that tool was passed down to me from my grand father. it was issued to him from the local phone company back in 1963. i only know this because he etched the date on it. its on display in my micro shop. thanks for the video!

Drilling holes in the walls just because you got a new toy, love the enthusiasm

For those looking, it's NOT the 998, it's a 993! Look for the Stanley 993 Corner Bit Brace

i wish him good luck with the surgery

1997: "it's a book" 2017: "wow look at this thing it's beautiful. there's nothing like a real book"

For those of us that are not "of the clothe", we still will wish Big Lou all the best. We hope that his doctors are fully educatated in modern science and medicine so they can treat his infirmities to the best of their abilities.

Excited to see what else is in that box!

50 years ago, I was assigned to clear out an uncle's shop. In my early twenties, I wasn't interested in hand tools. If I didn't recognize it or know what it was... Today, it makes me sick to know what I took to the dump.

Love seeing older tools like that! You can tell they came out of necessity and comments back from the tradesman! Thanks as always!

Best wishes and prayers to your friend Lou for safe surgery and speedy recovery.

hello, that other handle is supposed to be used when drilling holes vertically alongside wall. So one handle for horizontal holes(as shown in video) & other for vertical holes. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Oh, man. I've been wanting one of these for years. I've only ever come across a broken one which was a big disappointment. And here you get two for free! Congrats. Those are a real prize.

I love how you are religious, but you don't push it on anybody. I myself am atheist and I find a lot of people including family often pressure me about religion, and it is refreshing to find someone like you.

Its weird that you had a video on this, my grandpa was an electrician who took care of his tools and he had a few of these some extensions, bit sets, etc from his time working as an electrician and we had just discussed all that the other day as there was so much it was impossible for us to store it all and it was decided we'd keep the barn on their property to store all the old tools we have. There are boxes and crates of the stuff and things you probably couldn't dream of here. we love old stuff so much we have actual tubes and other products that most people pitch because "nothing" uses them anymore. our house is so much fun to rummage through

Praying for Lou from NZ- Rev Karl

You're a great Dad. "Oh there he goes, into the water!" Most dads would've screamed.

The extra handle might possibly be for a helper to help with the forward force.

Wiring old houses with laid stone foundations is much easier with an extention. Our house near Union City had 12" thick beams supporting the partition walls. The outside foundation walls were 2' thick. My Dad was an electrician and he helped me wire the house with a new service We used an extention very similar to yours to bore the hole for the service cable. They are nice for plumbing too.

Thanks to you and Ken for sharing. Never seen one of these. :-)

I started on the Telephone company Line Crew in 1977. We used a brace & extension like you have to drill holes in the poles & install through bolts for cross arms, & down guys. We didn't need the corner brace very often, but when we did, it was the only tool that would work. I had not seen one in years. Thanks for the video.

I have one of these, I never knew what it was until a few weeks ago when I seen one online, I knew it was a drill but not that it was designed to be used flush against walls. Great ingenuity by the minds of the past

I was bought up in the age of electric drills but still I can appreciate a tool like this. It's quite ingenious in its simplicity.

Cody - great content - this actually lives up to the title as that *IS* the strangest looking thing I've ever seen you test as well.. . Thanks. Our prayers and good thoughts go out to your friend Big Lou.

KEN from KENtucky haha

My grandfather was an electrician from the 20s to the mid 60s and I believe there is still one of these monstrosities hanging in his workshop.

I am a retired electrician and have used the corner brace many many times. The extensions are also used a lot - sometimes even three joined together for drilling a fire-stop on the first floor from the basement. Great tools.

My father is a retired electrician and he has one of these. I even remember him using it a while back (10 years or so) when drilling holes in the spuns of our boat. If you don't have easy access to electricity or battery chargers this can still be a valuable tool.

I bought one of these at an estate sale for $12. It's a Miller Falls #502 Manufactured in Greenfield Mass. I watched 3 men pick it up look at it and tried to move the crank part. It was stuck so they just put it down. One guy even got it to move and thinking he broke it put it back in the position it was in and set it down fast and walked away even faster. I took it home took the covers off the gears. Spayed some Durolube on the gears and had them free in 5 min. Re-greased them put the caps back on and has worked like a charm ever since.

I know I may be the wrong Smokey Bear but you inspired me to join the Forest Fire Fighting service in my location and I have loved every minute of it. Thank you and may God watch iver you and your family at all times.

Well I'm no praying man but I wish your friend a full and speedy recovery.

we will be praying for your friend here with my family, may God be with him and bless him with a quick recovery

I've seen many of those corner braces come through a local auction...I've never picked one up because I have never had a need for one..but they are cool...

So strange that once it's explained it seems so logical, as if you can't imagine doing the same job any other way.

While working for New England Tel & Tel late 60's as an Install/repairman my tool suitcase included a ratcheting bit brace and the drill-bit extension. Know all the guys that were hired and work with me received the same tools.

You know, I spend so much time on KZfaq lately, constantly looking for new videos on knife making, and new or old techniques for knife making, and I ALWAYS end up at your channel. After seeing this video, it's time I subscribe! I love the things you do in your videos, and I love that they are simplistic, yet technological and informative! I will be back! Again!! Thanks!!

just stumbled across the channel. Great stuff. subscribed! My grandfather owned a drill like that. He went from Austria to Canada with my grandmother and there he started working "building houses" - as he liked to tell me. My grandmother meanwhile worked as a sewist in a factory. When they got back to Austria he brought some amazing tools with him, which I still love to use. Not only because they're great craftsmanship, also they all carry stories of hard work and simpler times with them. all the best for your buddie! And keep up the great work. greetings from Austria. peace.

I have a similar drill at home and I think the second handle is there for support and a kind of way to aim but ALSO so that you can pull it back out. I have just noticed that those old drills tend to get stuck sometimes. Thank you for your video.

do a budget power tools series as many people getting into woodworking dont have the money for expensive tools. for example router, drill, impact driver, circular saw, jigsaw, sander, mitre saw, nail gun, reciprocating saw etc. it would be a good continuation of the common man's toolkit.

I really want to add one of these to my collection.. The handle on the back of the tool is a second option pending how you have to drill/bore, or the way you could find yourself in relation to the task at-hand I believe.

This strange brace is used for the corner of a FLOOR. When houses were being wired for electricity when houses were lit by candles and kerosene, The insulation on wires was weak so the earth was provided by a metal conduit that could be attached to walls. The 1/2 inch pipe might pass through floors and ceilings that were often made of wood too. Extensions were often required for subfloor timbers. A family member did this work and reported that wealthier owners might have the conduit run within the walls. This required some the roof cladding to be moved and hand drilling down through much of the height of the walls with a series of extensions. Other options were light switches ( that was the first function electricity was sold for) were operated by cord hanging from a switch fitted to the ceiling. Viewers of earlier generations would have seen this.

I wish you had this kind of attitude in all your videos, its very enjoyable watching a video where you genuinely feel attached too. Opposed to videos that we can tell you didnt want to do, but did bc we wanted you too. Thanks!!

One of the best ways to use the corner brace against the floor like you showed is to put your knee against the inline pad. This stabilizes the entire brace while your hand rests on the angled pad. For boring overhead your offhand goes onto the inline handle. It isn't to add pressure since the lead screw does all the work of pulling the bit through, but it does make it a lot easier to control

Cody, great vid! Could the second handle be for a helper who pushes the bit into tuff stuff like concrete while the first person cranks the handle?

Our prayers are with you Lou!

Very cool brace. Consider, wiring goes in at about 16" from floor, you could probably put your leg against that rear handle to apply pressure against the bit to hold it in place when drilling.

Beautiful!!! I'm an electrician of 30 plus years, and I have never seen one....but I sure could have used one on many occasions

Thanks for sharing Cody, Philia

Not just the corner of a wall, but anywhere the sweep of the crank handle would interfere with a flat surface parallel to the drilling axis. Very fascinating tool!

Beautiful crown gears. I was anticipating some form of worm drive until you turned it sideways. I realized that the housing wasn't nearly large enough for a worm gear, but oddly crown gears didn't come to mind until it was opened. A beautiful piece of history for sure. The predecessor to the modern 90º angle drill.

Way to go Ken! Thanks for representing Kentucky!

My guess on that funky top handle is so that if you were to drill through the floor in a corner, you could put adequate downward pressure on the drill

Really brilliant piece of equipment. Thanks so much for sharing.

I'd never seen one before, but I immediately thought, "I bet that's for drilling a hole in a corner." Glad to see I haven't lost my edge. Great video, cool toys!

Prayers for Big Leo!

Hey Cody, I just have a quick couple of questions and that is do you still use Magic Lantern on your 70D and 80D Canon cameras? Also are you going to get some one to fix it or would you like to sell it for a reasonable price? If you do want to sell it I would be very interested in buying it as long as it is for the right price. Kind regards, Pete.

I believe the odd grip on the top end is for a helper to add force in tight places.

The corner brace dates from quite a long time ago. But, they really became popular when existing houses were first being wired with knob and tube. They had to drill holes to insert porcelain insulators because wires were either bare or wrapped in asphalt impregnated cloth. That tool was used to electrify America. It allowed holes to be drilled in floor and ceiling joists and other tight spaces. Wire was expensive and runs were kept as short as possible. So they drilled a lot of holes.

Cody, Blessing and Gods whishes for you and family; as always impeccable content. Prays and blessings for "Big Lou" in his time of need for him and his family. In watching this upload I wish to throw out my thoughts on the sparkies corner brace; the extra wood handle I feel is exactly what it is for, too carry the brace. Have ever seen a centrifugal bench drill press, designed to spin with the pressure of pulling the drill down the harder you press the more it would spin. Only seen one once years ago and never seen one agaun; in and old carpenters workshop.. Magic, Bless the way our forefathers were raised sadly something that is dying out... Nesecity the mother of invention.. Cheers Les🙈🙉🙊

My guess is that the two rear handles are used as: 1. round palm handle to apply pressure while drilling at floor level (as was you natural choice) and 2. The more vertical handle for applying pressure while drilling overhead near the ceiling or down through the floor. In simpler terms: one handle for vertical near a corner and one for horizontal near a corner.( which probably would have been your natural choice had you demonstrated that) just a guess, let us know. Thanks for another great video. Prayers for your friend.

All of us who worked for The Bell System in the sixties and seventies had one of these in our service truck as they didn't allow power tools at the time. It is funny to see you marvel at the uniqueness of this "corner brace" as we used them every day to drill holes in the corners and right up against the walls for telephone wiring and such. This was all before SNOWFLAKES!!!!!!

What a wonderful peice of history. I love finding pieces like this and trying to find out what they are. Thank you for sharing.

the brace was used to bore holes in floor and ceiling joists, to put cable through. it's sized to fit between the joists of the time.(may not fit modern joist spacing) now we use a cordless drill with a 90 degree head to do the same job.

I am aware of electricians using this brace when installing electrical knob & tube wiring when an old house had it's first installation. Easy to bore wall & partition sills - studs - top plates, as well as through wall wherever needed.

I think that the side handle you mentioned in the end could be for drilling straight up or down against a wall? Maybe it moves incase you hit a knot?

The back handle is used for vertical boring up against the wall to go through your floor and wall plates.

It's called a corner brace. used to drill a hole through the floor next to the wall. Before electric drills.

Cody, the end rotating "hand" hold might just be able to move so you can roll your knee into place for better leverage (and more comfortable positioning without trying to keep everything in alignment while bracing with your knee.)

I remember a friend's father, an old carpenter, had one of these in his shop. He used to call it his 'staircase brace'. Thanks to your video I can see how that would work.

I used this tool while helping my grandfather wire log cabins in the early 1960's. It is easy to use but is a lot of work drilling more than several holes. Typically holes in solid wood of up to three feet were done if I remember correctly. The augers were kept sharp and most of those around today are not so its hard to appreciate how well these cut into the wood. My opinion of why the rear handle swivels is that Stanley just added the standard handle assembly for normal drills. To design a special handle that was stationary would have cost more and added nothing to what was a specialty version of the standard drill.

Hey mr W, I would probably use the rearmost handle for higher level holes I had to drill.. using the Angled brace looks like it would throw you off if you used it higher than the floor (as you showed in your usage example). To be clear, this is only my opinion, I have no prior knowledge of the tool.

Maybe the rear handle would be useful for using the drill inverted to what you have? for the ceiling perhaps? :)

Interesting. Yet I'm wondering if the one part is intended more as a shoulder brace than as a handle?

I am officially addicted to this channel. I check ten times a day to see if a new video has been posted.

Thanks for showing us. Prayer for your friend.

Awesome and rare tool Cody. I had never seen one of those. Now I will watching closer for one of these and the extensions. Thanks for sharing the tool, your knowledge, and the tool bible. I will be looking for a copy of it as well.

I am not a man of the cloth as you put it but I think you're a pretty honest and respectful man. I've loved some of your videos about tools and honest work and although I may be an atheist I have a healthy respect for you. As i've said I'm not a man of the cloth but I only wish the best for you and your family and your friend through his surgery no matter the procedure he's facing. Much love

Random fact. On the front cover is some sort of drill/brace? You happened to find the one you're looking for literally above that image within the book!

That surprise sneak peak of that tool at the end, is a hand crank drill.. lol

Wow, when I first saw it I thought you had somehow laid your hands on a rarely seen and priceless Herkeemer Circle Jerker and Chain Puller, most often employed by carpenters the Monday morning after the Superbowl. The only photo of one said to exist is surprisingly a Bigfoot video in which a group of Sasquatch are supposedly trying to get an antique one going, but it just looks like a bunch of bushes in the wind to me! The Corner Drill is a better gift anyway, and you can demonstrate it without loss of self-esteem, which is tricky with the Herkeemer.

The other handle is for drilling up through a ceiling. It will also be useful for a wall where it meets a ceiling at 90 degrees. You won’t be able to use a leg to brace the tool in most applications. Been a sparky for 15 years and haven’t drilled length wise through a 2x4 at the floor before. No insult intended, just wanted to share the reason for the handle.

Truly wonderful people out there to share sure unique and special tools with you! It is understandable. You are truly one who appreciates great tools!

In lieu of your light reflection, get a soft light box like photographers use, it will give less to no glare when filming glossy items like the book cover. Or use a white piece of copy or other thinner vellum paper or even cotton sheet and place it in front of the lamp to soften the glare. Not sure if there is but there should be a tool museum, best place for much older tool stuff if you ever been, go to Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA (I lived there for 20 years, residents of Sturbridge get FREE admission) next time you head to VT and you will see how folks lived in the 1700s ~ 1800s if you already have not been. It is a one day adventure. You will see lots of use of water power like in Holland. Netherlands.

Amen to your friend's health.. May he come back so sooner that anyone expected..

I love collecting old-skool tools and gadgets in the UK, there's a surprisingly large demand for old British tools in the US.

Mate, that second handle on the back is for you to get another mate to hold it above your head in a comfortable manner when working on an overhead area, it can be used by yourself like that also but its more likely you would get the apprentice to wind whilst you held.

My guess for the secondary handle being loose is that it's just easier to manufacture the same parts to save time/money on the production line for those tools.

The extensions weren't rare as the bits tended to be short. My grandfather's tool box has two of them. But you're probably right about them getting discarded by people who didn't recognize them. I still use the old thing for drilling gate hinges since there's usually not electricity in the places where one wants a gate, and battery-powered tools don't keep up with drilling through railroad ties all that well.

The wooden nob pressed against the chest, the holding wood, to actually keep it in position. Worked with one before at my old school.

i just found two of these at an antique shop. just like this. one chuck was round like the black one, another was straight like the chrome one. $70 and $75

Have you seen a bit brace that is "T" shaped? It is also for close boring near walls or between studs. The top knob had a flat on one side.

Really nice tool. I'm sure you will find some job down the line that you will use it and I will look forward to seeing it. I liked the fishing trip vid with Jack. That's how you bring up kids.

Perhaps because of the context of the image in the video, placed along the bottom edge of the frame, I immediately knew the drill was for use along a perpendicular surface, such as near a wall or at floor level. Very cool tool!

That is a corner brace we used in the phone business to drill holes up against the wall, used a lot in the 60's and 70's

looks like you can put the other handle is for drilling upward, so hold in right hand with the rounded pad looking one in your shoulder to give stability and support... while you do the drill motion with left hand.

Very clever tool. Thank you for sharing it. I had never seen one like it.

I found one of these in almost new condition at a local antique store. Mine is a Millers Falls brand and I think I paid $25 for it. Never used it but I instantly knew what it was when I saw it, they are definitely handy if you need it!

Are there still suppliers out there of brace bits? Are they worth getting or just try to scrounge old ones and sharpen them?

It is corner brace! For making holes in in corners. Have not seen one used in years.

hi Cody, yet another great video. Thank you the second handle is used for drilling holes in a wall near the ceiling.

Such a great channel. Passion is just brimming through your voice .