hand drill? era? history on it? no markings...

[Dabears]

any ideas on this? handle is wood....

[EVILDR235]

That is called a brace. Used with wood boring bits to drill holes in wood. Hundreds of companys made them. They are still made today. Stanley is probably the biggest maker of them. I have 15 of them made by several different makers. I have never paid more than $3.00 for one. Some braces are worth lots of money, but none of mine are. Some were made to use regular drill bits in them. Once again, none of mine were. Go to a search engine and type in bit and brace for more information.

EvilDr235

[john k]

You may find a faint stamping on the sides of the exposed steel of the *crank*.    Also they often stamped a name very lightly on the sides of the chunk, rolled the name half way around it, takes careful cleaning to expose it. 

[wvtools]

That looks like your basic economy version open ratchet bit brace.  There are a few uncommon brands, but as I mentioned before about the monkey wrenches, millions of braces were made, most by a handful of companies.

As Evildr mentioned, 2.00 to 3.00 is the going price on the cheaper ones.  I have bought hundreds of those that were thrown in auction lots with items I really wanted.  Getting rid of 50-100 of those at one time is a task.

[Branson]

On a more positive note, the reason braces are so common is that they are so very useful.  In one form or another, they've been around for literally hundreds of years, long before the invention of the twist auger bit (invented in the late 1700s).  There's one in an early Renaissance painting of Joseph at his carpenter's bench -- not accurate for Biblical times, but already common in the 1400s.

A wide variety of augers, drills, screwdriver tips, quill bits, spoon bits, taper bits, nose auger bits will fit in the chuck.  I have auger bits as long as 24 inches, and extensions that will add another two feet -- you can drill a hole in the floor standing up.

There are things that other drilling tools just don't do as well.  With a little clean up, you have a good tool that will serve you well. 

[Bill Houghton]

You may find a faint stamping on the sides of the exposed steel of the *crank*.    Also they often stamped a name very lightly on the sides of the chunk, rolled the name half way around it, takes careful cleaning to expose it.

Most often, in my experience, on the upper "leg" of the crank - that is, on the section between the knob and the cranking handle.  Occasionally on the bottom "leg," between cranking handle and chuck.

Take steel wool, wrap it around these legs, and scrub vigorously.  If there's a maker's name, it'll show up.

[Dabears]

ok-  will do some scrubbing!

[Ietech]

The one in your pictures looks like a Victor brand. I have two just like it and the shape of the chuck is the clue on this one.

I had a hard time finding the mfg name but after patiently and gently removing the rust I found the name on both of mine.

I have 4 old Stanley's and 1 Miller Falls  the chucks are entirely different shape than the Victor.

The wood used on yours is probably cocobolo.