Peck, Stow & Wilcox No. 8014 brace - PEXTO-17 Price: $20.00 plus shipping.
This 14 inch swing brace is similar to PEXTO-07, except that it has greater swing and a later ratchet mechanism. It does have the Altwein patent jaws and Smith patent ball bearing chuck.
If one assumes that the jaws are not a later addition to this brace,
the presence of the July 9, 1895 patent date on the chuck and the
Altwein jaws (patented January 24, 1911) mean that the brace had to
have been made in the short period before the expiration of the chuck
patent (July 10, 1912) and within the period after Altwein applied for
his patent (May 24, 1910). I do not know how the later ratchet
mechanism squares with this sequence.Alas, one of the Altwein jaws has been broken; and the wrist handle is cracked: |
Another
deficiency is that the ball-bearing pad is loose & wobbly on the
wire frame. It could be sleeved in an easy repair. |
The broken Altwein jaw apparently went on being used for a long time; the remainder is still inside the chuck ! |
Was the patent date applied long after the patent expired ? |