Both
handles are made of red-painted hardwood:
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"Germany" stamp:
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B&D-116
Price: $40.00
plus shipping
The
chuck of this made-in-Germany brace follows the teachings of Obed
Peck's 1881 U.S. patent (drawings shown below) that improved upon
the teachings of William
Barber's 1864 U.S. patent, and then goes one better, with four jaws
instead of just two. This "improvement" does a slightly more secure job
of centering the shaft of a typical square/taper shank auger bit, but
it's next to impossible to machine the jaws so that all four jaws make equal
contact with the not-necessarily-round stem of that bit, so it's going
to wobble a little anyway. That said, this brace has essentially never
been used, with only some toolbox dings to the finish of the
red-painted handles, and no rust or flaking of the nickel plating.
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The Peck patent jaws
(example shown in the photographic image of brace PEXTO-18's
chuck at left center) were made by forging the pair flat and then
bending into a U shape before attaching the central peg. The present
brace's jaws were also forged flat in pairs and then bent into U
shapes, but one pair of jaws have the central peg while the other pair
has a central hole that fits over the peg before the spring is threaded
into place. The inside surface of each jaw has a distinctive trademark
symbol that can be seen more clearly by right clicking on the image of
the partially disassembled chuck and then selecting "view image."
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