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Auger brace mysteries

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Auger brace mysteries

#1

Auger brace mysteries

Michael Brady

>I have looked at and read about various auger braces recently, and one thing about them puzzles me: How is the crank handle...wood or plastic, assembled onto a u-shaped piece of half inch steel that is (nickel) plated? I would have to be done before the four bends are made, but how can metal that heavy be bent 90 degrees after plating without damaging the handle material? Wouldn't the plating scale off on the bends? Some crank handles are probably two-piece, but not most of them. I hope some of you can answer this little trivia challenge.

Re: Auger brace mysteries

#2

Can't speak for modern braces...

Stephen Shepherd in the State of Deseret

>But traditional 19th century iron braces have a two piece handle that is glued together and frequently held with two metal pins. I have not seen a single piece crank handle, they may exist and I have only seen several dozen so it may not be a good sample.

Stephen

Re: Auger brace mysteries

#3

Re: Speaking for modern braces.

Marv

>This is not factural but just a theory on my part.....the round rod part is actually made in two pieces. The ends are machined male and female and are pressed together inside the handle. Or they could be what is called a "sweat" fit. They heat one part and cool the other part. When they are slipped together it is an instant super tight fit. I've used this method for various applications and it works great. Not much heat is required.

Marv

Re: Auger brace mysteries

#4

Re: Speaking for modern braces.

Michael Brady

>Marv, that is an interesting theory, but it sound rather sophisticated for hand tool manufacturing. I am going to ask an acquaintance of mine who is an auger brace maven if he knows the answer. His secondary qualification is that he is a metallurgist. He has written several articles on brace repair. When I find an answer, I'll post it.

Re: Auger brace mysteries

#5

Re: Auger brace mysteries

Paul in NJ

>They probably plated each end separately in turn after bending with the handle above the plating solution.

Paul Dzioba

👍 This page answered my questions

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