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Years ago I found another
example of the same brace in damaged condition. I took it
apart to investigate, but I had to guess at the shape of the spring for
the ratchet, as that was missing. This is a "ship-in-the-bottle"
assembly task, as it all as to fit through the opening for the spindle.
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The sequence at left
indicates how the selector controls the operation of the ratchet.
Again, I made this spring as a best-guess attempt to reproduce the
missing original.
Note that the chuck shell, wrist handle, pad and general shape all match the present, intact brace.
The pawls each have a tiny hole at the base for a wire to act as an assembly aid.
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B&D-58
Price: $75.00 plus shipping
This brace was made by the
C.E. Jennings company, but the patent date of December 27, 1892
corresponds to U.S. Patent No. 488,691, shown below. The brace jaws and
their delicate springs are present in this brace, as is the arrangement
for aligning the wrist handle, but the ratchet mechanism is different,
even though the external selector lever is quite similar. I have not
found any relevant patent for this mechanism, which is completely
enclosed within the cast iron housing.
The brace itself works fine, with only a crack in the wrist handle to be mentioned.
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