saw a home movie that my dad took in around 1962. He was a builder and built homes in Engelwood cliffs NJ if anyone has ever been there, At any rate i asked my dad what were the guys using a hand brace and bit for, he said they were drilling the holes in the wood gutter for the downspouts, Ok this is just a detail but i enjoy watching old film clips and studying pictures of construction sites. They also had the metal nail on scaffold brackets. I was “helping” by picking up scrap lumber in the film, I was 9 then. I still have a brace but have never thought about useing it in years I never would have thought to use it for a wooden gutter downspout hole but then again have not used a wooden gutter in years.
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Listeners write in about haunted pipes and building-science tomes, and they ask questions about roof venting and roof leaks.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
You'll have to tell all of those kids what a Brace and Bit is. LOL
Ozlander
I still have mine, as well as a box full of bits incl some expansion bits.
We did use a brace and bit doing pilebuck work on docks while on a boat
I went to school in the Bronx right across the "GW" from Englewood.A few times I stopped there to pick up friends on the way home to Maryland.Any video of building in 1962 sounds cool,I didn't even know they had home video cameras back then.
my dad had one of those 8mm film cameras, They had the film stored for years and i bought it in to have a dvd made of it, On it was my first conformation and my grandfathers, My dad told me the whole story of building there and he did very well as the timing was good to build, Only thing was that he would be rich today if he kept a couple of lots,
Yeah,but who'da thunk a bunch of tract like homes would be valuable one day.At least carpentry is it's own reward.
Edited 12/31/2007 10:20 pm ET by IamtheWalrus
I lived in Englewood Cliffs, NJ for about a year.
75-76.
Worked at a factory that made sew-on name patches, team patches, and such.
Come time to sign zee paypairs to join ze union, I didn't want to sign.
I read what the union was claiming it was doing for the workers in the factory, and they were not actually doing ANY of it.
Couple weeks later, Vinny Gombah, (Short guy, greasy hair, chewing on a cigar), comes in, followed by a skyscraper who growled and looked menacing at me... And explained that NO ONE refuses to join the union...
I signed zee paypairs.
But apparently not until after a couple of the middle aged ladies who had crushes on me, literally pee'd their pants.
A man, convinced against his will... Is of his own opinion, still. ~Anne McCaffrey
I believe Vinny gumbah was from Lodi
Well, he obviously wasn't stuck there.
A man, convinced against his will... Is of his own opinion, still. ~Anne McCaffrey
For electrical wiring, a bit and brace is sometimes faster than an electric drill. One of these days I'd like to do a side by side race.
We used bits and braces on a lot of things, since electricity on job sites was rare in the old days. We used them to bore the anchor bolts on the sills. plumbing pipes in cabinets and especially hanging doors. Boring the 2 1/8" hole for the lockset and the 7/8" for the strike and latch. In addition to the normal sized bits, most carried an expansion auger bit you could set to a variety of sizes. Another tool that you don't often see is the file for sharpening the bits. It's small with a long tapered triangle shape. With a sharp bit, you can bore holes that would stall a heavy duty 1/2" drill.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
And if you want the screwdriver with the most torque- insert the proper driver tip in the brace and stand back.
All of the old pipeorgans we restored were put together with some really big honking screws. I mean 4'' long x 3/8ths dia. Straight slot heads as big as a quarter, with a huge slot.
Brace and bit was the norm for those, I got lucky and found a really cool stash of drills and drivers that had tapered ends in some flea market or antique joint.
In a true restoration every thing had to be repairable with straight slot screw drivers, not much room in there to carry in too many tools.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"
Still have a few of those 'hanging around', more out in the barn.
For 'onesy-twosie' type task is a lot easier than hauling out an air hose and impact wrench or the 3/4 drive Souix. Generally keep about 8 bit sizes all chucked up and a few drills.
View Image