Fixing a brace drill rachet

[Eshmiel]

The brace in the attached pics was found in a junk shop years ago and has been employed to drill holes in work benches and, lately, down the grain of chunks of log to make a starting-hole or three to gouge out in creating shrink pots. It functions as it should apart from having a bodged pin through the rachet part that easily falls out, break/bends, jams or otherwise isn't what it should be. The original pin was missing when I acquired it and I've generally used some form of nail (see that in the pics) as a substitute.

It's about time I did a proper mend - but how and what with? As far as I can determine, no one sells spare pin for this specific brace; and I don't know either how to fix them in place so that they don't fall out, to get lost or to just jam the rachet.

Has anyone any advice how to make and fit a pin that'll last? It does need to be made of very hard but resilient metal as a lot of nails or other pieces of this & that I've tried just bend under the operating forces. Some modern rock 'ard nails work, as do some drill bits. The diameter of the hole is 2mm +/- 0.1mm; one side has a recess for a head of some sort to stop a pin just falling through. But how should one fix a pin in place at the tail end? Is there a recommended material for such a pin?

I can shape a nail like that in the pic so it's the right length and the head sits flush in that recess for a pin head at one side of the hole. But how to fix the pin in place at the other end? I'm reluctant to use glue as how to remove the whole thing if the nail snaps, since they have snapped in the past? Solder that could me melted out again? Something else that can be easily removed but is sticky enough not to let go of the pin end, such as some type of Loctite?


Any advice will be gratefully received. If I can get it working well, I'll also give it a refurb, with lots of cleaned and polished wood handle and plenty of good grease in the right spots. Any advice about refurbing such a thing will also be gratefully received.

 

[Phill05]

What about a spring pin/cotter pin?

I think I have some small ones I can have a look.

 

[Tris]

A roll pin might be just the job there

 

[ChaiLatte]

Loctite.

JB Weld.

Soft solder.

Superglue.

Heat will de-nature all the above if removal is required.

Peen the pin once fitted. Drill out if replacement is needed (hence do not use anything too hard).

The material of the pin is less important than the fit of the pin in the hole. If it is peened so it swells and fills the hole properly, it will have a longer life.

Roll pin has a considerably smaller cross-sectional area compared to a solid pin, so less shear resistance.

 

[Inspector]

A roll pin is hardened spring steel and likely has a higher shear strength than the nail Eshmiel has been using and is a little more forgiving if the hole is a touch too big. Look at how many tools and machines use them without ever having issues.
https://springfasteners.co.uk/product/2mm-x-20mm-spring-tension-pin-din-1481-iso-8752/

If you really feel the need for a solid hardened pin then search out 2mm dowel pins. They are ground to exact nominal size and can be had in carbon steel or SS. You will have to use Loctite or similar to keep them in the hole. Too hard to peen.
https://www.westfieldfasteners.co.u...MIwOHEiYOFjAMVkTfUAR0I3yUBEAAYAiAAEgL7tvD_BwE

Pete

 

[Eshmiel]

A roll pin is hardened spring steel and likely has a higher shear strength than the nail Eshmiel has been using and is a little more forgiving if the hole is a touch too big. Look at how many tools and machines use them without ever having issues.
https://springfasteners.co.uk/product/2mm-x-20mm-spring-tension-pin-din-1481-iso-8752/

If you really feel the need for a solid hardened pin then search out 2mm dowel pins. They are ground to exact nominal size and can be had in carbon steel or SS. You will have to use Loctite or similar to keep them in the hole. Too hard to peen.
https://www.westfieldfasteners.co.u...MIwOHEiYOFjAMVkTfUAR0I3yUBEAAYAiAAEgL7tvD_BwE

Pete

Yes, even that nail I use won't peen. The roll pin looks like it's made for the task. Presumably the idea is that they're a tiny bit thicker than the hole but their spring lets them be knocked in but remain tight so they don't fall out as the brace is used? And if the pin does snap, the bits can be easily knocked out with a small drift and replaced with a new pin?

The brace (for use with short bits between joists, I believe) is also ideal for doing the shrink pots with a 20mm diameter long auger bit. Somehow the joister is easier albeit slower than a standard brace at racheting a long bit right through a lump of green tree trunk parallel to the grain. A longer arm maybe.

 

[Boringgeoff]

I've got one similar to yours, by Skinner, it uses a roll pin.
Cheers,
Geoff.

 

[Inspector]

I speak Canadian so would you English speakers indulge me for a second? What the he is a shrink pot?

Pete

 

[Fergie 307]

I speak Canadian so would you English speakers indulge me for a second? What the he is a shrink pot?

Pete

I was thinking exactly the same, never heard of it.

 

[Tris]

Good article here

https://www.robin-wood.co.uk/wood-craft-blog/2013/10/15/shrink-pot/

 

[Dalboy]

I wonder if the original was a tapered pin if so they can be obtained in various places. they will hold surprisingly well

 

[toolsntat]

Perhaps something to consider, has the hole in the chuck shaft become worn causing backlash amongst other things ?
Cheers, Andy

 

[Eshmiel]

I've got one similar to yours, by Skinner, it uses a roll pin.
Cheers,
Geoff.

Confirmation! Always good.

 

[Eshmiel]

Good article here

https://www.robin-wood.co.uk/wood-craft-blog/2013/10/15/shrink-pot/

Thems very fancy shrink pots - works of art maybe.

My own are fairly simple and 95% functional. Any decorative aspect is provided by the wood itself - its shape, texture and colour, including a bit of spalting.

Cut a chunk of tree trunk or bough: drill out a starter hole or two from one cut end to t'other; whack out the meat with a geet big gouge leaving a round wall of 8 - 12mm width; cut a groove in the bottom inside; install a dry bit of wood shaped to fit the irregular bottom hole. Let the green pot shrink as it dries out so it gradually grasps the dry bit of wood in the groove to form a floor for the pot; fill with spoon, spat or even pens made on a lathe (for contrast).

 

[Eshmiel]

Perhaps something to consider, has the hole in the chuck shaft become worn causing backlash amongst other things ?
Cheers, Andy

The hole and the surface of the rachet-notch where the pin emerges on one side, do look time-worn. However, when a well-fitting pin is in there (that nail I've been using) it pulls everything tight enough to eliminate any slop or backlash. As long as the pin stays in, the brace works very well, even when pushed very hard whilst drilling a 10 or 20mm diameter 300mm long auger bit through green wood parallel with the grain. I've also had it drilling similar sized holes through dense old-growth dried ash.

My only problem was the half-ersed nail-pin falling out (or bend-snapping if the nail wasn't a hardened item).

The roll-pin sounds like the original gubbin so that's what I'll find and install.

 

[RussellT]

I like Dalboy's suggestion above. I don't know how old the ratchet is but I think taper pins were much more common in old tools than roll pins. Have you managed to dismantle the ratchet any further? It might be possible to measure the hole at each side of the shaft.

At the top of the thread you say "one side has a recess for a head of some sort to stop a pin just falling through". I wonder if this is the taper in the gear being the opposite way around to the hole in the shaft, so the hole appears to have a step in it where it goes into the shaft?

Russell

 

[Eshmiel]

I like Dalboy's suggestion above. I don't know how old the ratchet is but I think taper pins were much more common in old tools than roll pins. Have you managed to dismantle the ratchet any further? It might be possible to measure the hole at each side of the shaft.

At the top of the thread you say "one side has a recess for a head of some sort to stop a pin just falling through". I wonder if this is the taper in the gear being the opposite way around to the hole in the shaft, so the hole appears to have a step in it where it goes into the shaft?

Russell

At some point I may dismantle the thing as much as I can manage - although a lot of it will have to be prised apart rather than just unscrewed, which I'm always wary off as the prising can distort or break old stuff. If I do get it apart I'll measure those holes more carefully. There's definitely a recess for a head of some sort at one end of the 'ole so you may be right.

 

[Boringgeoff]

I too, sitting here in Western Australia, had never heard of a shrink pot, my first thought being a loopy psychiatrist, thanks for the link Tris and the photos Eshmiel.
Now, back to the original problem, stop overthinking the pin. At original point of manufacture there would have been tubs of parts to be assembled, the ratchet wheel would have been slipped onto the shaft then the hole through it bored and the pin inserted. I've dismantled a lot of braces and sometimes when reassembling the holes don't line up, the reason being I've put the wheel back on the shaft the wrong way round or it is rotated 180 degrees off. This, to my mind, confirms that the hole was bored post assembly. I would think, on more modern manufacture, accurate pre-boring would make it irrelevant which way the ratchet wheel was put on the shaft, maybe I need to pull down a modern Stanley and check if that is correct.
The ends of the pin have to be peened down deep enough to not interfere with the ratchet action of the pawls as the ratchet is being used. An appropriate sized roll pin should fix the problem.

Cheers,
Geoff.

 

[pe2dave]

I speak Canadian so would you English speakers indulge me for a second? What the he is a shrink pot?

Pete

I speak (supposed) English and nor do I Pete.

 

[XTiffy]

Eshmiel, If you let me know the approximate hole size, I will send you a few appropriate sized roll pins. Mine of course are in a tobaco tin!