Thread: Bridge City Block

Was looking at their site the other day, can’t comment on performance but it looks like a nightmare to use IMO. Having to change those 4 screws with an Allen key would be a pain and it doesn’t look like the most ergonomic tool in the world either.

I suspect its a tool for kumiko more than it is a block plane

Perhaps Fletty will come along and share his comments... One came along with his Chopstick maker (which he said he loves...)

I have never personally used one - but everyone I know who has tried Bridge City tools loves them... They are generally well thought out...

Price wise - they are comparable to LN, LV, and Clifton.. So they may be "expensive" but no more so than their competition....

Does not look like it just fits the hand. Probably works fine but would not be comfortable to use.
Regards
John

Originally Posted by bueller

Was looking at their site the other day, can’t comment on performance but it looks like a nightmare to use IMO. Having to change those 4 screws with an Allen key would be a pain and it doesn’t look like the most ergonomic tool in the world either.

When I first saw the picture, my reaction was much the same - my hand cringed! But then I read he blurb & saw it's touted as a thicknesser, & it made a bit more sense. Is the idea that the plane remains stationary, and you pull the wood through it? I've seen various home-brewed thicknessers along a similar principle for making purfling & inlay strips, etc. So if you want a fancier gadget to make your purfling, here's your chance...

Cheers,

You have to make a fixture to hold the wood.

That is an interesting idea.
I could use something like that for evenly trimming down the tops of pegs that I like to leave .5 mm above the surface .
I thought of gluing timber strips either side of a blade for doing just that job . . Seeing that though I think sides like that on a shoulder plane would be the go ?
Now which shoulder plane should I go get to drill bolts through the side of ??

Someone should go tell Veritas to do it .
It could almost be the reason for me buying my first Veritas.

Rob

Originally Posted by bueller

Was looking at their site the other day, can’t comment on performance but it looks like a nightmare to use IMO. Having to change those 4 screws with an Allen key would be a pain and it doesn’t look like the most ergonomic tool in the world either.

Originally Posted by Not enough!!

Hello esteemed members, just wondering if anyone has used one of these, i already have 2 block planes, but these look interesting - whats the old saying "the pretty fishing lures catch more fisherman than fish", just curious, i wonder about the fine tuning ie blade adjustment etc?https://protooling.com.au/collection...ni-block-planeRegardsStevo

Originally Posted by truckjohn

Perhaps Fletty will come along and share his comments... One came along with his Chopstick maker (which he said he loves...)I have never personally used one - but everyone I know who has tried Bridge City tools loves them... They are generally well thought out...Price wise - they are comparable to LN, LV, and Clifton.. So they may be "expensive" but no more so than their competition....

Yes, it appears to be the same plane as the one supplied in their Chopstick Master and it does a fantastic job in creating long tapers in that jig HOWEVER the key words are thicknesser and ergonomic. It IS a thicknesser and it ain’t ergonomic! As you can see in the pics below...

.DAD8BC76-7333-45B2-B5E0-322A2863425D.jpg C54C7C51-1E2E-483F-88D5-F7CC50F535E0.jpg

.... in the Chopstick Master it is mounted in a separate carriage that allows it to skew to better plane cranky or reverse grain but, even in that carriage, it is very uncomfortable to use for extended sessions. Now that I have it, I would gleefully reach for it to to do any light thicknessing jobs ( extended pins, bamboo fishing rods, decorative trim etc) but I wouldn’t even think of using it as a standard block plane. It is too small (in my hands?) and too uncomfortable to use accurately for an extended period. As with many Bridge City tools, it is designed to do a niche task and it does it superbly but that ‘niche task’ isn’t being a standard block plane.

fletty

Originally Posted by Not enough!!

Hello esteemed members, just wondering if anyone has used one of these, i already have 2 block planes, but these look interesting - whats the old saying
"the pretty fishing lures catch more fisherman than fish", just curious, i wonder about the fine tuning ie blade adjustment etc?

https://protooling.com.au/collection...ni-block-plane

Regards
Stevo

But that website says sold out. Interesting as the price of AU$195 is substantially below the Bridge Tools website price of US$249 or AU$324 plus freight, customs and GST if applicable.
HP-8 Aluminum with Depth Skids - HP-8 Bodies and Sets - HP-8 Mini Block Plane - Block Planes - Planes - Tools - Bridge City Tool Works

You can also remove the skids and use it as a conventional block plane (107 mm long, 24 mm blade). Not sure about an aluminium sole.

The also have seemingly identical models but with planes with stainless steel or brass bodies. Pretty until you look at the prices!



Cheers

Graeme

Bridge City have sold the rights to many of its tools to Harvey Industries in China, with there being a prohibition on selling the products within the US. That might explain the price difference.

That’s cool about Harvey licensing their stuff, looks like they’ve added quite a few of their products to the Harvey site although no pictures yet.