I got a box from Amertrac

[johnsironsanctuary]

I sent Bob some cash and he sent something that I will treasure. It is an English plated brace. He also threw in three little chisels that I will use.

Can anyone figure out who the maker is?  It is a Sheffield tool maker, but the name is poorly struck.

The next question is; Do I repair it? Leave it alone? Make a new wood piece?
Is it oak, elm, hickory or beech?


THANKS BOB!!!!

[scottg]

I can't read it either, sorry.
Its beechwood for sure. Most English tools were and many American too. Its hard and tough but not so showy in furniture so it wasn't expensive to buy.
Bob showed me this before but the picture is much better now and I can see better.
Replacing the wood altogether with rosewood or something equally fine (coco??) would be great, and make it an heirloom tool for sure.  But its not a simple project to make it look really good.

I would repair it.
The wood has cracked in the exact shortest part of the grain. If you look to where the grain lines run you can see this.
It got wet at some point, stayed wet a while and swelled up some. Only it didn;t have anywhere to go and crushed itself against the hardware (metal doesn;t swell adn shrink much)
Then when it dried back out, it shrunk and something had to give so it broke at the shortest (weakest) part of the grain.
You couldn't take the braces off and just clamp it back together, the braces wouldn't fit anymore. The wood is shorter now.
  Besides gluing ancient cracks never works as the wood is too dirty from exposure.

So first I would hunt up some antique beech. This is easy since there are a zillion ruined wooden planes around and every one of them has plenty to use for this.
I'd make a careful tracing of the tool so I could put it back exactly the same size.
Make a couple of tracings. 
  Then take off the braces.

It looks like you will need about 1/8" thick of new/old wood. Prepare a couple of sticks about 2" wide, 2" long and 1/8" thick.
  I'd shave one cracked surface down smooth, and glue on my 1/8" patch with wood hanging off all around. Then shave the other broken face flat and keep filing until it just mates up for length.

Now do the exact same thing to the second crack.
With your patches glued on well and the second faces mated up, and when you are satisfied with the dry fit, glue those too.

  You will have to rig up a clamping jig.   Probably some cutout blocks attached to a plywood backing, and some wedges. Whatever ti takes to clamp the frame tight and square.

When the glue has dried a couple days, shave your patches down to final size and put the braces back on. 
   
You'll have to dye/stain/paint the area a little to match up the color exactly. But it will all but disappear with careful work.
    yours Scott

[rusty]

Based on others, probably reads

"J. Askhams, Plated Brace, Sheffield. "

[Branson]

Yeah, What Scott says.  These old wooden braces are a delight to use.  Make it usable, go ahead and polish the brass, and you will have a beautiful tool -- one of the prettiest ever.   Get some center bits, and the other old bits that work so well with this brace.   You'll be surprised what these bits will do!

[amertrac]

sorry bout leaving the inventory tape on the chisels.  bob w.

[johnsironsanctuary]

Bob, it's masking tape. No need for apology. Besides, I would never criticize when there is a little  tape on a gift.

Scott, beech was my suspicion, but the grain looked too coarse. Your repair instructions put detail on the rough plan I had in mind. I actually have some wooden planes for donors. The moisture swelling and drying makes perfect sense. I have wanted one of these forever, but they are always hundreds of dollars. I have thought about making one. There is a woods full of beech within walking distance of my house. I think that I will talk to the city forester about  getting a log out of a windfall or something. I'll put it on my list for later.

Thanks Rusty, I went through Billman's list of Sheffield toolmakers and came up dry.

Branson, what does the tang on the bit look like. The latch looks like it needs a notch to drop into. A little different from the later square tang augers.

[Branson]

>Branson, what does the tang on the bit look like. The latch looks like it needs a notch to drop into. A little different from the later square tang augers.

Those I have dealt with accept standard tapered square bits.  I've used these in mine in emergencies without any notch.  The original bits that were sold for this style and also other quick release styles were not notched, as different companies located the catch somewhat differently -- that is, not in the same spot.  The buyer was expected to file in the notch according to the brace he had.  I have some center bits that have more than one notch in them, having been used in different braces. 

You need to locate the depth at which the release pin engages, and then use a saw file to make the notch in your bits.  Place the saw file so that the lead edge of the file is 90 degrees to the length of the bit, and cut the notch about 3/32 inch deep.