Adam- that was a great find, and a very reasonable price considering it
was well-described on eBay. I like the SAMSONs as well and I've been
looking for a 16inch for a long time. If I had seen that it wouldn't
have gone so low :) Congrats, man. That's a fine brace.

> Preaching to the choir here, Tom :). So far I have at least 2 of each
> in 6, 8, 10, 12, 14" sweeps. Sandy Moss' page [1] says that Fray had a
> 17" that is seldom seen, but I'm happy with a 16"...and like you say,
> even the 14" isn't necessary unless you're using a big bit.

Hey, don't forget the Whimbles and the tiny little 5in braces
that Millers Falls made. Always happy to continue your slide down
the slope :)

Josh

On May 5, 2012, at 9:10 PM, Adam R. Maxwell wrote:

>> On May 5, 2012, at 12:44 , Thomas Conroy  wrote:
>>> My biggest is an 8014, cosmetically rough, and I really appreciate
>>> that big sweep when putting a 1-1/4" RJ bit through a moderately
>>> hard wood like cherry. Get down around 1", though, and the big sweep
>>> seems a waste of time. You really need the full range of sizes.
>> Preaching to the choir here, Tom :). So far I have at least 2 of each
>> in 6, 8, 10, 12, 14" sweeps. Sandy Moss' page [1] says that Fray had
>> a 17" that is seldom seen, but I'm happy with a 16"...and like you
>> say, even the 14" isn't necessary unless you're using a big bit. The
>> other use for 12-14" braces is letting the GITs practice. They can't
>> muscle the smaller sweeps around, even with a 1/2" bit, but the big
>> ones are no problem.
>
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