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Heirloom Tools


Roger Frazee

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After keeping it in a drawer for many years, I finally got the chance to use my grandfather's gasket cutter.  It worked like a charm and it took me back to the days when he and I would make wooden toys in his garage.  He used the gasket cutter to make wooden wheels for our hand-carved cars.  Who knew it would actually make gaskets too?

 

Has anyone else used a gasket cutter like this?

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That is a nice one. I see it has the usual square tapered shaft to use it in a brace. Have not seen one with the two knives. Dad had one with a single knife, otherwise identical. We used it to cut leather washers for pumps and the like. I think he also used it to cut neat holes in metal guttering, which I always assumed was what it was designed for.

 

Many times I wished I had one, when I didn't have the exact size hole punch. I keep an eye out, but have not found one for sale.

Edited by Bush Mechanic
clarification (see edit history)
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22 minutes ago, Bush Mechanic said:

That is a nice one. I see it has the usual square tapered shaft to use it in a brace. Have not seen one with the two knives. Dad had one with a single knife, otherwise identical. We used it to cut leather washers for pumps and the like. I think he also used it to cut neat holes in metal guttering, which I always assumed was what it was designed for.

 

Many times I wished I had one, when I didn't have the exact size hole punch. I keep an eye out, but have not found one for sale.

 

The $100.00 question is how many people know what a brace is?  I know because I use one to assemble and disassemble my 125 year old pool table when we move.

Edited by Larry Schramm (see edit history)
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1 minute ago, Larry Schramm said:

The $100.00 question is how many people know what a brace is? 

 

I know. I have one and actually use it on occasion. But I've never seen a gasket cutter like the one pictured. Pretty neat tool especially with the double blade......................Bob

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I have a LOT of heirloom tools...all over my shop and basement. Some were my dad's, some belonged to one or the other grandfather, some to my great grandfather, and some to his father. Plus I've bought quite a bit of old "junk tools" at sales, etc, for decades. I'll post some photos tomorrow. 

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No, but I would like to have one !  That cuts the OD and ID at one time.   I have a circle cutter that uses a razor blade that cuts the OD. If the ID is is only say 3/32 less it will screw it up every time.  Gauges use those fine-line gaskets

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I too have several braces, plus several sets of bits. I do have expandable buts for them.  But no gasket cutter like that!

 

You can tell my forefathers were into woodworking.;)

 

I also have a breast drill and a corner but brace. Surprising, the corner bit brace was still being made into the 80s.

 

I call these my "cordless" drills with lifetime batteries!:D

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I don't have one of these, but have several braces and numerous bits that were my grandfather's. ( I'm in my upper 60's).  I also have a handmade carpenters tool box that holds alot of tools that also belonged to my grandfather.  I remember that my dad taught me how to use a ball peen hammer to make gaskets.  Have done it numerous times.  Just gotta make sure the material doesn't move.

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My dad didn't have a lot of tools, he was mostly a bailing wire and pliers, duct tape kind of guy. He did have a vise grips that I have in my junkin bag that I take along to junk yards. He has passed on now and when I pull the vise grips out I say to myself "Dad is helping me today"

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Oh, yep, typo. Corner Bit Brace, a Millers Fall 502. ;)

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9 hours ago, Larry Schramm said:

 

The $100.00 question is how many people know what a brace is?  I know because I use one to assemble and disassemble my 125 year old pool table when we move.

 

Brace and bit was on my tool list as required tools when I was accepted into the electrical  workers union apprenticeship program in the 70's

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This is the tool for cutting round gaskets, never seen one before and I like it.

Gave my brace and bits to a neighbor and don't miss having it around. I still have a star drill and I've used it in the past 20 years, sometimes the old way is still the best way, but luckily not to often.

The tool I had and used until it wore so bad that it literally fell apart was a squeeze handle yankee screwdriver, anyone know where I could get another.

Edited by Digger914 (see edit history)
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19 hours ago, Roger Frazee said:

After keeping it in a drawer for many years, I finally got the chance to use my grandfather's gasket cutter.  It worked like a charm and it took me back to the days when he and I would make wooden toys in his garage.  He used the gasket cutter to make wooden wheels for our hand-carved cars.  Who knew it would actually make gaskets too?

 

Has anyone else used a gasket cutter like this?

IMG_5870.JPG

 

That's a unique tool Roger. I've never saw one like it. An old railroad machinist taught me how to use a small ball-peen hammer to cut gaskets. I'm sure your tool does a better job.

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39EP63_AS01?$mdmain$

 

I've cut both aluminum and copper with this circle cutting bit, including making copper exhaust manifold gaskets by cutting the circular hole for the exhaust port then trimming the outside oval shape with metal shears and drilling holes for the manifold studs. I can say these out-of-balance bits need to be run at low rpm. I used a variable speed drill and squeezed the trigger only lightly.

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35 minutes ago, mike6024 said:

39EP63_AS01?$mdmain$

 

I've cut both aluminum and copper with this circle cutting bit, including making copper exhaust manifold gaskets by cutting the circular hole for the exhaust port then trimming the outside oval shape with metal shears and drilling holes for the manifold studs. I can say these out-of-balance bits need to be run at low rpm. I used a variable speed drill and squeezed the trigger only lightly.

I've cut a few hundred holes with one of these.

I just used it a couple of months ago to put some speakers in some plywood. 

I still have one nib in case I need one.

I put many dash gauges in boats with this.

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On 1/17/2018 at 2:59 PM, Roger Frazee said:

After keeping it in a drawer for many years, I finally got the chance to use my grandfather's gasket cutter.  It worked like a charm and it took me back to the days when he and I would make wooden toys in his garage.  He used the gasket cutter to make wooden wheels for our hand-carved cars.  Who knew it would actually make gaskets too?

 

Has anyone else used a gasket cutter like this?

IMG_5870.JPG

 

There is discussion about using a brace with this tool. It does have a shaft that looks like it would fit a brace but I can't imagine holding gasket material firmly in place with one hand and trying to turn the brace in order to make two cuts. Was it really intended to be chucked up in a brace when you use it to cut gaskets?

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6 hours ago, Ronnie said:

 

There is discussion about using a brace with this tool. It does have a shaft that looks like it would fit a brace but I can't imagine holding gasket material firmly in place with one hand and trying to turn the brace in order to make two cuts. Was it really intended to be chucked up in a brace when you use it to cut gaskets?

I stapled the cork to a block of wood and chucked the gasket cutter up in my Bosch Cordless drill.  Back in the day, they may have held the gasket material in place with tacks.  

It's amazing what our forefathers accomplished without modern tools.

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This was my Father-in-Laws gasket punch set that I own now. Just for laughs I went through my old electrician box and found the brace that I had to have as an apprentice , this was my Fathers, and I am pretty sure it was my Grandfathers at one time also. It is not on the required tool list anymore. We needed them to drill through the plywood concrete forms on the high rise buildings 

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3 hours ago, John348 said:

This was my Father-in-Laws gasket punch set that I own now. Just for laughs I went through my old electrician box and found the brace that I had to have as an apprentice , this was my Fathers, and I am pretty sure it was my Grandfathers at one time also. It is not on the required tool list anymore. We needed them to drill through the plywood concrete forms on the high rise buildings 

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That's a lovely punch set.

Please excuse me for being picky,  but the hand drill pictured accepts standard round bits. We don't call it a brace, here in Australia. Photo of braces below. (A brace of braces?) Please note the dust. I don't mind if I never have to use one again. Served time boring fence posts with those devices. They are both ratcheting models for use in tight spots.

Breast drills were common, as well. Larger version of the hand drill, with a curved plate on the blunt end to enable pressure to be applied with your shoulder or chest.

 

For fence posts, we sometimes used a motorised device with a flexible drive cable. Hold the business end in 2 hands, with twist levers for forward and reverse, through a leather cone clutch. Really good when you could get the JAP engine to fire up. The worst device we used in that game was a Swing, or Barrow saw. 2 cylinder Wisconsin or similar mounted on 2 wheels, with a 36" circular saw blade on the end of a tube, which could be turned through 90 degrees. Now THAT was a scary device. I can still hear the banshie howl when you revved it up. Felling trees and cutting posts to length. In the vertical plane it could dig into the ground and drag you through the bush, or throw the off-cut back at you with incredible force. Those things killed quite a few men. Then we bought one of those new-fangled McCulloch chain saws. They were great help when we mastered sharpening them!

 

Apologies for the rave,  Mick.

 

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I have a brace ( one regular and another that ratchets ), a speed drill, and this pictured drill. Not sure what this last one is called. It is reversible, uses small diameter bits, and also has a slot screwdriver bit so you can drive and remove screws quickly. Interesting "pre-power" tool.

Drill.jpg

Drill2.jpg

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21 minutes ago, mike6024 said:

I have a brace ( one regular and another that ratchets ), a speed drill, and this pictured drill. Not sure what this last one is called. It is reversible, uses small diameter bits, and also has a slot screwdriver bit so you can drive and remove screws quickly. Interesting "pre-power" tool.

Drill.jpg

Drill2.jpg

 

I have always know that to be a yankee screwdriver, 

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That Flexrock 'Centr-O-Punch' is not all that old.  It appears to be a well-made, high quality product.  I would suspect one would get many years of useful service out of it. 

 

I've known several older mechanics who still had most of their original Snap-On and Mac tools from their apprentice days that were still in use when they retired.

 

Craig

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Yes, The Yankee screwdriver. The hand portable power tool of the first half of this century! Actually invented in the late 1800s. I have several, since my relatives are all from that time period...

 

You can get an adapter to use 1/4" hex bits in them from McFeely's:

 

https://www.mcfeelys.com/search/?q=yankee+screwdriver

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On 1/19/2018 at 11:26 PM, mike6024 said:

I have a brace ( one regular and another that ratchets ), a speed drill, and this pictured drill. Not sure what this last one is called. It is reversible, uses small diameter bits, and also has a slot screwdriver bit so you can drive and remove screws quickly. Interesting "pre-power" tool.

 

Drill.jpg

 

 

As a teenager I spent my summers working for "Charlie's Aluminum Products" helping the owner install aluminum storm doors and windows. Installing storm windows required putting in a lot of screws as fast as possible. We used a screwdriver like the one in the photo but I never knew what it was called until now. The one we used not only put the screws in quickly by extending it out as shown in the photo, the handle would also ratchet so you didn't have to take your hand off the handle to get a new grip each time you twisted it. Does yours have a ratcheting handle too?

 

 

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I feel obliged to add pictures of a few of my favorites.  My grandfather was a NYC banker, my father a lawyer and an FBI Agent.  Neither one of them was particularly mechanically inclined so I'm at a loss to explain the tools' provenance, but I'm happy to have them.  Yankee tool is a No, 130A and the breast drill is Millers Falls Co. No.12.  Brace is Dunlap with no other marking.  The "S" shaped wrench is marked Westcott, Keystone Mfg Co Buffalo NY USA, and the spring loaded jaw wrench is Masterench Corp., Turlock Cal. U.S.A.  I've used the brace and the breast drill many times in places beyond the reach of an electric cord and find it somewhat sad that they have been rendered obsolete by battery powered tools.

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Edited by ejboyd5 (see edit history)
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I'm surprised that no one has posted a photo of an old monkey wrench they own in this thread. My father once owned one but it got lost years ago. I don't have a photo of it but it looked like a pipe wrench with straight jaws (without teeth) and a screw adjustment similar to a crescent wrench.

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