Brace Repair

I have volunteered to repair some Braces (as in Brace and Bit). The end caps are missing. It will be a matter of turning a wooden "pad" for the end and a little bit of metal turning to make up and attachment for the "pad". Using my own Brace as a model, it gives me most of the information to do the job. At this beginning stage should I include a thrust bearing or just add oil to the metal parts that will be rubbing on each other? My own Brace doesn't have a bearing so I thought if I use bearings to repair the "volunteers" I should modify mine and add the thrust bearing......I will leave it to you to give me some collective thoughts

Chambezio,

A lot of the early (in fact most) braces had no bearing and they still work perfectly well. You could extend the hub below the head far enough to allow an oiling hole.
Would you like me to provide some photos of various models for ideas?

Cheers,
Geoff.

Thanks for replying, Geoff, I was hoping you may "drop in" to the question. The Braces in question are Stanley's made in England. My "old original" (that is in retirement due to hole saws and spade bits and battery drills) has no stamp on it but I think its a Stanley too. Some where back in my now cloudy past I have seen a Brace with a thrust Bearing and I have a slight recollection that when using it, it did make the task a little smoother.

To find what sizes are available I looked up Ebay to see what was on offer.....it seems like the overall diameter was just too big at 29mm. The "pad" holder is only 20mm diameter. I did rethink and thought about a thick washer made from some machinable nylon? Am I just making it hard for myself?

Tell me your thoughts

Chambezio,

Any chance of a photo of what you've got to work with? The English Stanley's had a thrust bearing The usual way was to have a cup that carried 1/8" or 3/32" loose ball bearings with a hardened thrust washer sitting between the balls and the hub of the head. The hub was retained, on earlier braces, by a washer over the end of the shaft which was peined to hold the washer in place. Later models replaced the peining with a "c" clip.

Cheers,
Geoff.

I pulled these two spare-parts braces down for a show and tell of two types of hubs that don't use bearings. The first three pics are from an early John Fray brace.
Attachment 499096 Attachment 499097 Attachment 499098
The hub has an internal shoulder which stops it going down the axle too far. It is retained by a washer held by peining the end of the axle. Originally the wooden head would have been screwed onto the threaded portion of the hub then two screws through the flange to stop it unscrewing.
The second type is from an early James Chapman brace which uses a slightly different method.
Attachment 499099 Attachment 499100 Attachment 499101

In this case the axle is a uniform diameter for its entire length apart from a stepdown where the retaining washer is located. The hub is stopped by a thick boss at the required position on the axle held by an internal thickening of the shaft. A thrust washer is positioned between the boss and the hub as I've tried to show in the second pic. The head is fixed to the hub by three screws through the flange.
When they started using bearings that retaining boss was changed to a cup with the balls down in it.

Cheers,
Geoff.

I will take some photos tomorrow in sun light. Having a closer squizz, of the braces to be repaired ......there is evidence of a flat washer with a shallow groove in it. I think you are on the money saying that there should be small balls, maybe about 3mm. Can you buy just balls from a Bearing company? If so I could easily put a groove in the part that I have to machine.

My memory of using a brace with this kind of thrust bearing is very hazy, but what you have described and what I have seen with the Stanley braces and the shallow grooves does ring a vague bell (getting old and trying to remember does become a chore)

I have previously bought loose balls from a farm machinery outlet in my local town.
Cheers,
Geoff.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Boringgeoff

I have previously bought loose balls from a farm machinery outlet in my local town.
Cheers,
Geoff.

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It would be worth trying the local bicycle shop.

Chas.

You might also find something suitable from remote control car vendors (yeah, I know that's a bit out of left field), but they often stock them in many sizes smaller than common in hardware stores and auto stores.

Well......I found some suitably sizes steel to make up the piece that fixed on to the brace and allows the timber knob to secure to the brace. In regards to the thrust bearing, a groove was evident on the brace part of the assembly so I machined a bit of a groove in the piece I was making and placed 2.5mm balls in the joint with a small amount of grease. I used some lock washers to hold the new piece I machined to the brace. If I have to do any more repairs on braces I will use 3mm balls. The 2.5 balls worked OK but were very fiddly to get into their position. I bought 50 and used about 36 and only have a few for storage, the rest....are some where on the floor where I assembled it all. My local nut and bolt shop had quite a selection of balls when I was there.

It all worked fine, then went onto the Wood Lathe to make up the knob.

I have yet to take some photos to illustrate the repair. It was an interesting exercise using Metal work and Wood work skills. The brace are ready to post back to the owner

Isn't it amazing how far those tiny balls can roll once they hit the floor. One solution I tried for finding a dropped ball was to drop another from the same position and see where it goes and the first should be nearby. When that doesn't work you can try dropping a third ball...........

Cheers,
Geoff.

When I was about to load the balls I had them sitting in a shallow tray to contain any that wanted to have a look at the floor of the shed. I also "glued" them in position with a light coat of grease. Well they even got away from me using the grease. I reckon next time I will try 3mm and if that doesn't make things easier I will try 10mm balls.....well at least I will be able to see them.

Thanks for you input Geoff, I took some photos but the camera is still in the shed. I will have to rectify the situation