Wooden Brace

I've always wanted to make a wooden brace, but I could never find a design I liked. A few months ago I bought the antique brace pictured below from Jim Bode tools. The one below the antique is the copy I made. Its made from birch and maple and has a detachable pad. Currently I only have the spoon bit for it.

When I get old tools like this brace I always wonder who made it, where it traveled, and what it helped create.