Jim Koepke
02-14-2021, 9:17 PM
Over the years many of the tools that have been acquired were made to be used in a brace.
Some of these are twist drills, many others are reamers of various kinds and sizes. There are also screwdriver blades and even a set of gimlets.
Not too long ago the thought of making a straight handle to hold these to be used more like a screw driver came to mind. Originally it occurred to me to make something like the old bit stock holders.
Then a few days ago while moving a few things around an old brace caught my eye. It was one of the first ones purchased in my quest for woodworking tools. It was an inexpensive brace with the Dunlap brand.
Of course it was more difficult to remove the chuck than it had to be. Next time the knowledge gained from this endeavor will make it much easier. There is a pin in the ratchet gear. Drill from the other side and it can be knocked out with a punch. Then the chuck will fall out.
A bit of hickory was left over from making a mallet. It was used to make the handle:
452275
The veneer saw was found at one of my favorite antique stores in Astoria, OR. It was marked $8. The store owner said she had no idea what it was when she bought it. When she was told what it could be used for she said she wished she had bought it for herself.
The ferule on the handle was made from a 3/4" pipe nipple cut in half. The end was rounded over with a doming tool from Lee Valley on sale:
452276
That doming tool might come in handy for mushroomed socket chisel handles if any more ever are found in the wild.
This would have been done a few days ago but a few holes had to be drilled into my piece or rail road track that was machined into a small anvil. That was fun. One hole for the tool holding and while doing that why not drill four holes for mounting with screws instead of bent nails. My 1/4" drill had to be sharpened a few times to finish the job.
Kind of a fun turn on the lathe and then the mixing of metal and woodwork.
The ferule was sanded progressively up to 600 grit then polished with red jeweler's rouge.
My intention was to put a pin through the hole that held the ratchet gear. It held so tight in the hole drilled in the end of the handle that it doesn't need one. It was tight enough that a mallet was used to drive it home.
jtk
Some of these are twist drills, many others are reamers of various kinds and sizes. There are also screwdriver blades and even a set of gimlets.
Not too long ago the thought of making a straight handle to hold these to be used more like a screw driver came to mind. Originally it occurred to me to make something like the old bit stock holders.
Then a few days ago while moving a few things around an old brace caught my eye. It was one of the first ones purchased in my quest for woodworking tools. It was an inexpensive brace with the Dunlap brand.
Of course it was more difficult to remove the chuck than it had to be. Next time the knowledge gained from this endeavor will make it much easier. There is a pin in the ratchet gear. Drill from the other side and it can be knocked out with a punch. Then the chuck will fall out.
A bit of hickory was left over from making a mallet. It was used to make the handle:
452275
The veneer saw was found at one of my favorite antique stores in Astoria, OR. It was marked $8. The store owner said she had no idea what it was when she bought it. When she was told what it could be used for she said she wished she had bought it for herself.
The ferule on the handle was made from a 3/4" pipe nipple cut in half. The end was rounded over with a doming tool from Lee Valley on sale:
452276
That doming tool might come in handy for mushroomed socket chisel handles if any more ever are found in the wild.
This would have been done a few days ago but a few holes had to be drilled into my piece or rail road track that was machined into a small anvil. That was fun. One hole for the tool holding and while doing that why not drill four holes for mounting with screws instead of bent nails. My 1/4" drill had to be sharpened a few times to finish the job.
Kind of a fun turn on the lathe and then the mixing of metal and woodwork.
The ferule was sanded progressively up to 600 grit then polished with red jeweler's rouge.
My intention was to put a pin through the hole that held the ratchet gear. It held so tight in the hole drilled in the end of the handle that it doesn't need one. It was tight enough that a mallet was used to drive it home.
jtk