Replies

1. 
   stevo1952 | Dec 11, 2009 07:31am | #1

   Hi Will,
   I love my spofford braces and have some pristine Russell Jennings bits and they work great for chairs. The ultimate in simple elegance.

1. 
   WillGeorge | Dec 11, 2009 07:46am | #2

   I only asked because I have some very old bits of standard inch sizes that still cut well.They cut Better than a Forstener bit but not as large I would like to use.

   I think I need some spoon bits at a reasonable price...

1. 
   RonInOttawa | Dec 12, 2009 02:55am | #13

   I know nothing about spoon bits except that they have been frequently mentioned in articles I've read about chair making. Do you regard the LV spoon bits as reasonably priced?http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=57713&cat=1,180,42337Regards,RonAs God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!
   -Arthur Carlson

1. 
   WillGeorge | Dec 13, 2009 04:47am | #20

   Do you regard the LV spoon bits as reasonably priced?

   Not if I had some money now. I like Lee but I forgot to look there. I have no problem sharing USA Dollars with Canada!

2. 
   davcefai | Dec 11, 2009 09:09am | #3

   I reconditioned an old one recently and used it a couple of times when I wanted a quick hole and would have broken noise regulations (and been lynched by my family and neighbours).

3. 
   derekcohen | Dec 11, 2009 10:17am | #4

   Hi Will

   I uses braces all the time - large ones to drill wide holes (torque with a capital T), and smaller ones for countersinks and screwdrivers. Yankee 2101, Spofford, and a few other makes.

   I have even built two braces especially for drilling small screw holes. You can adjust the depth far more accurately than a powered drill, and this is important with thin pieces, such as butt mortice hinges.

   Here are the ones I made:

   View Image

   View Image

   .. and a close up of that gorgeous She-oak in the last one ...

   View Image

   Love braces (a new slope!)

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

1. 
   blewcrowe | Dec 11, 2009 03:33pm | #6

   My, that is beautiful. 

   Denny

2. 
   JeffHeath | Dec 11, 2009 06:11pm | #8

   Derek,
   Beautiful looking tool. My concern, in function, is the short grain in the bend of the brace. I'm surprised you haven't reinforced it with some polished brass, or something of the sort. If you start torqueing away with a Capital T, you might snap it in half.Any thoughts.Jeff

1. 
   derekcohen | Dec 11, 2009 06:34pm | #9

   Hi Jeff

   The braces are made out of really tough wood. The She-oak especially is so interlocked that that I would be amazed if it could be induced to flex, nevermind bend and crack. Neverheless, I do not use it for holes that require great force - it was designed for use with twist drill bits up to 1/4" and, in practice, is used mostly with 1/8" and below.

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

1. 
   JeffHeath | Dec 11, 2009 07:33pm | #11

   Nice. I am not too familiar with timbers from "The land down under", but I hear Philip speak of their hockey player-like character all the time. We have a few species here with the interlocking grain issues, and I try to avoid them, mostly. Perfect for this application, though.Happy Holidays,Jeff

3. 
   WillGeorge | Dec 13, 2009 04:33am | #18

   Derek..

   You have posted it in the past but I sort of forgot about it. Sorry.

   Very nice work. Someday please post a picture of something that went wrong with you work! But then again, your failures problably fall into 'our' first class work...

   And I still love my very old Craftsman 'Yankee' hand drill. I still have the push drill someplace but I cannot find bits for it.

1. 
   derekcohen | Dec 13, 2009 04:48am | #21

   Hi Will

   Here is my small assembly of braces: a couple of Stanley/North/Bell System 2101s, a couple of Fray-Spoffords, and one rather interesting early Miller Falls .. along with a few MF eggbreaters (#5 and #2).

   View Image

   Isn't this early MF a beauty!

   View Image

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

   Edited 12/12/2009 8:51 pm ET by derekcohen

1. 
   WillGeorge | Dec 13, 2009 04:58am | #25

   Isn't this early MF a beauty!  YES, but I have never saw one untill today.

2. 
   philip | Dec 14, 2009 12:08pm | #27

   Derek,
   How does the chuck work on that one?Philip Marcou

1. 
   derekcohen | Dec 14, 2009 02:05pm | #28

   How does the chuck work on that one?

   Hi Philip

   I assume that you are referring to the MF ...

   View Image

   This is a 10" swing, which makes it a good size for most things. The chuck is a a little unusual at first glance, and a little cumbersome to load, but once done it works well.

   Twist the collar back, insert, then twist it back ..

   View Image

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

4. 
   Tony Z | Dec 11, 2009 03:25pm | #5

   Yes.  I have a number of braces, but my users are a graduated set of Fray/Spofford with each having an appropriate size center bit always chucked.  I also have a Fray set up with a straight screwdriver bit, and two others set up with countersinks.

   I also have quite a few ratcheting braces, Russell Jennings bits (as well as Irwin), but I prefer the feel of the Frays, unless, of course, I have to bore a deep hole.  In that case, it's more than likely I'd use my drill press.......just saying!

   T.Z.

1. 
   WillGeorge | Dec 13, 2009 04:40am | #19

   ratcheting braces.. Mine is such. Locks or ratchets CW or CCW.

   I use to have a hand made steel insert that would make that 'diamond?' style chuck hold a round drill but somewhere/somehow I lost it! As I remember it was NOT easy to make and still have the bit centerd.

5. 
   lwj2 | Dec 11, 2009 05:03pm | #7

   Yep, I use both a brace and my #2 Miller's Falls egg-beater.

   The brace gets more frequent use to drive screws than it does to drill, but it's a quick step to the wall where it hangs to do so, instead of dragging out a cord, finding the Rockwell under the disaster I call a workbench.

   I do a lot of stuff around the house and find it convenient to toss the brace and the MF into my "tool kit" along with a few drill bits.

   Leon
   
6. 
   mvflaim | Dec 11, 2009 07:07pm | #10

   I used a brace and bit to drill the dog holes in workbench earlier this year. I like the reach of depth they have. As long as the bit is sharp, I find them to be just as fast if not faster than using a forstner bit.

    

    

    

   http://www.mvflaim.com

7. 
   poplarguy | Dec 11, 2009 08:51pm | #12

   I've been using mine more.   I picked up a bunch of auger bits at an auction a while ago.  They're good to use in the evening when I don't feel like cranking up the power tools, or when the kids are in the shop with me.  I haven't tried a spoon bit yet.

   Also, when pen turning, I find that using the barrel trimmer in my cheapo cordless (the Makita is on the wish list) is impossible on anything less than a full battery, and the plug-in drill is way too fast and powerful.  Putting the barrel trimmer in the brace is fast, quiet, and gives great control.

   Besides, it's fun.

    

8. 
   boilerbay | Dec 12, 2009 03:04am | #14

   Will,

   I use them all the time. They seem to have their own perfect use and I love the control.

   BB

9. 
   old saw | Dec 12, 2009 07:35am | #15

   I use them.  I have several box-ratchet braces with ball-bearing chucks and one all metal Spoford-type blacksmith's brace.  One of the box-ratchet braces is a Yankee "Bell System" tool; for my money it's the finest kind of brace ever made, even if it does have plastic instead of wood handles.    The Spoford-type brace is nice, because of it's simple chuck.  I have a number of non-auger type drills that fit this chuck very well and the lack of a loose, sloppy ratchet helps to insure greater accuracy.  I have experimented with handforging copies of some of the less common sorts of bits, such as center, spoon, and shell bits and I find it much easier to get their square taper shanks to fit the Spoford chuck properly.

   A drill brace is only as good as how true it turns and much of that depends on how well the chuck is made, and how well the individual bit will center in it.  Newer braces do not spin very true; much of that is mis-allignment in the arm or in the chuck - or both.  Even if the brace and chuck is fine, often  square taper shank auger bits are not straight or true.  I had assumed this was all normal for a "rough carpentry" tool when I bought my first and last "new" brace and set of bits years ago in the 70's.  Even though I paid what was then quite a bit of money for it, the body was so out of true as to make the thing wobble badly - but I didn't see any better ones being offered.  Eventually I discovered antique braces and found that the ones manufactured in the 50's and before were much nicer tools, providing they were the higher quality models in each manufacturer's line - and that they were not worn out.   Even the older auger bits seem to have been made with more care.

   Regards, JW

1. 
   WillGeorge | Dec 13, 2009 04:49am | #22

   Nothing wrong with Plastic if used in the correct application. Now all the Green folks will get on my case?

2. 
   WillGeorge | Dec 13, 2009 04:54am | #23

   I have several braces from about the 1960's when I built my Inboard (Flat head Ford V8) Cabin Cruiser from plans I got from .. I forget the publisher at the moment but everyboby read it! All my braces are old Craftsman and still work as they did as new..

3. 
   WillGeorge | Dec 13, 2009 04:56am | #24

   Even the older auger bits seem to have been made with more care.

    

   YES. The inside spiral was clean. Today full of .. can I saw crap?

10. 
    RalphBarker | Dec 12, 2009 07:36pm | #16

    I use braces (British definition) to keep my pants up a bit. ;-)

    More seriously, I, too, use a brace or the old egg-beater-style drill fairly frequently. The slower speed adds to control. Plus, there's greater satisfaction in a well-drilled hole when doing it by hand.

    Please don't tell my drill press, or the electric drills, though, OK? ;-)

11. 
    Jercarp | Dec 13, 2009 01:45am | #17

    Funny you should mention that, I just bought a used Stanley brace and a set of used bits off of E-bay. The bits aren't that hot and need work, but the brace is great. I'm guessing it was from the 50's.
    I learned how to use one when I was young, we had one in the house. I can't really use it in my carpentry business, but I'm building a stockpile of good hand tools to use in the shop when the body is finally too old & tired to crawl under houses.

12. 
    JoeRo | Dec 13, 2009 11:52pm | #26

    I keep 2 braces handy in my shop.  One is loaded with a countersink and the other loaded with a screwdriver for driving  or removing old type slotted screws slowly and carefully in antique repair.  Works for me.