Brace

Object Name:

Brace

Object ID:

1977.055.15.2

Description:

Bit brace. Steel and wood. C-shaped steel crank; roughly square with some chamfered and tapering edges. Egg-shaped wooden grip, split vertically, with incised central decorative line. Rounded collars as part of body above and below this central grip. Beyond collars, body is octagonal. Handle then curves around at top and bottom, becoming slightly rectangular. Chamfers become square edges. At bottom, slightly tapered, truncated pyramid shape with tapered square hole in bottom; hole 0.35" on a side; threaded thumbscrew on one side that leads into tapered area. At top, round section at end of curved body. Decorative iron collar that sits on central shaft. Collar loose but probably attached to wood knob handle at top. Handle mushroom-shaped with bulbous stem below cap. Rounded band below central area that connects handle with steel collar. Round disc, slightly sunken below surface in the top of handle, with two closely-spaced holes in it. This may be a round spanner nut or cap that hides fastening mechanism for steel spindle. Two other holes in top surface near edge opposite each other, purpose unknown. Knob handle has dark finish, but some worn areas on it. Name stamped into steel crank on bottom of top section; very small worn letters, "[ ]olter". Probably additional characters following "r".

Material:

Metal
Steel
Wood
Iron

Dimensions:

H-11.1 W-5.9 D-3.1 Dia-3.1 inches Weight-23.35 oz

Provenance:

From the James Cowan Sawyer Collection of household items, farm tools and equipment, and other items used in the Durham, NH, area.

Credit Line:

James Cowan Sawyer Collection, Gift of George F. Sawyer and Charles H. Sawyer

People:

Sawyer, James Cowan (1872-1944), Sawyer, George F. (1902-1992), Sawyer, Charles H. (1906-2005)