I thought I'd hate it ...

[pmcgee]

... but not so much, really.

2008 ... I've never heard of it before ...

[Fuzzie]

They have some neato tools. I wanted to check out their showroom while I was in Portland earlier this year, but they weren't open weekends and I missed out.

[elanjacobs]

They have some really interesting stuff. Their planes look like they belong in a sci-fi movie.

[planemaker]

Brilliant.

[Luke Maddux]

Bridge City have a chopstick jig coming out soon (if it's not already out). They took it to China and filmed a lot of people trying it out. Alongside it they had one of these things set up which the participants could use to put a slight bevel on the back of the sticks. I saw them using it in the video but had no idea what it was, so it's cool to see it in action.

Quite the tool, I must admit.

[Simplicity]

That's thinking out of the box
Price ?

[elanjacobs]

That's thinking out of the box
Price ?

US$1435 http://www.bridgecitytools.com/defau...maker-pro.html

[Luke Maddux]

US$1435

And that's why I will never own anything with their logo on it.

[elanjacobs]

And that's why I will never own anything with their logo on it.

You're paying for the idea. Their 'normal' tools (block plane, squares, bevels, saws, etc) are priced similarly to other premium tool makers.

[A Duke]

If you have to ask the price, you cannot afford Bridge City.

[planemaker]

Those saw teeth wont last too long on aussie hardwood. http://www.bridgecitytools.com/defau...lades-3pk.html

[D.W.]

I've seen various people buy that thing, even an arborist with a side hobby of woodworking. I've never actually seen anyone using them, though.

Some elements of woodworking are similar to those infomercials about do-all blender. A demonstration is done, it looks interesting, and then when you get it, you realize that you really don't have any interest in making the things that it makes, and it sits.

Bridge city tools are popular with older collectors around here (around here being ohio and pennsylvania), but I've never seen anyone actually using them. It's strange to see them as items that aren't really that old, but showing up at MJD tool auctions anyway.

Collectors seem to like them because they have a lot of the gimmicky stuff that collectible items of current manufacture have, the cold sale "limited item, 1 of ___" kind of thing, and an always new rollout of the next gadget or tool that's of a limited series.

That said, they have been in business for a long time, and when something doesn't make sense to me but it sells well, I say more power to them. That's just a sign that I'm not the target market, but there is an appropriate one. Like many things in the woodworking world.

[hiroller]

In regards to Bridge City pricing, John writes in his blog:

Never in my life did I ever expect to be responsible for a product that makes people so happy. Over the last 32 years, it seems all Bridge City has ever accomplished is the ability to people off because we don’t have “Made in China” prices. The irony is appropriate I suppose.

Here is a video of something made with the JMP:
http://youtu.be/eq8O3uUilM8

[D.W.]

In regards to Bridge City pricing, John writes in his blog:

Never in my life did I ever expect to be responsible for a product that makes people so happy. Over the last 32 years, it seems all Bridge City has ever accomplished is the ability to people off because we don’t have “Made in China” prices. The irony is appropriate I suppose.

Here is a video of something made with the JMP:
http://youtu.be/eq8O3uUilM8

Yeah, that's not really what I was referring to on prices, it has more to do with them doing things like making squares less accurate than starrett but for more money, that kind of thing.

That is the video I was referring to, though. A lot like a vitamix commercial (I use a vitamix, though). It looks super - "look at all the things you can do, you can make a squiggly snake thing and make your own chopsticks and popsicle sticks, and multi sided polygonal things".

But, i don't see anyone else using one, though I see pictures of peoples' shops with them in it.

He's an expert marketer, he's got a market. I'm not it. I think people who think he should make stuff in China should take a hike - they likely wouldn't use the tools, anyway (the complainers). They just want something cheap to not use.

[D.W.]

In regards to Bridge City pricing, John writes in his blog:

Never in my life did I ever expect to be responsible for a product that makes people so happy. Over the last 32 years, it seems all Bridge City has ever accomplished is the ability to people off because we don’t have “Made in China” prices. The irony is appropriate I suppose.

Here is a video of something made with the JMP:
http://youtu.be/eq8O3uUilM8

Yeah, that's not really what I was referring to on prices, it has more to do with them doing things like making squares less accurate than starrett but for more money, that kind of thing.

That is the video I was referring to, though. A lot like a vitamix commercial (I use a vitamix, though). It looks super - "look at all the things you can do, you can make a squiggly snake thing and make your own chopsticks and popsicle sticks, and multi sided polygonal things".

But, i don't see anyone else using one, though I see pictures of peoples' shops with them in it.

He's an expert marketer, he's got a market -and he's a creative designer - I'm impressed by the guy and his ability to create and get things done - steve jobs kind of thing. That means i'm not his market. I think people who think he should make stuff in China should take a hike - they likely wouldn't use the tools, anyway (the complainers). They just want something cheap to not use, and they can get plenty of things elsewhere. If they think they'll use his gadgets a lot, they're probably too new to woodworking to actually know what they'd use. They're the same kind of people who would constantly be returning things after a return period and demanding things.

he's got his business figured out, and at times, you see estate sales of tool collectors who have thousands or tens of thousands of dollars worth of his stuff. There was a guy local to here a couple of years ago who had a huge pile of old tools, but he also had just about everything BC had made up to that point - and two of each. One that he'd opened and fiddled with, and one each never used or touched.

If I were to sell my planes for what I'd expect to get for them, I'd expect to get the same kind of criticism from people as i'm offering here. But I'd only get it from people who weren't my market. It's part of the boutique tool thing, Larry had to listen to it for a long time, too, but he's always busy, just as John E appears to always have plenty of business.