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Thread: Brace Fanatics

  1. #1
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    Default Brace Fanatics

    Last year, you boring, obsessed ... sorry *boring obsessed* so-and-so's started coming out of the woodwork.

    Hopefully we can hear more from you guys here

    Here's one to start - off ebay. Have we had this in Australia?

    Antique Old Vintage Tools RARE Bit Brace Design Woodworking | eBay

    curio-bit.JPG

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  3. #2
    Boringgeoff is offline Try not to be late, but never be early.
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    Default Ho Hum............. boooriiiing

    Hi Paul,

    As far as I can ascertain that is the Lightning Brace made by the Hamden Mfg Co of Wallingford Connecticut USA, possibly from about 1905. I have one of these and it's got "patent applied for. 102" stamped on it. It is slightly different from the one in your photo, where the base of the chuck and the wedge both appear to have three flat facets on the upper surface mine is uniformly round.
    I don't know if these were ever sold here, mine came from the US.
    It works quite well, the harder you lean on it, the tighter the wedge collar grips the tang of the bit.
    Thanks for posting, I had wondered which one I would obsess about today, and 'ol Lightnin' hasn't been obsessed about for some time.

    Cheers,

    Geoff.

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    Default

    I forgot I meant to add to this. I have a few, collected as a side effect to buying saws - so they are mostly from the US.

    So I thought I could put some pics here for you guys to teach me about them


    20140129_051806 (Medium).jpg


    I know Flather & sons is from England ... and there was a Chapman brace on here not long ago that I mistook for Flather.
    But I thought I had two from them ... and I could not find the damn thing. Puzzle solved now.

    The first one ... (also marked "STEEL 8in")

    20140129_043351 (Medium).jpg 20140129_043418 (Medium).jpg 20140129_043428 (Medium).jpg

    and (ahah) the second one ...

    20140129_050631 (Medium).jpg 20140129_050658 (Medium).jpg 20140129_050646 (Medium).jpg

    the last says "Arthur" "Edinburgh"

    20140129_050639 (Medium).jpg

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    Boringgeoff is offline Try not to be late, but never be early.
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    Default

    G'day Paul,

    As far as I know some of the British tool manufacturers had steel American pattern braces made for them by J A Chapman. I suppose they could see the future lay with this style of brace so needed to get them in their catalogue along with their traditional wooden Beech braces and their iron "scotch" braces. Some were also importing them from America and I guess this went on until they could tool up to produce their own.
    I would suggest that your David Flather was quite possibly made for them by Chapman. I've got two or three which I believe were made by Chapman for others such as Mathieson and S Tyzack. On the first photo of the Flather is there a slight projection on the nose of the chuck or is it a shadow?
    In regard to your to wooden braces I'm not much help as I deliberately stay away from them due to the high purchase price these generally command.
    The brace that I find interesting though, is the Chapman in your last post, the No 32. I haven't seen a Chapman with a lever ratchet selector before, the ones I have seen use a ring selector. When identifying tools there is always a danger that, as with other tools, it may be made from a mix of different brands. This is particularly relevant with the jaws of a brace as these were easily damaged and replacements commonly available from most manufacturers. More difficult with the chuck shells as thread pitch, diameter and length of the two parts made mixing a lot harder.
    The model number on yours, 32, is used by Chapman in their 1932 catalogue for a high quality brace and the mark "steel 10in" is also found on their braces so I don't think it's a mongrel and does need further investigation.
    Just because I haven't seen one doesn't necessarily make it unusual.

    Cheers,
    Geoff.

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    Default a horrow story for Geoff

    Goeff,
    (Referred from a US forum..)

    put your coffee down, don't want to have an accident,
    Then open the link and have a look.....

    Guest post: Funky Junk Interiors - The Shabby Creek Cottage


    weeping and wailing...


    Peter
    <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <woNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]-->

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    Default

    something a bit more upbeat than my last here...
    A couple from the cabinet and not the work bench.
    The folding brace is a lovely looking tool, but quite useless. It tends to fold up as you crank it!

    Peter

    <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <woNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]-->

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    Default

    Geoff was pooh-poohing the wooden braces as quite expensive.
    I have drooled over those Ultimatum-style braces at $800+++ ... mine are more bogan ... about the $30 mark.
    Like this one I noted recently ...
    Vintage Wood AND Brass Brace Bloomer Philipps Registered 1847 | eBay

    Peter ... I think your ones might be a little posher ...

    Paul

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    "Skinner" has been mentioned before, I think Geoff?

    Vintage Skinner Ratchet Brace Tapered Shell Bits Gilpin Ridgeway 1941 WAR Dept | eBay

    skinner.JPG

    I see I have a photo saved with that name ... no ... two ...

    skinner brace.jpg skinner ratchet.jpg

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    Default

    and my next query ... the top one kinda looks like the Iron Flather ... but then, all braces look the same.
    The second one feels solid and strong, ball-bearing pad ... and no markings I can see at all.

    20140129_044308 (Medium).jpg

    The Dark Horse and the Iron Flather ...

    20140205_151324 (Medium).jpg 20140205_151333 (Medium).jpg

    Dark Horse only has one mark I can see ... and it's pretty ooky.
    My uneducated guess is "STEEL x IN" ...

    20140129_044242 (Medium).jpg

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    Boringgeoff is offline Try not to be late, but never be early.
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    Thanks for the warning Peter even the Shabby Creek cat looks disgusted.
    Yes Paul we have talked about Skinner before and I'm non the wiser, they are fairly common here, I've got a corner brace similar to yours.
    As I said previously your Flather could have been made by James Chapman but I really don't have enough knowledge to be adamant about that, but if so it would be their medium quality brace. Here is a Chapman No16 which is their A quality brace with their Registered Design No 239718 stamped on the chuckTool Register 002.jpg It has a tapering nonagonal (nine sides, Paul) chuck where the similar shaped chuck on the Skinner is octagonal. This brace is also branded British Made with the entwined JAC logo. Does the word British give us a clue as to when it may have been made?
    I have got a number of braces that look the same as this with other company brands but still displaying the Reg' Design No 239718, including Rob't Sorby, W Marples and Mathieson. One is branded Geo Musgrave Lincoln, as far as I can determine this may have been a hardware merchant rather than a manufacturer. All of the above apart from the No 16 have the mark "steel 10in" (or 8in) which I believe is a uniquely Chapman mark. This mark doesn't appear on the Skinners that I have seen.Tool Register 004.jpg Here's Rob't Sorby, it doesn't have and son or sons but does have what looks like a Maltese cross above the S.
    I'll revise the statement I made previously about a Chapman made S Tyzack, while it looks very like the others it doesn't have the Reg No on it and does have "Trade ZYTO Mark" on the frame also the ratchet selector is a bit different so perhaps is Tyzack made.
    Paul I don't want to get your hopes up but the Dark Horse brand is, I believe, worth a MINT! ummmm....errr..or was that worth a Mintie?
    Geoff.
    Last edited by Boringgeoff; 6th February 2014 at 10:08 AM. Reason: Pucnturisation

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    Boringgeoff is offline Try not to be late, but never be early.
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    Default Mathieson of Glasgow.

    I have a couple of Spofford (Pat 1859) braces branded simply "Mathieson". While they look the same as the Spofford braces made by John S Fray in the USA there are some differences. Spofford compare 001.jpg The two on the left are Mathieson the other two Fray. The first one has a owner added wound wire handle, a good idea and fairly commonly found in Australia. All have the sweep size cast into the underside of the head. The head on the Fray is held on by a pin that goes obliquely through the boss and locates in a groove in the quill. In the case of the Mathieson the job is done by a short grub screw.Spofford compare 002.jpgThe most important difference, though, is at the business end of the brace. The threaded section in the body of the brace where the thumbscrew locates is substantially thicker in the Mathieson than the Fray. This is accomplished by a thickening of the casting at this point. The difference between the two in both the 8 inch and 10 inch sweep is about 1/8 inch.Spofford compare 003.jpg I have suggested previously that American style steel braces may have been originally made for Mathieson by the likes of James Chapman but in the case above I think Mathiesons probably made these themselves rather than import them from Fray reasons being, design differences, ease of manufacture and the inconvenience of involving a third party in making them.
    Geoff

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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Boringgeoff View Post
    I have a couple of Spofford (Pat 1859) braces branded simply "Mathieson". While they look the same as the Spofford braces made by John S Fray in the USA there are some differences. Spofford compare 001.jpg The two on the left are Mathieson the other two Fray. The first one has a owner added wound wire handle, a good idea and fairly commonly found in Australia. All have the sweep size cast into the underside of the head. The head on the Fray is held on by a pin that goes obliquely through the boss and locates in a groove in the quill. In the case of the Mathieson the job is done by a short grub screw.Spofford compare 002.jpgThe most important difference, though, is at the business end of the brace. The threaded section in the body of the brace where the thumbscrew locates is substantially thicker in the Mathieson than the Fray. This is accomplished by a thickening of the casting at this point. The difference between the two in both the 8 inch and 10 inch sweep is about 1/8 inch.Spofford compare 003.jpg I have suggested previously that American style steel braces may have been originally made for Mathieson by the likes of James Chapman but in the case above I think Mathiesons probably made these themselves rather than import them from Fray reasons being, design differences, ease of manufacture and the inconvenience of involving a third party in making them.
    Geoff
    No offence Geoff, but you've really got to get out more ....

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ozziespur View Post
    No offence Geoff, but you've really got to get out more ....
    Leave Geoff alone, he's imparting good information.

    Cheers, Vann.
    Gatherer of rusty planes tools...
    Proud member of the Wadkin Blockhead Club .

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boringgeoff View Post
    Yes Paul we have talked about Skinner before and I'm non the wiser, they are fairly common here, I've got a corner brace similar to yours.
    I don't have any Skinners ... just photos.

    nonagonal (nine sides, Paul)
    I know, I know!

    ummmm....errr..or was that worth a Mintie?
    Mintie most probably ... not that lucky.


    Any thoughts on the bottom one? It seems very solid for having no marks that I can see?


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