I think you’ve got the braces backwards. The greater the swing; the easier to turn. Leverage,you know.

I love my braces, breast drills, egg beaters, and push drills. The madness started when I bought a brand new Millers Falls model 2-01 over 40 years ago. Now I have…well let’s say it takes more than two hands to count ‘em.

Cheers
Joe

To test things, put a bit in the chuck and then point the drill at yourself, as if you were going to bore a hole in your forehead. Now turn the handle and look at the tip/end of the bit as it spins. You’ll know it if the bit isn’t centered.

I think you might be reading it a little differently than I intended. Try eBay. Join the Oldtools listserv. Patience pays. Impatience costs.

Still, $25 is a good price for a lifetime brace.

Chris

Really? Just checked his site and the cheapest [least expensive, to be fair] brace is a Miller Falls #422 for $25.

Is there a double-secret handshake for magazine editors that gets you better than half price? I suppose you were implying that these devices are inexpensive and thus worth the minimal outlay. I agree, but I should no better by now than to jump quickly to [insert antique tool dealer site] when someone posts, what I believe to be, a great price for this tool. Only to find out, yet again, that the price is exaggerated.

As it happens I live in a state somewhat devoid of old tools. Unless I’m lucky enough to have the day free to travel a long distance to a sponsored, bi-annual "fair".

I therefore rely on online tool dealers.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my braces/eggbeaters and use them frequently,and might be tempted to buy a few more if they could be had for $5 or $10. Wish it were the case.

I somehow feel, well, let down. ;^)

–GG

The larger bits caused me to turn to a breast drill; used it as an oversided eggbeater drill: the longer handle gave me more leverage, and I also used the higher-torque gear configuration. However, the breastplate was a little uncomfortable to hold on to.

I’ll have to give my eggbeater drills another go — but limiting myself to smaller bits this time.

–GG

Great summary. Like yourself I have examples of all but keep gravitating to braces. I find it very efficient to keep several braces set up for specific tasks. For example, I have a countersinking bit that lives in one brace. I’ve also found braces incredibly useful for driving those large screws that that just waste their powered cousins.

A minor quibble perhaps, but I find my Standley Yankee push (Archimedes) drill one of my handiest hand tools. I reach for it more often than the eggbeater for small holes, perhaps because it fits in a pocket and I have one with a complete set of bits in the handle.

Oh, and I’ve used my breast drills (umm, I only have three!) for those instances where I needed more drilling pressure, typically working with metal. But no, I can’t remember needing one for woodworking.