Classic Boat – July 2019

SPOFFORD BRACE

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS
ROBIN GATES

A journeyman shipwright seeking
work in the late 19th century, and
preparing to meet the hairy eyeball
of a nit-picking yard foreman, would
be at pains to present their tools
in the finest of fettle. On such an
occasion, the glimmering frame of a
Spofford brace nestling among the
planes and chisels would be as good
a recommendation as a letter of
introduction from William Fife III.
Nelson Spofford of Haverhill,
Massachusetts was granted US Patent
25984 for his "new and improved
mode of fastening bits in braces" in
1859, and some hand-tool craftsmen
hold that nothing better’s come along
in the last 160 years. At a time when
the square shanks of bits differed
widely in size and taper, fitting only
their respective purpose-designed
braces, Spofford’s adaptable and
rugged "clamshell" socket, formed by
splitting the lower arm of the brace,
solved that problem in one fell swoop.
The more familiar Barber-type
chuck, with threaded collar closing on
spring-mounted jaws, would achieve
the same end but with what seems
like unnecessary complexity. Slide the

bit into a Spofford brace, tighten the

oversize thumb screw and you’re

ready to bore holes for belaying pins,

treenails, pegged joints – the works.

The Spofford brace was made by

John S Fray & Co in Bridgeport,

Connecticut. Fray was a migrant

Cornishman who’d begun his working

life at the Bickford Fuse Works in

Camborne, making jute-bound

waterproof fuses which William

Bickford had invented to save miners’

lives in the perilous work of blasting

below ground. The explosive charges

were inserted in the rock using hand

drills, something from Fray’s past

which perhaps drew him to Spofford’s

invention. In any case, Fray lavished

attention on the new brace, adding

nickel plating, cocobolo pad and

sweep handle to the original

specification, and a rare detail in

tool making – inlaid pewter bands

securing the two halves of the handle

around the frame.

Spofford braces ranged up to

17 inches sweep (diameter of turning

circle), developing sufficient torque

to bore the toughest shipbuilding

timbers. This example fitted with

a snail-pattern countersink is an 8in

brace, suited to the lighter tasks of

yacht joinery.

After John Fray died in 1916 the

now considerable tool-making

business was sold to the Stanley Rule

and Level Company who continued

making the Spofford brace until WW2.

NEXT MONTH: Black Prince saws

Clockwise from

above:

Countersinking

with the Spofford

brace; Secure

fitting for square

shanks of all

sizes; John S

Fray was born in

Cornwall in 1833

Traditional Tool