But you can often find the highest quality antique tools for less money than poor quality new tools. I guarantee that you’ll have to buy a better replacement down the road. I recommend buying fewer tools at first, rather than lower quality tools. The trick is finding the ones that were originally very good quality to begin with, and haven't been overly abused. Since every house and shop in America used to have hand drills and braces, they are still widely common and relatively inexpensive. With the growing desire to return to the 'artisan' style of doing things, these type of tools are once again rising in popularity. I never did forget the fun of playing with that first old bit brace though. 30 years later, a high end brace, sharp bits, and bigger muscles. My father, a machinist, had no use for a relic like that, and it was sold in a yard sale a few years later, probably for 25 cents. Since I was about 10 at the time, I don't recall the brand, but since it lacked a rachet, it was not a 'high end' or 'professional's' brace. It was not a high quality brace, and the auger bits were dull as could be.

I vividly remember playing with the old brace bit that was stored in the garage, using it to slowly bore holes in scrap pieces of 2x4's. Not razor collecting, unfortunately, which is my main hobby. They still can be found in a very few specialized trades and hobbies. By the 1980's, the combination of slip chucks and rechargeable batteries had sounded the death knell for hand powered drills in every household. Braces were also an option, and offered more torque than hand crank drills. For big holes a man (or woman) would use a post/pillar drill, or a T-auger, or as as the holes got smaller, a bench drill, a chest or shoulder drill, a hand crank drill, or a push drill. My first day here too, so hello everybody.īefore the advent of electricity, people used hand power to put holes in things (or steam or water power, but we are not discussing those). Grab yourselves a cup of coffee (or tea) and find a comfortable chair, because this is going to be a long post.

Hand drill old