a big investment, but a worthy one.

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks guys. Sounds like I can make good use of one.

..... off to the antique mall

[paul cottingham]

I drill anything over 3/4" with a bit and brace. Faster, and more efficient. Besides, they are mucho cool.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

^^^ What Paul said, and it makes a clean bore on the inside with no tear out around the hole.

[Michael Ray Smith]

Thanks guys. Sounds like I can make good use of one.

..... off to the antique mall

Jim mentioned some of the things you can do with a brace besides just make holes. I recently bought a spoke pointer and hollow auger, and I'm still thinking of all the things I may do with them. He also mentioned screwdriver bits, which may not sound like that big a deal -- why not just use a screwdriver? Well, you can get a lot of torque with a brace. Put a screwdriver bit in it, and you can break loose tough screws that you'd never budge with a screwdriver or with a screwdriver bit in an electric hand drill.

My complement of hand drills includes a Millers Falls push drill for the smallest work up to about 1/8"; a Millers Falls No. 38 egg-beater style that I use with ordinary round-shank bits, mostly twist bits, from 1/8" and smaller, up to around 3/8" or so, maybe occasionally 1/2"; two Millers Falls Lion braces and a Lion brace that Millers Falls made for Craftsman, all 10" sweep, that I use from about 1/4" to 1"; and a Millers Falls No. 210 hand operated drill press that I use for larger bits and when I need more precision. (Detect a pattern there? I'm partial to Millers Falls because they made great products, and their top-of-the-line braces and push drills can be had for quite a bit less than the top-of-the-line Stanley or Northern Bros braces. They're probably best known, however, for their egg-beaters. A complete list of their drills is at oldtoolheaven.com. Well, almost complete. Doesn't cover their drill presses.)

Why three braces of the same size? I used to keep an 8" brace, a 10" brace, and a 12" brace, and that's not a bad idea, but I found myself always reaching for the 10" first. At the same time, it's handy to have at least two braces. For example, you can put an auger bit in one and a countersink bit in the other so you can drill multiple countersunk holes without having to change bits twice for every hole. I probably don't need three, and maybe I'll eventually get rid of one of them (I'm not one to keep tools I don't use), but for now that's what I have.

Note: I could almost do without an egg-beater. The push drill goes up to 1/8" and you can find 3/16" auger bits for a brace, and even smaller twist bits, so you can probably close that gap in size, but a push drill isn't great for drilling really hard wood or deeper holes, so I sometimes use the egg-beater for 1/8" and even smaller.

[Steve Voigt]

Because you can use auger bits with it. It's not practical to always put a piece on the drill press, the auger but allows you to cut an accurately angled or 90 degree hole by hand.


Yep, and also, the best thing about auger bits is how easy they are to sharpen. If you have a straight auger bit in good condition, that hasn't been manhandled or idiotically sharpened by a previous owner, you will be able to use it for the rest of your life, without ever having to send it out for sharpening.

[Brian Holcombe]

Excellent point. I bought a complete set, but found the condition to be on the poor side still I was able to restore all of them into good working condition with a few good auger files.

[paul cottingham]

Excellent point. I bought a complete set, but found the condition to be on the poor side still I was able to restore all of them into good working condition with a few good auger files.

I think it would be most helpful for someone to post a short tutorial on sharpening auger bits.

[Jim Koepke]

I think it would be most helpful for someone to post a short tutorial on sharpening auger bits.

Paul,

Ask and yee shall receive here are two:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?13090-The-Incredibly-Versatile-Sweep-Brace

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?131238-A-Bit-About-Augers

jtk

[Stanley Covington]

Two Words: Zombie Apocalypse

[Howard Pollack]

A brace with a proper bit is the nicest way to drive screws. Fast and quiet. -Howard

[lowell holmes]

The real reason for you to get a brace is that you don't have one. Everyone knows we need at least one of each kind of tool there is.:)

Actually, I have three braces, including a Bell Systems brace.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

I use braces (and an array of hand drills) for the same reason I use hand saws. I have little kids, and when I fired up an electric drill they would run out of the room. When I fire up a brace or hand drill, they come over and ask questions and talk about how cool it is and then want to take it to their workbench and drill holes with it.

Plus they are a lot of fun. I have several braces, a #2 and #5 millers falls hand drill, and a #12 shoulder drill. The whole bunch cost me less then a good cordless electric, they all work great, and I really don't see myself having to replace them (or the battery packs) in my lifetime or anyone else's.

[Stephen Clement]

This was briefly mentioned, but it is much easier to drill at a precise angle with a brace and auger bit than with an electric hand drill for three reasons. First, the force from you via the pad is directly in line with the but wherea for an electric drill you are having to apply both downward force and a moment in the side handle. Second, auger bits are much longer than most drill bits, so any angle is exaggerated, helping you to see any error. Finally, you go slower so there is time to correct small errors before they become big errors.

Unless I need a flat bottom hole or the snail of the auger would poke through something, I always go for my brace and rarely touch my electric drill. The brace is always more accurate and more pleasant. It also has some of the Neander appeal of doing an operation in a way that is enjoyable vice in a way that is fast. I very much like that the drill is silent and that it doesn't spew chips out.

Also, my unrequested two cents on selecting a brace: I have 4 braces of different types and the all have strengths and weakness. In order of preference: 1) Spofford Brace - chuck is quick to change bits, brace is lightweight without a big chuck, and the back end of the bit is in line with the lower arm of the swing making it the shortest option. 2) Iron brace with jam chuck - fastest bit change, chuck length is in the middle of Spofford and 2-jaw, and has a bare-bones elegance to it. 3) 2-jaw chuck without ratchet - heavy, long, but sturdy. I don't drive anything over a 16 (1") in the other braces because they don't feal sturdy enough. 4) 2-jaw chuck with ratchet - heaviest, longest, but the ratchet is handy for tight corners and driving large bits in hard wood. 5*) Scotch brace - I have never tried one and don't know how it would fair. My guess is similar to the iron brace with a jam chuck. The scotch brace pad is unnecessarily long, but chuck is equivalent in length to Spofford.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks guys! We'll see what I can find. I like Miller's Falls planes - maybe I can start by finding a small brace of theirs. I can see the appeal and it WOULD be handy for driving screws.

I appreciate all your help and advice!
Fred

[Mike Henderson]

Get a Fray Spofford brace (with wooden handles) if you want to be really cool.

Mike

[Archie England]

Thanks guys! We'll see what I can find. I like Miller's Falls planes - maybe I can start by finding a small brace of theirs. I can see the appeal and it WOULD be handy for driving screws.

I appreciate all your help and advice!
Fred

MF indeed! I have an 8", 10", and 12" Millers Falls braces. They are nicely made! Oh, and I have one early MF sorta (early partner before MF, if I understand that history) mfg during or after the Civil War. No ratchet, no frills, no pretty paint, just a sturdy 12" brace. Kinda cool to own a piece of that history (1864-1878).

[Michael Ray Smith]

MF indeed! I have an 8", 10", and 12" Millers Falls braces. They are nicely made! Oh, and I have one early MF sorta (early partner before MF, if I understand that history) mfg during or after the Civil War. No ratchet, no frills, no pretty paint, just a sturdy 12" brace. Kinda cool to own a piece of that history (1864-1878).

You're probably talking about the original Barber brace. Yes, that's very cool!
http://oldtoolheaven.com/brace/FeaturedBraces.htm

[Michael Ray Smith]

Thanks guys! We'll see what I can find. I like Miller's Falls planes - maybe I can start by finding a small brace of theirs.

Fred, the primo Millers Falls brace is the Parsons brace, http://oldtoolheaven.com/brace/FeaturedBraces.htm, but they're pretty hard to find, especially at a decent price. However, the Lion braces are also very, very good, and they're more readily available. The main design feature that they have in common (and in common with the Stanley braces made for the Bell System and some others that have been mentioned) is a chuck with bearings. The ten-inch models are the 772 and the 872, http://oldtoolheaven.com/brace/brace5.htm. Try to get one made before 1957 with the Leland universal jaws rather than the later economy jaws. There are a couple of 772's listed on eBay right now.

[Matthew Hills]

Brace was excellent for boring dog holes in bench.
I don't use it for much else, but for that it was the best tool for the job.

Matt

[steven c newman]

Someday, you can just pick a brace and bit in the size you need, since each brace would have it's own bit ready to go...
318317
Warning: If you let one in the door to the shop, half a dozen more will soon sneak in as well...

[lowell holmes]

Has anyone mentioned that auger bits are 1/64" oversize. That makes them not a good choice for dowel joinery.
One of the braces is a Stanley Bell Systems brace.

OBTW, I have three braces and a full set of Irwin auger bits.

Consider this post a bit of a gloat.:)