Old brace

[Bill Jobe]

Shortly after joining SMC I found this at my local habitat.
I mediately took it to checkout so I could reserve it for their 60 minute hold and got on SMC to ask if it was something that may be of interest to some.
Right away, someone wrote that I could not advertise without being a contributor.
I wrote back that I was a contributor but saw no reason to add that to my posts. My personal choice, that's all.
So, I put most of the several braces I reserved back on the shelf where about 3 or 4 guys were waiting out the reserve.
They all were grabbed emediately.
So I bought the one I held onto and was just wondering if this was a piece that you knuckle draggers look for.
I cannot find a single identifying mark on it.
Anyone know anything about it?
Is it of any value to your group?

[steven c newman]

IMAG0085.JPG
P.S. & Q. with a Samson chuck?
IMAG0082.JPG
Mine is a bit bigger...No. 8012

[Jim Koepke]

Bill, as Steven mentioned that does resemble the Samson chuck. The larger shell for tightening made it easier to secure a bit in place. You may also want to look at Millers Falls braces with their Lion Chuck. See more about that here > https://oldtoolheaven.com/brace/FeaturedBraces.htm#Lion

Millers Falls did make unbranded tools for many retailers.

Not sure about your earlier post if you were not asking about sale value or if someone wanted to purchase this brace there should not have been a problem. Site rules dictate those kinds of questions/offers should be in the Classified section.

Braces are one of the most common woodworking tools to be found. Most common are those with a 10" swing. Braces with a 6 or 8" swing are harder to find and tend to have more buyers seeking them. 12" and larger swing may also have a few more takers than the ubiquitous 10" model.

With all that said, many users are looking for particular models. It may be the chuck, it may be the ratchet mechanism that moves some to purchase a particular brace. My set seems to have four with the same chuck and three with the same ratchet:

4 Stanley Braces & one Samson 14%22.jpg

The 14" sweep has a Sampson chuck.

Some models have chucks made to hold twist bits as well as tanged auger bits.

A quick way to find a relative value on an item is to look at completed listings on ebay.

Other than that it is often that a brace can be a handy addition to one's tool kit. They are also easy to store in various ways:

Brace Rack on Shelf.jpg

They also hang well over a rafter if those are handy.

jtk

[Nicholas Lawrence]

My guess would have been Sampson. I have a couple of Lions, and a Craftsman clone of a Lion.

Mine are stamped with the manufacturer and model number near the handle.

[J. Greg Jones]

I’m speculating that it is a later model, yet pre-1957, Millers Falls brace with the Lion chuck. I say later model because the pad is secured with Phillips screws and the knurling is relatively coarse, which was done on the later models as a cost saving measure. I say Millers Falls because their braces had angular wrist handle retainer collars, as does yours. The jaws of your brace are the Leland universal jaws, which were used prior to 1957. The Leland jaws, while an alligator style, are smooth along their length.

The Peck, Stow, and Wilcox/Pexto/Worth braces with Samson chucks for the most part all had tapered wrist handle retainer collars. There were some early exceptions, and those collars were secured with a screw. If you look at the picture Jim posted, all the braces have tapered collars but one. The jaws of every Sampson chuck I have seen are alligator style and have teeth along the length, which truly resembles an alligator’s mouth.

Look closely on the frame above the ratchet for a name and/or number that will identify the brace. Regardless of who made it, it looks to be a solid, serviceable brace. I’d say it’s pretty unremarkable from a collector’s perspective, so resale value would probably be around $25 tops.