Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Stanley 921 SW 10" Brace query
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>Hi all,
Was looking around for another brace as my old stanley's(an ebay $5 special) ratchet packed it in. I managed to find a 10" Stanley 921 with enclosed ratchet of the Sweetheart vintage for about $5 US. I am trying to find out some history of when the SW vintage 921's were made and if they are quite common.
Additionally, I'd welcome any comments on the "enclosed" ratchet system as opposed to the open system used nowadays.
Intrigued.
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Re: Stanley 921 SW 10" Brace query
Todd Hughes
>sweet heart tools were made from about 1920- 1935 with three slightly different sweet heart logos being used over this time period.The 921 was made for about 45 years starting in 1905. As well as the 921 Stanley made several other enclosed ratchet braces such as the 811 and 901 series and while perhaps not as common as other stanley braces they are far from uncommon and I probably see a couple each week.Don't remember seeing many that were out of order so probaly is a good system guess the question is is it a system that was needed over that what was used in the stanleys and others regular braces? .....Todd
Re: Stanley 921 SW 10" Brace query
AD
>Thanks Todd,
I have heard that the enclosed system was to try and keep workshop gunk out of the ratchet mechanism but having owned an "open" ratchet as well, I found it pretty easy to keep clean.
I was wondering if the enclosed system was another of the really good older ideas that was stopped due to commercial pressure/cost pressure or is the open system purely a better system?
The more you delve into this the more slippery the slope becomes!
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Re: Stanley 921 SW 10" Brace query
Todd Hughes
>Good question and looking in my old stanley catalog from 1929 it appears that these enclosed ratchet braces were slightly more expensive then ones with simular chucks and other features for example a 921 8 in. sweep brace cost $5.15 while a 923 a brace that is simular but doesn't have a concealed ratchet cost $4.70. I think there must have been a market for them due to how many that were made and for the long time they were made. I think the reason they were finaly dropped in the 1950's was probably because electric drills becoming common and Stanley paring the brace line back to just a couple models. Actually the 921 outlasted quite a few other models i think....Todd