Braces that were dads

[wood-chips]

This Christmas trip to visit my brother he gave me these two braces that he found and had belonged to our father.
I'm sure they have see a lot of work.  They are in pretty rough shape cosmetically but appear to still work.
I'm not sure if I'm leaving them as they are or am going to referbish them.

The one with the straight walled chuck is a Stanley.
The other one is a no name.

Can any of you rust hunters help with the no name?

[hbmcc]

They will always be happier (and, you) when you return them to good working condition.

[med-one]

I say, rehab them and keep them in the family.

[andrewb]

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>>Can any of you rust hunters help with the no name?

Bottom one looks to be standard Millers Falls type pattern but looks like a more recent example so might be any number of competitors/copy brands.  If Millers Falls, it might have a name stamped on the chuck shell.  I've seen a number of that type that were Dunlap, Global and so on.  Despite the rust they both look like they could be put back to use with very little work.  A little oil at the selector on the ratchet mechanism and in the mechanism itself should likely be about all that is really needed at a guess.

Braces with rust on the frames are probably my least favorite thing to clean up just because it's hard to get into all of the corners with a wire wheel and or sandpaper.  That said, I do it often enough and think yours should clean up OK with a little work.  The Stanley is likely a model 945 at a guess - relatively clean they might sell for around $10 on eBay but in truth they'll do the job just as good as any other.  The bottom one looks to be a pretty budget basement model with no bearings in the top pad.  It'll still work OK but I'd guess the wood handles will squeak in use and it's hard to oil them up to a point where they don't. 

As others have mentioned, clean them up - chuck a screwdriver bit in one and you'll be surprised how handy they are. Nice score!

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[Kansas City Fireslayer]

The bottom one has a traditional blue “Dunlap” look. A useable but bottom of the line brace in all reality. Both are very capable of boring holes, nonetheless.

[EricU]

I forget if one of the braces I have belonged to my dad or not.  He got a monster 1/2" electric drill and never looked back.

I have a brace with a 3/8" square drive permanently installed.  Lee Valley sells them.  I find it really useful.

[MarkSingleton]

I have several braces. The best was my grandfathers.
Use it all the time. Picked up a few others at yard sales now and 
then, but of course they don't have the "connection" that his does.

I can look around my shop and tell you where most of the hand
and power tools came from, that used to be someone elses.
It's kinda cool, kinda sad, kinda... something.  But I know I like it.

[EatenByLimestone]

Put them back into use!

The best tools come with a story!

[mdhills]

I became a big fan of braces when I needed to bore the dog holes in my workbench -- they worked so well for the large diameter holes.

I'm not as big of a fan for them with smaller holes for my own work, but I did get some use out of them this past year with cub scouts to build some shelving units for the pack's storage shed.  Pilot holes with countersinks (snappy with hex shanks) and then switched to torx bits to drive in long screws.  Worked great as they had plenty of leverage to drive the screws.  I was glad that I'd brought a few extra drill bits, as a few bits were snapped, but this is a risk regardless of the drilling method (power drill, yankee drill, or eggbeater).


Matt

[Bibliophile 13]

It's wonderful that you have your father's tools! Yes, they're in superficially rough shape, but as long as all the pieces are there, they should clean up nicely.

I've run across quite a few braces I thought were "no-name" tools until I cleaned the rust off and found a manufacturer's stamp somewhere on the crank or chuck. They can often be invisible even under light rust.

Clean them up and put them to use. A little solvent (even WD-40 will work) and some light sanding and/or a wire wheel should take that rust right off. The wooden parts can be lightly sanded and oiled or waxed. Unscrew the chuck and give the inside a good cleaning, too. The ratchet mechanism will be fine with a good soak in WD-40 and a wire brush. Don't try to disassemble it.

There's still a lot of life left in those tools.