ToolBox Tuesday - Brace

Brace

 

A brace or brace and bit is hand tool that was used to drill holes, usually in wood. Pressure was applied at the top and the tool was rotated with the u-shaped grip. This type of hand drill could be used to drill wider and deeper holes compared to it's other counterparts because it gave much greater torque. Although with the much greater torque came lower rotational speed. Majority of other hand drills could easily achieve several hundred rotations per minutes although the brace struggled to achieve even 100 rotations per minute. The design of the brace and bit made it easy to keep at a precise 90 degree angle. The front part of the brace that held the bits consisted of a chuck spindle with v-shaped brackets or clamps inside. Turning the spindle clockwise would tighten the bit and counter-clockwise would loosen the bit to remove it. Right behind the chuck is a three position gear release which would allow ratcheting of the handle when in tight spots. The u-shaped crank had a wooden spindle on it that would freely turn therefore there would be no blistering of the hand.