Need help with old tool

[oldtoolguy]

First time posting here.  I am a woodworker, zero knowledge of making jewelry.  On my forums i get a laugh out of some of the crazy questions … now i’m on the other side.  

I collect old cordless drills, i clean them up, make repairs, then hang them on the wall or use them.  I recently got this one, i have not started on it yet so i can’t see a makers mark, but i suspect it’s a Fray & Pigg spofford brace from about 1870.  What, you say, that’s not a cordless drill?   Of course it is, and it's even variable speed and reversible.  

I have attached a picture of my brace, a closeup of the wrist handle, a catalog picture, and a picture from a tool forum to support my thoughts.  As you can see, it originally had pewter rings on the wrist handle.  Mine has twisted copper wire, i’m guessing the pewter fell off sometime in the past 150 years.  So my question is … how can i replace the pewter rings?  I can get the wrist handle off in two pieces, and i can get the head (top knob) off so there won’t be anything larger than the frame, so i could slip a pair of rings on.   But how to get them in place on the wood handle?  

One thought i had was to wrap the groove with pewter wire, and hammer it flat.  The grooves are about 1/8”;wide x 1/8” deep.  

Attachments:

[caeterle]

I'm not a metalsmith, but wire would have been my first thought as well. Is there a way to put wire in there and then strip material off instead of hammering or isn't the hammering a problem for the wood?

[oldtoolguy]

Thanks for the response. I had not thought about over-filling the groove and then removing the excess. Looking at my closeup, you can see a typical clueless “repair” by the seller: make it look shiny with a heavy coat of clear lacquer. Cover the rust and everything. Point being … i need to do some intensive stripping and polishing, so trimming down the pewter won’t be an issue.

Here’s why i was thinking wire. Because the wire is round and the groove is square, i was thinking 2 wraps of wire, hammer it down to squeeze it to fill the depth & width of the groove, and hopefully the malleability will blend the end of the wire so its not very visible. I guess i could do that with rectangular stock too. But i’m way out of my knowledge base. I don't think i could solder or braze the pewter without charring the wood.

The wood is pretty stout and it’s backed up by the steel frame, so it will tolerate a lots of force. Remember, these tools were designed to be used by ham-fisted carpenters and laborers. They are not delicate.

[brad]

How were the original rings slipped on to handle-into the grooves if they were already soldered closed rings? Since the groove is much less diameter than the handle. Were the rings soldered after wrapped on...without burning surrounding wood? how about using silver or nickel half-round wire that is the width of the groove base? You have my brain thinking and guessing. Brad

[DawninCal]

I was hoping Brad would stop by this thread.



Dawn

[brad]

I have consulted with a good friend who is a tool collector as well as a railroad train and steam tractor restoration expert. He has similar braces. He says those rings were likely tightly slipped into place then pressed into the grooves by a hand tool that did the pressing. I imagine that is why they developed the method of using end caps on the handle (to hold the two pieces together) instead of bands like your vintage brace and many others. I wonder of there is, out there, some kind of ring press similar to a piston ring press that is smaller and could be applied to your need? Have you gone to one of the vintage tool and restoration sites online, to present your question or do some research?
Brad

[caeterle]

Brad, sometimes ProBoards seems to get stuck and then posts the same thing twice. If you want to, you can just delete one of those by going to the drop down menu next to the gear -> "delete post" It's what I do.

I'm with Dawn, I waited for you to turn up in this thread

[brad]

Mar 30, 2023 10:43:31 GMT -6 caeterle said:

Brad, sometimes ProBoards seems to get stuck and then posts the same thing twice. If you want to, you can just delete one of those by going to the drop down menu next to the gear -> "delete post" It's what I do.

I'm with Dawn, I waited for you to turn up in this thread

Thanks, did it.  Brad