What is a Berbiquí?

The brace is a manual tool used in joinery and carpentry to make holes in wood. The etymology of the word brace probably comes from vilebrequin, French term. In that way, the French word was produced from wimmelkijn, Dutch term.

Brace parts:

• steel round elbow
• rotary fist
• oval handle
• claw chuck
• ball bearings
• Drill

The brace it is constituted by a round elbow of steel whose upper end is to be held or pushed by a rotating fist (front or chest fist). The oval handle in the center of the elbow is used to turn the brace. At the lower end and as a stop device, it has a claw chuck. The grip and handle are usually mounted on ball bearings. The tool usually has a drill or other drilling tool.

To drill holes in a corner or near another wall, ratchet braces are used that are prepared so that the drill can rotate in one direction or the other.

How does a brace work?

Brace

The rope brace, which consists of a wooden tool-holder shaft that incorporates a flywheel or rotating handle, a rope tied at its ends to a reinforcement is wound that, induced by the human hand, produces an alternative rotation.

The old carpenter’s brace made of wood, evolved over time. The threaded steel tool holder shaft brace has a rotating head incorporated in said shaft with a square housing, where the drill bit and a nut reel are coupled, causing a back and forth rotation when a longitudinal pressure is deployed.

The continuous twist brace, made by Heyerhoff and activated by a set of gears and cranks, meant a great advance. Since then, they’ve built hand-cranked, hand-operated benchtop drills and ball-gauge and gear-set versions. This type of tool is today practically in disuse except in some old carpentry shops. It is only used for soft materials. Since the fifteenth century, hydraulic power has been used to drill thick logs of wood for different uses, such as pipes to carry water. At the end of the 15th century, a horizontal drill for deep holes is outlined. This manual tool is the antecedent of the drills, built to replace the movement of the maneuver by a motor.