Is it wrong to have lots of braces?

Re: Is it wrong to have lots of braces?

glh

>I have an egg-beater drill and a Yankee push drill. I'll admit that they don't get much use. But when I have to drill a precise hole in a delicate place, such as predrilling for a small brad to reenforce a miter joint in a picture frame or something similar, I'd much rather do it by hand than with a power drill. Usually, I have prefinished my frame and don't want a drill bit walking all over my finish.

One brace for every bit, right?

Darrell in Oakville

>I keep my braces loaded.

Robertson screwdriver, taper reamer, countersink, hollow auger, spoke pointer, and whatever the most recently used couple of auger bits were.

Like you said, braces are cheap. Why not have a bunch of them on the rack. The $2 you spent on that brace is more than made up for in saved time. You don't need to keep changing bits all the time.

Darrell

Wood Hoarder, Blade Sharpener, and Occasional Tool User

Absolutely not!!!

Steve Kubien

>Christopher,

Like you, I currently have 2 braces (both Stanley's but one is sentimental. Otherwise, not worth squat). I would love to have at least one more (stealth WTB for an 8" which is working order which can take auger bits and round twist drills). One of mine has a countersink chucked at all times (actually a HSS router bit) and the other gets used all the time.

As for eggbeaters...I've got 2 of those as well and will pick up more as they come along. I bought one from Lee Valley before I knew about eBay. Considering what they go for on eBay, I paid way too much for it but it is a fantastic tool which I'm glad I have. It almost always has a 7/64" bit in it for predrilling #8 screws. I use it all the time for quick projects around the shop. With it and the counter-sinking brace, I am way quicker putting a few screws in than you could be with an electric drill. Heck, I only use my cordless for driving screws or making bigger holes now.

For what it's worth,

Steve Kubien

Ajax, Ontario

I have seen....

Steve Kubien

>Darrell's brace collection, err, assortment and it is something to behold. If I had the wall space, I would go his route and have one for just about every bit as well.

Steve Kubien

P.S. Darrell, you should change your signature to include "Brace Hoarder"

How can it be wrong to have lots of tools?

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>Just teasing, there, but...

As you have said, braces are cheap. If you have the space, you can take the one-brace-for-every-bit approach, which makes a lot of sense (something I would do if I had the space to store them properly); and/or you can enjoy the great if subtle variety of the various makers approaches. Different throws are nice, though not essential; I got by for a long time with one 10" throw brace, but I'm grateful for both the larger (14") and smaller (8") braces I now own.

Egg-beater drills: I personally don't use mine, mainly because I have a very hard time getting the bits clamped firmly in the chuck. I am, however, devoted to the push drill, one of Philadelphia's finer exports (after LOML). For small holes in wood, nothing, but nothing, beats the push drill, of which I somehow own six or seven, and which I find I use more often than any other cholesterol-powered drilling tool.

any push drill thoughts?

Clay Craig in Miami

>Hard to find even these in yard sales here ... So, I've just recently been lookin on the bay at them - any recommendations? Lots of Stanley/Yankee/North '41's and 135s around, and some Miller Falls, Goodell Pratt, etc. So, from a man with 6 or 7 (that you admit to) ... any model, or specific thing I ought to look for, in a user, other than a working mechanism? Any easy-to-describe sign of a good collet?

TIA,

Clay

Re: Is it wrong to have lots of braces?

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>I've got 4 braces (1 reversible ratcheting and 3 fray spofford), could probably use 4 more; but 4 is enough to keep a project's worth of bits mounted. Amazingly enough, I found the hand drill to be faster than the electric, and less work.

Pam

I'd like to see a picture...

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>Darrell, throw one or two up... I'm sure a number of people would be interested...

Re: Is it wrong to have lots of braces?

kees laan

>How can you buy for that prices. Here in the Netherlands I have to drive 100 miles to pick them up, because no seller wants to go to the post office for the 5 euros/dollars.

regards,

kees

Re: Is it wrong to have lots of braces?

Ernie Miller Topeka

>I don't have as many as Darrell but I do have one for almost efey bit 2-12 and with screw driver bits and counter sinks perminatly installed a half dozen or so egg beaters can't live with out them I want one for every size small bit. then there is a gagle of push drills. and a bunch of Yankee screw drivers. and some mecanical screw drivers. You can never have to many of any thing except Wives. My bigest problem latly is the growing pile of vices. I picked up a realy large quick release this weekend for $15 now I have to mount it and put the one that is on the good bench back on the small bench and throw that one on the spairs pile. Braces are so much easier to work with.

ABSOLUTELY WRONG!!!

Roger Nixon

>Of course, "lots" is a pretty vague number. After about 20, I told myself to quit buying but when a minty, high quality brace presents itself, I have to go for it. I have given away and sold several so I think I'm down to 15 or 16. It's hard to tell because they keep popping up everywhere in the shop.

Hand drills are great tools! They are a wonder for small holes and very fast.

Then there are post drills and bench drills, etc., etc., etc.

Re: Is it wrong to have lots of braces?

charles

>Drill a lot of holes, eh?

Re: any push drill thoughts?

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>As hard as it is to say this, avoid the Goodell-Pratt (and Craftsman and Dunlap) drills, because they use a cruciform shank at the chuck end, and replacement bits are almost unfindable, in my experience.

Don't know about Millers Falls; if they use the same as Stanley, they'd be fine, and the general rep of Millers Falls is very good.

North Bros., the original company that made the Yankee tools (drills and screwdrivers), was taken over by Stanley around WWII, so a North Bros. drill is older. Since they seem to last forever, this isn't a problem, though, and as far as I know, parts interchange with Stanley (and are listed by Stanley parts, last I looked). I've heard but not confirmed that Highland Hardware sells replacement bit sets.

Chucks come in two styles: the collar turns to tighten or it's spring-loaded and pushes to release the bit. No big difference between the two. Chucks are also very durable.

Watch for dings on the barrel (the part that slides in and out of the handle), as they cause it to bind. Other than that, confirming that it moves when you push on the handle is about all I test. A little oil will get a reluctant one moving in most cases.

You're starting to sound like Todd, Ernie

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>

Tsk, tsk Bill

MikeL

>You really need to add a six inch sweep brace (or two or three) to your arsenal. They're very good for quickly driving screws. Also, your 14" sweep brace is fine but you really need a Whimble brace for when some added ooomph is necessary.

Cheers,

Mike (always ready to enable a fellow old tool addic...err...afficienado)

btw: Three Spofford style Frays Pam? I'm jealous!

Re: Spofford style Frays

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Just the result of some diligent ebay bottom feeding work a couple or three years ago. Even then they were somewhat more than $3, maybe $20 average, not exactly a Toddly gloat. :) But they are beautiful, never freeze up on me like the MF I stupidly bought from Woodcraft (stupid because it was so expensive), and very fast to change a bit.

Pam

Re: How can it be wrong to have lots of tools?

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>I have a push drill.. a new Stanley Yankee I picked up for too much money. It is sweet though... and I have Yankee screwdriver that's nice too...

Re: any push drill thoughts?

Dennis

>I have a MillerFalls 107 and the 41 bits work in it. The MF has a little stronger spring action and a nice cap that screws off for bit storage,a very nice tool.

2 41s and the MF and always looking for more.

Dennis

remove nospam for email

The bad thing...

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>about those 3 braces I won off of Ebay was that the shipping cost much more than the braces themselves.

To be specific, I won 3 seperate auctions from the same person. Two braces went for $1 each while the third was $1.26. The total was $3.26. However, including shipping, the cost was $13.00 or about $8.74 to ship 3 bulky items via the Postal Service which sounds about right for the shipping price.

Unlike some sellers, this person only charges shipping as opposed to some others who add their "handling fee" to the price. I avoid those for the most part.

Re: Is it wrong to have lots of braces?

Jay Samuels

>If it is less expensive than therapy, no. I have about 15.

Re: any push drill thoughts?

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>My presonal fav is the Stanley/Yankee No. 41. The Yankee 30's and 130's series are a little to big to handle delicate drilling jobs.

Not at all...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>I have quite a few 6" thru 14" Stanley 2100's Are sweet. I also have (i.e you need;) a few Miller falls with the loin and holdall chucks (very nice for regular drill bits and new screwdriver bits) of course you need these in verious sweeps too. Now on to eggbeaters I have 3. 1 large 2 small. Whoah, I forgot about my MF brest drill with 2 levels in it for those big holes. Now all I need are some Spotfords/Frays like Pam!

Re: A good day...

William Duffield on the Cohansey

>...is one in which I can prop things up faster than they fall down.

Braces is good; more braces is better.

Oh, not that kind of brace? Sorry, I'll go back to kludgin' stuff back together. Drywall screws work good too, sometimes better'd duck tape.

*sigh*...

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>...just got two more for a whopping $6.00...a nice Stanley a newer no-name brace...

And I thought I was bad with all the planes...