OBED PECK
Obed Peck began his development of brace patents in Windsor, Vermont as
early as 1863. This fertile womb of tool inventors also spawned
William Henry Barber, whose single 1864 chuck patent was highly successful (see
Millers Falls page). Peck produced
at least eight brace patents, with one developed with Powers (Peck &
Powers: Feb 11, 1879) being the most enduring. A brace in my
collection is an example of his second patent, issued on Feb. 23, 1864 (number
41718) and rates an "A" in Ron Pearson's book. The chuck features a block
that is pulled against the bit tang by a threaded screw moved by an ornate
thumbscrew. The brace is marked with the patent date and "Obed Peck."
A second example of an Obed Peck patent is one found on a
Peck, Stowe & Wilcox sleeve brace (probably No. 1508). This is Peck's
Sept 13, 1881 patent (No. 246,904) for the jaws milled as a single unit, with
tension spring under the jaws, and the chuck core milled as per the original
Barber design. This is a rare patented brace to find, and rates a Pearson
"A".
This brace is marked on the chuck shell with both the P.S.&W name and the
date of Peck's patent. Obed Peck does not appear to have been closely
related to the Seth Peck of Peck, Stow & Wilcox.
Return to Brace INDEX