Brace, Egg Beater, and Bits

[ken hatch]

While I use my cordless and corded hand drills along with the drill press all the time if I could only have either electric powered drills or braces and egg beaters the muscle powered ones would win. Kinda the same with table saws and band saws. Luckily I don't have to pick but almost every drilling job can be done better with a brace and bit.

Maybe not quite as quickly but in almost every case the results will be better and many time with less monkey motion. I guess my question is: Am I full of it or do other folks find the same results?

BTW, my favorite brace is a Spofford type, very simple and works a treat.

ken

[Jim Koepke]

My cutoff is ~3/8". Bigger than that is easier with a brace if it isn't a large Forstner bit. If smaller it depends. From ~1/4" to 3/8" is a bit of work for an egg beater. Smaller than ~1/4" is a toss up between an egg beater or electron power.

jtk

[Mark Rainey]

You are full of it & so am I and many Neanderthals. We live in this escapist world in which we are connected to our handtools and find satisfaction in that. Hand tools enable us to shape our world in a relaxed, creative process that makes us feel more human. Yes, occasionally a hand tool is more efficient than a machine, but most of the time it is not about
efficiency, it is about the experience.

[chris carter]

Drill press is horribly inefficient… unless you need to drill a lot of precise holes quickly or you need absolute 90 degree precision – then it beats everything. I would say a power hand drill is way more efficient than a brace or egg beater and easier too. Plus, you can watch perpendicular as you drill down because you don’t really need to worry about body position. But a brace or egg beater is more fun. Usually I’m not very concerned with efficiency, or I wouldn’t really be doing things with hand tools in the first place.

Now if I could only have one, it would be the brace and egg beater because the batteries never run out of power, and the extension cord is always long enough and you’ll never trip over it.

[Mike Holbrook]

As I believe Ken mentioned in another thread, a brace and bit is easier for the user to make angled holes with. The brace & bit is easier to allign than an electric drill without any visuals to allign with. The more variable rotation speed comes in handy too. An egg beater may be even easier to allign.

[Dave Parkis]

Assuming the right size brace is being used, I think a brace is at least as quick as the electric. There's a woman who's in her mid- 70's in my hand tool group who tried a brace for the first time last year. She bored a 3/4 " hole through a 3" thick bench top in about a minute and a half. Told me it was less strenuous than a corded drill.

[ken hatch]

As I believe Ken mentioned in another thread, a brace and bit is easier for the user to make angled holes with. The brace & bit is easier to allign than an electric drill without any visuals to allign with. The more variable rotation speed comes in handy too. An egg beater may be even easier to allign.


Assuming the right size brace is being used, I think a brace is at least as quick as the electric. There's a woman who's in her mid- 70's in my hand tool group who tried a brace for the first time last year. She bored a 3/4 " hole through a 3" thick bench top in about a minute and a half. Told me it was less strenuous than a corded drill.


Another nice thing about brace and bits, want to go to a depth count the turns. Going through, no need for a backer board, feel for the lead screw. It just works better.

ken

[steven c newman]

Have two 6" sweep braces that are always set up....one drills a pilot hole, the second drills a countersink. Much faster than using a cordless drill, or even a corded drill.

One other "drill" to consider...a push drill....like a North Brothers Yankee one. Great for quick pilot holes for smaller screws.

[Luke Dupont]

I found some really nice Gimlets at hardware stores here in japan, the larger ones having a cutting face similar to what you get on brace bits. They work wonderfully and are quite compact, fitting nicely in a toolbox.

A brace or eggbeater allows for more accuracy though -- it's hard to keep a gimlet perfectly vertical.

I love all of the above and prefer them to using an electric drill, which tends to be bulky and hard to sight / hold squarely. Also way quieter, which is essential if you live in an apartment.

[Mike Holbrook]

My Wood Owl drill bits work exceptionally well in a brace. Just be ready when the lead screw engages because it will pull through just about any wood at a consistent rate, perfect for Ken’s count the rotations method. I often use them in 8” braces. My two 6” braces have phillips head and star screw driving bits in them. Although I often use quick change hex shank bit holders in them so I can change between hex shank screw driver bits and hex shank smaller drill bits. The Wood Owl bits have larger shanks which benefit from a brace that can exert a little more torque.

[ken hatch]

My Wood Owl drill bits work exceptionally well in a brace. Just be ready when the lead screw engages because it will pull through just about any wood at a consistent rate, perfect for Ken’s count the rotations method. I often use them in 8” braces. My two 6” braces have phillips head and star screw driving bits in them. Although I often use quick change hex shank bit holders in them so I can change between hex shank screw driver bits and hex shank smaller drill bits. The Wood Owl bits have larger shanks which benefit from a brace that can exert a little more torque.

Mike,

I've thought about buying a set of Wood Owl's but I don't think they will work in a Spofford style brace. Are they better than a good set of Jennings?

ken

[Mike Holbrook]

Ken, I have old Irwin and Jennings bit sets. The threads in those bits frequently do not hold, once they start spinning they heat up. Hold on tight when the threads on the Wood Owls (WDs) make puchase as they almost always pull through any wood. I am not sure if it is: the alloy, some sort of coating or tighter maunufacturing standards but the WDs are almost imposible to over heat, even when used continuously in heavy electric drills.

We used one Wood Owl bit to drill many of the large holes for rungs in a Widsor Chair class I took. We put the WD bit in a heavy, corded, electric drill and drilled all the remaining holes for all the chairs in the class. Drew Langsner had been sharpening bits constantly due to heat dulling the ones he had. Drew was amazed that the one WD bit was just as sharp after drilling all the rest of the holes for the classes chairs. I still have not had to sharpen that bit.

You also need to be aware that although these bits are marked as imperial they are in fact metric “equivalents”. I went round and round with Lee Valley trying to determine if they had somehow found actual imperial bits from Wood Owl, turns out the ones they carry are actually metric too. You want the Ultra Smooth bits with three spurs. The shafts on these bits are heavy duty, with 6 flat sides. They fit my 8” brace well, not sure about how they might fit a Spofford brace, although the flat sides should provide solid registration for a screw.

[Andrew Seemann]

I do occasionally use my brace and bit sets, not often, but enough to keep them handy. Never cared for eggbeater drills, they just seemed like a lot of work. Both the cordless drill and driver get used the most. They probably are my most used tools overall, but I don't exclusively do the neanderthal thing; I don't have the time (or desire) to be hand tool only. I do use push drills fairly often, they are quite handy when you need to do small holes and the weight of the cordless is inconvient.

As far as cordless drills and drivers go, especially now with the lightweight quick charge LIon batteries, they are the greatest thing to woodworking and tools in general since they figured out how to put the beer on the inside of the can:)

We can pretend otherwise, but remembering back to having to drill multiple out of position holes by hand or with a heavy corded drill (with no brake), there is no way I would want to go back. Fiddling in the shop with hand tools is fun and a luxury for most, but not always an efficient way to do things timely.

[steven c newman]

Maybe give a Yankee Screwdriver a try? Nah..too much like work, right?
388790
Push drills..helps when they are each set up to a different size...saves fiddling with a bit..
388791
Screwdrivers....wide range of tips.....some are even spring loaded too....no battery to charge, either.

[Andrew Seemann]

Maybe give a Yankee Screwdriver a try? Nah..too much like work, right?
388790
Push drills..helps when they are each set up to a different size...saves fiddling with a bit..
388791
Screwdrivers....wide range of tips.....some are even spring loaded too....no battery to charge, either.

Well, if we are going to add screwdrivers to the discussion:)

I've got that big Miller's Falls one; I like it for drawer slide screws. Lee Valley has (or at least had) an adapter to use it with driver bits. The grey handled Stanley one gets used for small cabinet hinge screws that might strip out with a cordless. I also have one (with the plastic storage handle) in my electrical tool box with screwdriver and bradawl bits for on the fly stuff when I didn't bring the cordless.

I tend to throw one of those silver North Bros push drills in the box when I need to do just a few pilot holes on site. It's easier than lugging the cordless and charger (they always die at the worst time).

[Brandon Speaks]

I do occasionally use my brace and bit sets, not often, but enough to keep them handy. Never cared for eggbeater drills, they just seemed like a lot of work. Both the cordless drill and driver get used the most. They probably are my most used tools overall, but I don't exclusively do the neanderthal thing; I don't have the time (or desire) to be hand tool only. I do use push drills fairly often, they are quite handy when you need to do small holes and the weight of the cordless is inconvient.

As far as cordless drills and drivers go, especially now with the lightweight quick charge LIon batteries, they are the greatest thing to woodworking and tools in general since they figured out how to put the beer on the inside of the can:)

We can pretend otherwise, but remembering back to having to drill multiple out of position holes by hand or with a heavy corded drill (with no brake), there is no way I would want to go back. Fiddling in the shop with hand tools is fun and a luxury for most, but not always an efficient way to do things timely.

I agree with this. Back in 08 when my house in Cedar Rapids was flooded and I literally lost everything that I could not throw in my truck in 30 minutes (mostly some cloths, guns, and few heirlooms) the first purchase I made afterwards was a dewalt cordless drill/driver combo. It is far from my most cherished or favorite tool, but if I had to start from square 1 tomorrow it would still be the first thing I buy.

[Mike Holbrook]

Now we have opened a whole new “can of worms”! If we are talking about “push” drills/screwdrivers we may need to determine whether the newer spring loaded devices or the older springless devices are more popular. I prefer the older models as I find them less tricky to operate reliably. I find that exerting the pressure against the work, which is arguably required to use the units with springs, may cause the driver to slip and scar the work.

I switch between my Festool T15+3 drill, eggbeaters and braces. I may be using my braces more often as the charger for my Festool Li-ion batteries says at least one battery will no longer charge. Even with the clutch on my electric Festool drill, I find it very difficult to determine when screws are about to: sink in too far, spin in place or simply break. The greater feel, especially with a brace, can be very helpful in situations where: screws need to be set at exact depths, holes need to be exact depths, one wants to stop drilling at the moment the lead screw on an auger bit starts protruding from the far side.....If one has multiple braces and or egbeaters, different ones can be set up for specific functions and not changed. The other option is to buy hex shank bit holders and install them on one’s braces and eggbeaters so it is easy to switch between different screw driver types or drill sizes. Part of the “issue” may be how well one has thought out the use of the manual vs electric tools.

[Jim Koepke]

Part of the “issue” may be how well one has thought out the use of the manual vs electric tools.

And how their tools are stored. My larger twist bits are stored across the shop from the bench. When it comes to driving screws, most of my hex bits are close to the bench with the 18V drill.

It all gets used for one thing or another.

jtk

[steven c newman]

Why bother when they are all getting used..
388872
For adding 3" #6 screws...
388873
A little candle wax does help...YMMV

[Matt Lau]

For boring large holes in cabinets/cabinet tops/desks for wiring, I vastly prefer a good brace and bit.
It's much cleaner, and less noisy.

[Alan Rutherford]

I have no use for eggbeater drills or push screwdrivers. Battery-operated is so much better for the same tasks. I like those screwdrivers with 2 reversible bits where you can interchange the bits with a drill. But a brace is the most versatile, powerful, controllable screwdriver I could want in some situations. Also good for holes in wood of course and with an expendable bit and an extension makes holes in hard ground for thin garden stakes. I'm also a fan of push drills.

[Brandon Speaks]

I would think if you need to drill a hole in the ground for garden stakes you more likely need a good tilling of that garden.

Concept is interesting though, and sparks some ideas.

[Alan Rutherford]

I would think if you need to drill a hole in the ground for garden stakes you more likely need a good tilling of that garden.... Not my department and what tilling was done stopped short of the (ultimately useless) low electric fence that, in theory, would keep the squirrels out. It was an interesting project, though and I have also used the brace to start T-posts in ground that will never be tilled. You'd think with 110% humidity the ground wouldn't dry up but it does.

[Richard Line]

Lately I've really been using my egg beater drill for starter holes for nails and screws, and I'm liking it more and more. However, I ran into a problem and had to use my battery drill (12v), and a right angle attachment. Just not enough space over the hole locations for the egg beater. Were there egg beaters that allowed getting into tight spaces. I think I've seen some modern egg beater type things that cut down on the overhead required, but I don't recall seeing something old.

Yeah and I'm using my brace more and more, as long as the hole doesn't require a forstner bit. Although drill presses and be nice.

[steven c newman]

Millers Falls did make a right angle ratchet brace...

Was using my brace and bits a while back..
389487
Needed counter-bored holes for lag screws
389488
Drilled the #13 counter bore first, then the #6 hole for the screw's shank. Only 8 holes were needed....decided to change bits as needed....