Brace

A brace is a hand tool used with a bit to drill holes, usually in wood. Pressure is applied to the top while the handle is rotated. If the bit's lead and cutting spurs are both in good working order, the user should not have to apply any pressure other than for balance: the lead will pull the bit through the wood.

The earliest carpenter's braces equipped with a U-shaped grip, that is with a compound crank, appeared between 1420 and 1430 in Flanders.

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Source: Wikipedia · Image: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

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