One for Andy and Toolsnat - mainly.

[Cabinetman]

Came across this weird thing on F/B Marketplace, I hesitate to say it’s unique especially knowing youse twos encyclopaedic knowledge but, well we shall see! Only $20 but it’s 2 hours away.

 

[duke]

Odd looking.

 

[Mike]

A quick search shows it is used for drilling holes close to the corners where a normal brace and bit would not work.

Here is a video from Wood by Wright showing several braces, including one similar to the brace in your photos. The video link is indexed at 8:07.

 

[toolsntat]

Yep, exactly what it says on the listing Ian,.
Used for the boring of holes in tight corners.
Stanley USA listed them along with other manufacturers and designs.
Not sure if any English manufacturers made them?
Could be the cover plates for the gears are missing?
I've got at least one but they aren't rare, just seldom seen.
Cheers, Andy

 

[Cabinetman]

You see! I knew I was the only one not to know. Damn!

 

[AndyT]

I go to bed a bit earlier than you guys, but I'd have said the same. I expect they were useful for a few years when it might have been normal to surface mount new electrical cables and you needed a hole in the floor or ceiling, close to the wall or in a corner.

 

[Raymedullary]

On a "similar" note, when I was an apprentice I remember my Foreman advising me to always keep a stopcock wheel in my toolbox as they fit on the end of a twist bit for really tight spaces! (I was a yacht Joiner so plenty of those).

 

[AndyT]

On a "similar" note, when I was an apprentice I remember my Foreman advising me to always keep a stopcock wheel in my toolbox as they fit on the end of a twist bit for really tight spaces! (I was a yacht Joiner so plenty of those).

Yes indeed. Or you could use one of these

Preston style adjustable bit handle WIP

Ever since I saw one belonging to @toolsntat , years ago, I've rather admired the sort of bit holder introduced by Preston and included in their 1909 catalogue: It's a simple but elegant design. There's a brass pin across a turned boxwood handle. A steel screw goes through a threaded hole in...

www.thewoodhaven2.co.uk

 

[Boringgeoff]

That looks like a Millers falls No 512 corner brace and yes, Andy's right, the gear covers are missing. https://oldtoolheaven.com/millers-falls/brace/brace5.htm
The original corner brace was patented in the USA by Charles Amidon in 1884: https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/ec/65/58/8b2118f4e42a40/US298542.pdf
When you read his patent description you will see that Amidon suggests the use of either a universal joint or bevel gears, to date all of his that I've seen utilise the uni joint which avoids the need for covers. Millers Falls and also Stanley's versions use the bevel gears exclusively, as far as I know, and the covers are missing from time to time. The reason for this, I think, is as the gears wear the owner removes the covers to shim the gears out to make them mesh better and don't bother putting the covers back. A bit hard to understand why because on my MF version the covers are secured by screws, but the Stanley version they're riveted on.
Cheers,
Geoff.