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Thread: Brace bits

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boringgeoff View Post
    Found this countersink in a 1931 Henry Boker catalogue.
    Cheers.
    Hi Geoff, I found a couple more braces that are hopefully of interest. One is a Stanley 909 10 inch. The other is a Bleckmann. As you can see it is missing the handle (?) which a google search would seem to show is ball shaped. Is it simply a matter of getting a ball turned up, drill out the centre, cut in half on the bandsaw and then clamp and glue in position? What type of wood? As you can see a different type of countersink fitted is fitted but I am guessing that the other short ones plus couple of others I didn't photograph all belong to it.
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  3. #17
    Boringgeoff is offline Try not to be late, but never be early.
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    Well this is pretty interesting. I'm not aware of an English Stanley model 909 and off the top of my head I've also never seen one branded made in ENG with the ENG abbreviated like that. And that's on any English brace not just Stanley. Can you see the Stanley logo or Made in England around the chuck near the rear end?
    As far as your Bleckmann repair you've pretty well nailed how to do it. Though I've never done that particular refurb' myself I think that rather than halve it on the bandsaw splitting it along the grain with a sharp chisel may give you a cleaner join?
    There are plenty of nice hard decorative Aus' woods to choose from and I'm sure someone from your neck of the woods will know more on that subject than me. I did turn a head for a brace using black mulga and it looks quite authentic.
    I'll have to do some more research on the 909 because it looks a bit fishy somehow.
    Cheers,
    Geoff.

  4. #18
    Boringgeoff is offline Try not to be late, but never be early.
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    Huon, I had a look for a brace that resembles your No 909 and came up with two Stanley No 945's made in USA. Neither is exactly the same but in combination they fit the bill. One with chuck dissembled similar to 909 has a different metal clad head while the other has head connection similar to 909 but the chuck is an earlier version.
    When Stanley bought into J A Chapman, Sheffield, in 1937 they initially adopted Chapman's model numbering system before gradually introducing their own numbers, which were not based on their US numbering system, so didn't consist of any starting with 9 that I am aware of, that is, until you presented yours.
    I searched and found a 909 previously for sale on a British tool sale site but couldn't see "Made in ENG" on it. My two USA models don't have "Made in USA" on their frames otherwise I'd conclude that the 909 was made in the States and the three dies U, S & A were swapped to E, N & G and the brace(s) slipped into Pomgolia on the sly. Another scenario,perhaps, is the engraver was arrested by a Bobby part way through his forgery.

    I've included a photo of the handles on a couple of ball braces, one the two halves are pinned together, one pin each side and the lower one uses staples astride the join.
    Cheers,
    Geoff.
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  5. #19
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    Thanks Geoff, next weekend when I am back at my workshop I will go over it with a fine tooth comb to see if there are any other markings on it that might help.

  6. #20
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    Geoff, another couple which may be of interest to you. I will clean them up this weekend and see what markings may be revealed.
    I also have 3 or 4 hand drills if you are interested.
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  7. #21
    Boringgeoff is offline Try not to be late, but never be early.
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    The first two of your photos are the ubiquitous Spofford brace patented by Massachusetts USA resident Nelson Spofford in 1859 (US Pat 25984).These were churned out initially by J S Fray & Co from about that time then later by Stanley Rule and Level Co until the 1920's. This brace was a good no frills brace for the use of farmers, carpenters and the like and frequently found here in Aus'.
    Yours looks to have a replacement thumbscrew which is quite common due to the thread stripping in the casting. Mathieson of Glasgow also made this style titled "Colonial Pattern" which was superior in that they had a thickening in the casting in the area of the thumbscrew to increase the thread depth to avoid this issue.
    Your second brace pictured is also in the no frills category and difficult for me to hazard a guess as to its origin, bearing in mind that 100 years ago some manufacturers listed 70 -80 different models in their catalogues in Britain and the USA.
    As far as hand drills go, I must say I'm still doing my apprenticeship on braces and brace tools and am reluctant to spread my interest too far, not to mention that Mrs BG would probably leave home if she suspected I'd strayed off track. On the other hand we all like to see photos of tools and this is your thread so go for it mate.
    Cheers,
    Geoff.

  8. #22
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    Default more brace bits

    This thread has inspired me to sort through mine.. I have been trying to put together a set of centre bits of the newer pattern (with the screw tip) but keep finding these older pattern.. see pic
    I have found the square shank varied in size on some of these, and don't fit the brace all that well.. some have a waist ground around them like the middle one, and work with no problems... I wonder if this was an owners modification ?
    The largest one is not cut off, but forged that way.
    The other pics show a 15/16 bit with a short square section that appears to have originally been a 1/2" round section... modified for a brace ?
    Kenny.
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  9. #23
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    HPF,

    "...I cleaned up all my bits over the last couple of days to try and find out what I had."...
    Apart from elbow grease, how did you clean yours bits to get them back into such great condition?
    I found a "set" of bits in a sale and want to clean them. I did notice that the bits are not all of the same design and have different flutes (?).

    Cheers Yvan


  10. #24
    Boringgeoff is offline Try not to be late, but never be early.
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    Kenny, the waist in the shank of the centre bit in your first photo is typical of Wm Marples & Sons. I've attached a photo of a couple of theirs, the upper of the two has a lead screw which is fairly unusual.
    As far as I know the centre bits have remained unchanged from the late 18th century to mid 20th (McPherson 1960 catalogue) and many of our modern brace chucks do have difficulty with some of them. Was Wm Marples design to overcome this problem or was it to easily distinguish from other manufacturers?
    Your 15/16" bit certainly looks to me to have been modified, though before or after leaving the factory?

    Yvan, if you post a photo or two of your bits we might be able to ID them.

    Cheers,
    Geoff.
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  11. #25
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    Kenny, the centre bits with the round waist seem to be a manufactured detail, perhaps this idea was to give a better fit to some design of shell chuck on a modern iron brace. I have several (these 5 are all made by Marples, like yours)
    Yvan, I use a 6" wire wheel to get most of the crud off my old bits, smaller wire wheels/brushes, sandpaper for detail areas, oil to disguise the last remnants of corrosion. Files to get them sharp and ready for work.
    P1040693.jpg

  12. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by yvan View Post
    HPF,

    "...I cleaned up all my bits over the last couple of days to try and find out what I had."...
    Apart from elbow grease, how did you clean yours bits to get them back into such great condition?
    I found a "set" of bits in a sale and want to clean them. I did notice that the bits are not all of the same design and have different flutes (?).

    Cheers Yvan

    I just used the 8 inch wire wheel on my bench grinder. I then sprayed them with Lanotec

  13. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by yvan;
    Apart from elbow grease, how did you clean yours bits to get them back into such great condition?
    Yvan, in a first for me, over the past three days I have had some rusty vise parts soaking in white vinegar with a bit of salt added for good measure. Today was the day I took them out to clean them up. It was AMAZING! Using steel wool, the rust simply wiped off. No real scrubbing required. It is a far cry from my old technique of a wire brush in the drill press generating plumes of rust dust.

    At $1.20 for two litres at Woolworths, I’d encourage you to give it a whirl.

    Kind regards,
    Lance

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