What to look for in a brace

[Brian Hale]

The next step in my hand tool collection is a brace and a set of bits however i've got no idea what i'm looking for.

Names. Model numbers. Types of jaws. etc.

If possible i'd like to use it with some of my larger forstner bits which have the hexagonal shanks.

Any and all opinions and thoughts appreciated!

TIA

Brian :)

[harry strasil]

find an old auger bit and cut the shank off and thread it to fit one of the new keyless chucks.

[Pam Niedermayer]

I think you'll find that you'll want several braces. My favorite are from J.S. Fray with Spofford chucks. I have a ratcheting Millers Falls from Woodcraft that has turned out to be a big disappointment, constantly freezing up.

Pam

[glenn bradley]

I have a ratcheting Millers Falls from Woodcraft that has turned out to be a big disappointment, constantly freezing up.

Pam

That is disappointing. I've got an old Millers Falls, ratcheting, reversible No. 732 that works like a charm. So I guess what we're saying Brian is go reliable and old or top-notch and new.

[Brian Hale]

Thanks Guys!

Looking at several on ebay right now including the 732 that Glenn mentioned.

Pam, why do you think i'll want several? The slope seems to demand it ;) but is there another reason?

Brian :)

[Gary Herrmann]

Brian, you can pick up Stanley 2101s for cheap. There are a bunch of old SBC linemen that live in my area and I've picked up a 10" 2101 with some auger bits for $20 twice now.

There are usually a lot of braces for sale on the bay, and I've seen MF braces go for reasonable amounts. And while they're built really well, the North Bros 2100 braces I've seen on the bay lately have gone for ridiculous amounts of money. I've seen two go for $200. Crazy.

As for auger bits, you'll pay if you buy a complete set - especially if they come in one of those nice wooden boxes. Admittedly, I did pick up a really nice set of Irwins in a finger jointed box from an elderly gentleman in the area for a reasonable price. But my set of Jennings auger bits are in an old chisel roll. I acquired them a couple at a time.

As for several, you can chuck up a bit and just leave it. I've got one with a countersink bit in it that does nothing else.

[Wiley Horne]

Brian,

Caution: nearly everything below is an opinion.....In my opinion, the most useful braces are the ones which will accept just about any shank--square tapered, round, hex, what have you. Ones that come to mind right away are the Millers Falls 730-series, Millers Falls 770-series (Lion chuck), Stanley 923 series, Stanley 813's, Pexto 8000 series (Samson chucks), and the North Bros./Stanley 2101 and 2100 models.

If you're looking for a specific recommendation, I would look for North Bros. or Stanley 2101. The pre-WWII North Bros. in good shape sell for a premium over Stanley, but the Stanley's are first-rate in my experience. The 2100's have a fancier finish, and go for more money, but the 2101's are an incredible workhorse of a brace. The ratchet on these things is silky, and puts you in mind of a watch movement. This is actually useful when you're using the brace as a screwdriver (which I do all the time), because a heavy ratchet will back out a screw you're trying to get started, whereas the Yankee is such a light action that all you need is a 1/4-turn on the screw, and the ratchet will not back it out. This may sound obscure, but if you're down underneath your bench trying to install a vise, or under the floor joists trying to get a screw into something, you'll appreciate it.

Bits kinda depend on what you need them for. I have a couple sets of augers that are rarely used. But there are always 5 braces on the wall with different Robertson (square drive) and Phillips drivers in them. The next most used after the screwdrivers are pilot/countersink/counterbore bits, and the next most used after that are lipped brad-point bits (LV has great ones for not too much money). You mentioned the Forstners and sawtooths.

I think you'll find ten times as much use for an 8" sweep brace as any other size, at least in the bench area. They ain't easy to find, compared to 10".

Following onto what Pam said, it stuck in my head a few years ago when Larry Williams said the most useful set-up he had were Fray Spofford chucks, with gimlet bits. I looked for a couple years trying to find square-tapered- shank gimlet bits, and finally gave up, and gave away my Spofford brace. Your luck might be better than mine, and I listen when Larry makes a recommendation--as well as when Pam makes one!

Wiley

[Ron Dunn]

I've toyed with the idea of a brace on several occasions, but each time I've been advised against it.

My requirement is to use contemporary drills (ie, twist, spur, whatever), yet I'm told that a brace can't handle these.

Why is it that a three-jaw chuck can't handle a round drill? Is this just a myth?

[Bill Houghton]

Two common bit patterns: Jennings, which are a double twist made by flattening the steel and then twisting it; and solid center, which is what is sounds like, a solid center shank with the auger part twisting around it like a single ribbon around a Maypole.

There is also the issue of the pitch of the screw at the business end. There are three basic pitches - coarse, fine, and, less common around here, medium. The coarser pitches move more quickly through the wood but can pull out of harder wood; the finer pitches are slower but are supposed to work better in hardwoods. Medium pitch was, I think, a cheater pitch, spozed to work well in either. Around here, fine pitch is generally associated with jennings pattern bits, and coarse with solid center.

Ideally, you want a set of each, but, as you begin, watch for a set of jennings pattern bits first.

Sharpening: you can find how to do it in nearly any sharpening book. You need a stone the right size and shape, or, perhaps better, an auger bit file (Lee Valley sells them, others probably do too). Auger bit files are small, double-ended, and severely tapered in their width. One end has cut (toothed) faces but safe (no teeth) edges; the other cut edges but safe faces. With this, you can file the parts you need and not accidentally mess up adjacent surfaces. You'd be surprised what a few minutes with a file will do for your boring efficiency.

Tip I got from someone on another forum: If the screw threads are messed up, start to bore a hole in some pine, then back out the screw. Put some abrasize powder in the hole (all else failing you, go to the auto parts store and buy some valve grinding compound). Run the screw in and out several times to polish it up.

You also want the entire bit shiny bright. If it's not, get some cloth-backed fine sandpaper or emery cloth, rip off strips, and use them shoeshine fashion to buff it up.

Most older how to books and many of the new ones suggest boring your hole until you feel the screw poking through the back side of the wood, then reversing the stock and finishing the hole from the back side. This prevents blowout. You can also clamp colored paper between the stock and a backing board (good use for the Sunday comics after you've finished); when you see the colored paper coming out of the hole, you're through the board.

[Maurice Metzger]

Brian, sent you a PM.

Maurice

[Brian Hale]

Lots of good information folks, thank you.

I'm going to keep looking on the 'bay and reading the descriptions as some give little details that are worth considering. Sounds like i'll wind up with a few different sizes from different makers and eventually settle on one or three that i like.

Thanks again!

Brian :)

[Pam Niedermayer]

That is disappointing. I've got an old Millers Falls, ratcheting, reversible No. 732 that works like a charm. So I guess what we're saying Brian is go reliable and old or top-notch and new.

I fully intended going top notch and new, the MF was over $100. :(

Pam

[Pam Niedermayer]

...

Pam, why do you think i'll want several? The slope seems to demand it ;) but is there another reason?

Because they come in different sizes with different chucks.

Pam

[Gary Herrmann]

I fully intended going top notch and new, the MF was over $100. :(

Pam

Somebody sold an MF Parson's brace on the bay recently for over 150. It looked like it had never been used. Beautiful tool, but waaay out of my price range.

[Wiley Horne]

Ron,

I suggest just forget about the new braces--check Pam's experience that she relates above.

It's true that many--in fact, most--of the vintage braces will only take square tapered shank augers or other bits. However, the big makers each offered models with 'universal chucks' that would lock onto circular, hex, square non-tapered bits as well. I listed some off the top above. To repeat, here are some braces with 'universal chucks':

Millers Falls 730 series
Millers Falls 770 series ('Lion' ball-bearing chuck)
Stanley 923
Stanley 813 (ball bearing chuck)
PSW or Pexto 8000 series ('Samson' ball-bearing chuck)
North Bros. (later Stanley) 2101 and 2100 (ball-bearing chuck).

There are undoubtedly others, but these come to mind right away.

As a separate consideration, it is probably true that modern drills perform more efficiently or effectively in a high-speed electric drill--they're designed for it--but they will certainly work in the braces cited above. By the same token, I would be a lot more comfortable chucking an olde-tyme self-feeding auger into a brace, rather than into an electric drill and putting a motor on it.

Wiley

[Dave Lehnert]

Would you believe I was in an old time hardware store in northern Ohio and they had a brand new Millers falls drill in a box. Bad part. They knew what they had and was asking big $$$$$

[Billy Chambless]

Lots of good information folks, thank you.

I'm going to keep looking on the 'bay and reading the descriptions as some give little details that are worth considering. Sounds like i'll wind up with a few different sizes from different makers and eventually settle on one or three that i like.

Thanks again!

Brian :)

Along with the bay, check out some of the reputable used tool vendors:

http://www.sydnassloot.com/tools.htm

http://www.brasscityrecords.com/toolworks/new%20tools.html

http://www.workingtools.biz/

[Chuck Nickerson]

Excellent thread. Given the prior lack of information on braces and bit, particularly rehabbing braces, I just finished buying nine different braces on the auction site. (Still looking for more. Any out there Clint, et al?) In April, my experiences rehabbing and using them should start appearing here. Rehabbing and using planes and saws is well covered; it's time to bring braces and bits to the fore.