Shopsmith Forums

At a tool show in October I picked up an antique wooden brace without a head. I paid all of $10 for it, which was probably too much. However, it has a good working brass chuck. So after digging in my wood box, I turned a grommet out of Ebony that spins on a central wooden dowel and threads into the top knob which I turned out of Pink Ivory. This is an oldie with a new life.

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Hanging on the wall of my shop. The middle brace is a Miller Falls in pristine condition that I recently found at a garage sell for $10. The top one is another oldie fitted with a Jacobs chuck.

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Really nice! You were probably best off buying that brace on first sight. I'm still kicking myself for one I passed up in an antique-mall, returning 2 weeks later to see it already gone.

Pink ivory, huh? That's a new one on me. And just when I was starting to think that I knew a little bit about woodworking.

According to Wikipedia:

Pink Ivory was the royal tree of the Zulu People[4] and only members of the royal family were allowed to possess it ... According to rumor, non-royals who possessed the wood would summarily be put to death.



It's truly gorgeous, though. Enjoy it while you can!