GG's,

Something of a gloat.. maybe more a curiosity.. in any case a fun find.
Hollis, NH flea market Sunday Oct 2. We arrived at 6:30 as the sun rose.
Hardly anyone was unpacked and hats and mittens were everywhere.. if i
wasn't the first tool guy I was for sure the first one there that
checked old M_F braces to see if they have a true Barber chuck or not
(thank you Sandy for the education!). As I lifted the brace from the
table the old codger looked at my bag full of tools says.. I have some
really GOOD braces at the house.. better than that JUNK (as he nods to
the one in my hands).. just at that point I has the chuck shell off
enough to see BINGO.. a BARBER.. I said.. nope.. thanks.. I'll take this
one for $1... he looks at me and shakes his head at my foolishness. Its
good to be brace collector! Pics at:

www.bracketttools.com

The lower arm is marked No. 43... the chuck (and this is where it gets
interesting!!!) is marked, on one side, Millers Falls Mfg. Millers Falls
Mass... and on the other side...."The Barber Brace, May (too worn to
read the rest but may is very clear). Since the Stevens patent was in
1880, the chuck should read Millers Falls Tool co. (yes?) and the Patent
date should be June 1880 (reflecting the Stevens patent date). So, now
the questions are: Did M_F use a chuck shell leftover from 16 years
before? Did somebody search out a relatively unusual chuck shell to
replace the original on this? Or was this brace truly used as Sandy Moss
suggests on his site to extend the Barber patent in some manner.

http://www.sydnassloot.com/Brace/Stevens.htm

Steve in Keene

(who also found his M_F No. 31 to complete my set of M_F 30 series
braces.. could there be a type study in the making?)