Millers Falls Braces 1050 through 1810

Much of this listing has been developed from information found in Millers Falls catalogs. The features listed for each brace may differ from actual examples. While the company typically stressed new features in its catalogs, it seldom mentioned the disappearance of a feature or a feature that had become so commonly accepted that it was no longer noteworthy. Then too, production practices varied from catalog copy and illustrations were slow to be updated. By 1960, catalog copy had become so vague that a detailed description of features is not possible.

Nos. 1050 - 1054

Ratchet brace

Fully boxed ratchet; cocobolo head and handle; ball bearing head; metal rings inserted in wrist handle prevent splitting; steel washer between ratchet and chuck sockets; nickel plated; extra long chuck with self-centering, forged steel jaws.

Illustration from 1925 catalog.

Model No.	Sweep	Start Date	End Date
No. 1050	14 inch	1923	1929
No. 1051	12 inch	1923	1929
No. 1052	10 inch	1923	1929
No. 1053	8 inch	1923	1929
No. 1054	6 inch	1923	1929

Nos. 1320-1324

Barber Improved Ratchet Brace

1. 1915 — half-boxed ratchet; ebonized hardwood head and handle; steel clad head; wrist handle with inserted brass rings to prevent splitting; anti-friction washer in head; steel washer between ratchet and chuck sockets; nickel plated; spring-type alligator jaws.
2. 1925 — as above, but steel clad, ball bearing head.
3. 1935 — fully boxed ratchet.
4. 1949 — as above, but mahogany-stained hardwood head and handle; toothless alligator jaws.

A series of mid-priced braces that could be ordered with an octagonal shell ca. 1915-1929.

Illustration from 1915 catalog.

Model No.	Sweep	Start Date	End Date
No. 1320	14 inch	1915	1922
No. 1321	12 inch	1915	1962
No. 1322	10 inch	1915	1962
No. 1323	8 inch	1915	1962
No. 1324	6 inch	1915	1962

Nos. 1401 - 1404

Barber Improved Brace, non-ratcheting

Ebonized hardwood head and handle; nickel plated; springless alligator jaws.

This series was marketed as part of the Mohawk line of economy braces 1917-1919. (Not to be confused with the later Mohawk-Shelburne braces.)

Illustration from 1915 catalog.

Model No.	Sweep	Start Date	End Date
No. 1401	12 inch	1915	1919
No. 1402	10 inch	1915	1919
No. 1403	8 inch	1915	1919
No. 1404	6 inch	1915	1917

No. 1410

Master Mohawk-Shelburne Ratchet Brace 1931-ca. 1948
Millers Falls Ratchet Brace, ca. 1949-1972

1. 1931 — half-boxed ratchet; stained hardwood head and wrist handle; polished steel parts; red-enameled shifter ring; malleable alligator jaws.
2. 1949 — as above, but shifter ring no longer painted red.
3. 1960 — as above, but black-stained hardwood handles.

Introduced as part of the Mohawk-Shelburne series of economy tools, the brace was offered as a Millers Falls product when the brand was discontinued.

The No. 1410 was shipped with the V-Line (Value Line) label on the wrist handle from 1956 to 1960.

Illustration from 1960 catalog.

Model No.	Sweep	Start Date	End Date
No. 1410, 1410 M-S	10 inch	1931	1972

No. 1610

Mohawk-Shelburne Ratchet Brace

Half-boxed ratchet; stained hardwood head and wrist handle; polished steel parts; red-enameled shifter ring; malleable alligator jaws.

Introduced as part of the Mohawk-Shelburne series of economy tools, the brace was dropped when the brand was discontinued.

Illustration from 1938 catalog.

Model No.	Sweep	Start Date	End Date
No. 1610	10 inch	1931	1942

Nos. 1641 - 1643

Barber Improved Brace

1. 1915 — tumbled and stained hardwood head and handle; rough polished and nickel plated; springless alligator jaws.
2. 1917 — as above, catalog emphasizes light weight construction.

This series was marketed as part of the Mohawk line of economy braces in 1917-1919. (Not to be confused with the later Mohawk-Shelburne braces.) In the latter 1920s, it was the company’s best selling series of ratchet braces. Identical to Nos. 1661-1663 but lacks ratchet.

Illustration from 1915 catalog.

Model No.	Sweep	Start Date	End Date
No. 1641	12 inch	1915	1919
No. 1642	10 inch	1915	1919
No. 1643	8 inch	1915	1919

Nos. 1661 - 1663

Barber Improved Ratchet Brace

1. 1915 — half-boxed ratchet; tumbled and stained hardwood head and handle; rough polished and nickel plated; springless alligator jaws.
2. 1917 — as above, catalog emphasizes light weight construction.
3. 1922 — as above, but metal rings in wrist handle to prevent splitting.
4. 1936 — as above, but ball bearing head.

This series was marketed as part of the Mohawk line of economy braces in 1917-1919. (Not to be confused with the later Mohawk-Shelburne braces.) In the latter 1920s, it was the company’s best selling series of ratchet braces. Identical to Nos. 1641-1643 save for ratchet.

Illustration from 1915 catalog.

Model No.	Sweep	Start Date	End Date
No. 1661	12 inch	1915	1947
No. 1662	10 inch	1915	1950
No. 1663	8 inch	1915	1950

Nos. 1708 - 1712

Mohawk-Shelburne Ratchet Brace, 1935-ca. 1948
Millers Falls Ratchet Brace, ca. 1948 to end of production

1. 1935 — half-boxed ratchet; lacquered hardwood head and handle; steel clad, ball bearing head; nickel plated; alligator jaws.
2. 1949 — as above, but ‘toothless’ alligator jaws.

No. 1710 was originally introduced as part of the Mohawk-Shelburne line of economy tools and was offered as a Millers Falls product when the brand was discontinued. The entire series was shipped with the V-Line (Value Line) label on the wrist handle from 1956 to 1960.

Illustration from 1960 catalog.

Model No.	Sweep	Start Date	End Date
No. 1708	8 inch	1948	1964
No. 1710	10 inch	1935	after 1981
No. 1712	12 inch	1948	1971

Nos. 1769 - 1773

Lion Ratchet Brace

Fully boxed ratchet; cocobolo head and handle; steel clad, ball bearing head, metal rings inserted in wrist handle to prevent splitting; steel washer between ratchet and chuck sockets; nickel plated; octagonal Lion ball bearing chuck with Leland’s universal jaws.

Identical to Nos. 769-773 save the Lion chuck has an octagonal shell.

More information on the Lion brace is available. Illustration from 1929 catalog.

Model No.	Sweep	Start Date	End Date
No. 1769	16 inch	1926	1933
No. 1770	14 inch	1926	1933
No. 1771	12 inch	1926	1933
No. 1772	10 inch	1926	1933
No. 1773	8 inch	1926	1931

No. 1810

Mohawk-Shelburne Ratchet Brace

Fully boxed ratchet; lacquered hardwood head and handle; steel clad, ball bearing head; metal rings inserted in wrist handle to prevent splitting; nickel plated save for chuck shell and ratchet dogs; ball bearing chuck with forged steel alligator jaws.

Introduced as part of Mohawk-Shelburne series of economy tools, the brace was dropped when the brand was discontinued.

Illustration from 1941 catalog.

Model No.	Sweep	Start Date	End Date
No. 1810	10 inch	1939	1947

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