Brace Shank Tools

Insane Eddie · 1 Jul 2012

Hi,

I've recently inherited a load of my grandfathers and great grandfathers’ tools a lot of which appear to have been hand made by them.
A lot of the drill bits have square tapered shanks about an inch long which I believe are Brace Shanks?
Is there any form of converter that would allow me to use these bits in a modern drill?

Cheers Eddie

St.J · 1 Jul 2012

Eddie,
This has been asked elsewhere and got a rather disappointing response.
Truth be told people are usually looking to do this the other way around - modern bits in braces.

However I have seen, but can't now locate, chucks for square tapered bits that you could probably adapt for an electric drill (if electric is what you mean but modern?).

That said:
Bits made for slow speed use in a brace will rarely work well in a higher speed electric drill.
If your bits have lead screw (a small, fine-threaded screw in the middle that pulls the bits Ito the wood) then they need to be used at a low speed. A high speed drill will break them out of the wood and reduce your control over the drill. I use Jennings pattern bits in a brace and they need to be backed out often to stop clogging - you don't want to just power through with one of these.

I have a set of power augers but use Forstner bits more for large holes in drill press and rarely use a bit larger than 1/4" in an electric hand drill, preferring a brace for control and torque.

St.J

AndyT · 1 Jul 2012

Hi Eddie

You have a great opportuntity here! A collection of old tools will enable you to enjoy woodwork the slow, comfortable and safe way. It's highly likely that there will be a brace or two among those tools and if there isn't they are cheap and easy to find. Drilling by hand would get tedious in a production environment, but at home, making stuff for your own pleasure, there is no reason not to do so. It is also true that bits designed for slow speed will be unsuitable for a power tool.

I suggest you watch this video from Roy Underhill for a good introduction to the older ways, and see how different bits each had their specialist niche in woodworking.

http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/video/2800/2807.html

Insane Eddie · 1 Jul 2012

Awesome thanks guys, to be honest at the moment I'm doing some home improvements and don't really have the time to do wood work for pleasure, as much as I'd like to, so was hoping i could use the bits for now to get the jobs done. I certainly don't want to go damaging anything so will probably leave them for now.
I do have a load of other bits and bobs I'll put photos up of at some point as I don't have a clue what they are or how to use them properly!

Cheers Eddie

AndyT · 1 Jul 2012

You might find this old thread useful - it gives an intro to many of the old types of drill bit which look odd to modern eyes - https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/braces-t10871.html - and we cover many sorts of home improvements round here too!