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Morty, what you have there is an Engineers Ratchet drill, which held a Morse Square Taper bit in the square socket, they were reliant on having something to back them to force the bit into the workpiece. I've posted a photo of one of mine mounted in a pedestal, to show what I mean. As you pull...

"well Boss, there'll be dopey collectors buying them in a 150 years......."

Adrian, I don't think the angle device was very convenient to use, maybe it needed two operators? There were quite a few manufacturers made them, Millers Falls, Stanley (via John Fray) Goodell -Pratt are ones I know of. Backus also made a non-adjustable version of the angle borer. Triton, what...

Backus' branding is frequently quite faint, usually found on the chuck shell, including his address as Winchendon or Holyoke, Mass, or Chambers St. NY. I like the style of his chuck where the two lugs grip the shaft of the auger bit and hold the tang firmly in the square socket in the base of...

Made by Quimby S.Backus in the USA in the 1870's. http://oldtoolheaven.com/biography/backus.htm Cheers, Geoff

Hi, I recently picked up this traditional iron brace branded (I think) R. Lloyd & Co. Research has led me to Richard Lloyd & Co of 135 Steel House Lane, Birmingham, England. With a possible manufacturing date of 1862 to 1873. Am I on the right track and can anyone add any info to this...

I asked my Dad "what's an Oxymoron?" His reply "someone who doesn't know how to use a gas axe".

Hi Mike, James Chapman of Sheffield were making braces, in sweeps of 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 14 inches. After their take over by Stanley in the mid 1930's the range was reduced but the 5 and 6 In continued for a while. I have a 6 In Stanley branded No 73E MK 4 with the plastic handles that...

In the 50's my parents renovated the kitchen in our farm house, When they uncrated the new wood burning stove they found that the fire box was on the opposite side to what had been ordered. Rather than muck around waiting for a correct replacement they decide a slight amount of adjustment and...

Hi Adrian, the site I like to use for Millers Falls brace info: Millers Falls Bit Braces has jaws similar to those in your second photo listed as "bar and slot" used on a No 71- 73 and No 82 & 83 braces in production from 1885 to 1912. Cheers, Geoff.

That's a pretty interesting tool Eric and one I've not seen before, thanks for sharing. I assume the square box up top is to release the drive for quick retraction? If you're sick of the sight of it I could give it a nice warm home here in West Aus'. Cheers, Geoff.

Perth, Western Australia, is the worlds most isolated capital city.

They had a machine like that when I worked for the PWD in Perth WA in 1974 but wasn't capable of bending steel of that size, probably more like 3/4 inch max. But on the point that Mickjay raised of difficulty getting the concrete in. In about 1979 Humes built a pre-cast concrete railway sleeper...

My dad was a farmer, one day we had sheep in the yards and one of them had about three inches of bowel hanging out its clacker. He caught the sheep, picked it up by its hind legs and shook it like a bag of spuds, til the bowel popped back in. After marking the sheep with red raddle for future...

Well I just read this whole thread again because it's 34C (that's hot in F) outside and there's work to be done when it cools off. No mention of rain gauges so far. When I was a kid in NZ we had an official rain gauge on the farm and Dad or Uncle had to read it and record the result. Measured...

I don't think the business ends of your bits look that bad that you need to go to all that trouble. If they were mine I'd use the soft wire wheel to scrub off the rust, give them a sharpen, then lightly oil, or whatever preservative you prefer. They may not need sharpening, as you said in your...

Taking onboard the ideas from you chaps, yesterday I made a guide hole in a block of fairly hard wood. I made this by running a 1" bit through then chiselling it out in the usual way. Clamping a piece of pine to the back of it I was then able to use the Pearl bit to cut a square hole. This was...

I should add the tool is branded: MADE BY PEARL SQUARE AUGER MFG CO. NEW YORK. USA. Also includes three patent dates: OCT 3 '93, AUG 11 '96 and JUNE 18 '98. The dates are for US 505844, US 565500 and US 606575. Additionally I found a patent dated May 2 1905, US 788941 There are a couple of...

G'day Andy, A.Y.Pearl patented a square bit in the USA in 1893 (US Pat No 505844). Now, although the one I've got here is designed to be used in a pedestal drill, Pearls original drawings show it with the square tapered drive tang for use in a brace. The inner shaft rotates the lead auger at the...

Thanks for all the replies, very interesting. He said they used an expansive bit to bore a 3" outlet to insert the "pop" which is what we call the outlet here. He did tell me what type of wood it was but I've forgotten, it wasn't a well known name like oak. Cheers, Geoff.