Hello galootaclausinous ones,

I have to admit to admiring the clean lines and tight fitting precision made 
parts on the Bridge City Toolworks line of tools. They would appear to be of 
quality make but their price causes me to admire from afar. I see a steady 
flow of commemorative issues on the bay going for list prices at a regular 
pace. When you go to their website, their classified page lists many offerings 
at full or near full price with most, if not all, listed new in box, or new 
condition. 

So what makes these super polished tools so collectable? They appear to be 
offered in limited edition numbered sets like those franklin mint Elvis plates 
that we all see advertised on late night television. Available with display 
boxes and authenticating certificates of numerical origin. So who are thes 
BCTW collectors and why are these tools so collectable?

As a side note, check out this link to their website. Their new benchplane, 
the CT-12 boasts a new revolutionary articulating cap which is to 
significantly improve the planes performance and functionality. The othor 
gizmositious HP-6 multi mini plane offers interchangeable soles which allow 
conversion for rabbets, edge planing?, and chamfereing. More sole 
conflagurations are promised to be forthcoming. Trey cool, but will any of 
their founders circle members ever try this plane out and report back as to 
it's wonderous precision and versatility? What a shame...geeeez...do they even 
work?

http://www.bridgecitytools.com/ok_default.html

Rant off. Any information regarding this company will be greatly appreciated

Regards
Jonathan 

>So what makes these super polished tools so collectable? They appear to
>be offered in limited edition numbered sets like those franklin mint
>Elvis plates
>
  Answered yur own question with a perfect example! Beanie Babies, Jim
  Beam ceramic decanters, commerative Avon bottles. Once worth thousands
  of dollars apiece for the "rare" ones, but all worth about 50 cents a
  train car load these days. Dreck once popular in trailer parks
  everywhere. BCTW started as a legitimate tool company I had really
  high hopes for, but they figured out pretty quick the highest money
  was riding a wave of the fad investor. The price may be astronomic
  today in upper middle class condos all over (same as some of the newly
  issued "state" quarters), but come see me in 10 or 30 years.

As a side note, check out this link to their website. Their new
benchplane,

>the CT-12 boasts a new revolutionary articulating cap.
>
  Yeah, but did you do the closeup of the one clear picture on the
  website? No need to worry about chipping the tote on this one. There
  is no tote tip to chip! (they shroud it in shadow on all the pix save
  one) Looks like a headless snake. The exagerrated serpentine shape of
  it means either it's some kind of imitation wood (plywood?) or
  wouldn't last 5 minutes in actual hard use. yours, Scott

********** Scott Grandstaff, Box 409, Happy Camp, CA 96039 *********
Tools:http://users.snowcrest.net/kitty/scott/scotts/tools/tools.html
PageWorks:http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/

I dunno. They always seemed over-engineered to me - gizmocity for the sake
of gizmocity rather than function. I do like their triangular hook rule,
but I had to retun the first one because the end wasn't square.

Other than the mass near the cutting edge, the articulated lever cap
doesn't seem to offer any advantage. The mass may be useful but by
combining the lever cap and cap iron, they have effectively locked the cap
iron into a relationship with the body, not the cutting iron. That means
that the cutting iron alone slides in and out, clamped between the combo
cap/cutting iron and the bed. With the more conventional approach, the cap
iron rides with the cutting iron wherever it goes. The forward edge of the
cap iron can be as close to the bezel as you care to put it. The BCTW
design may work but I'm not about to invest $800 to find that it's no
better than my Knight 50 deg smoother, my 4-1/2 with Hock iron and Clifton
lever cap, or my LV low-angle smoother (< $400 total).

Besides, to my jaundiced eye, the tote is butt-ugly and looks very
uncomfortable.

Just my $.03 (inflation)

Steve - another Kokomo galoot

Jonathan Peck said:
> Hello galootaclausinous ones,
>
> I have to admit to admiring the clean lines and tight fitting precision
> made
> parts on the Bridge City Toolworks line of tools. They would appear to be
> of
> quality make but their price causes me to admire from afar. I see a steady
> flow of commemorative issues on the bay going for list prices at a regular
> pace. When you go to their website, their classified page lists many
> offerings
> at full or near full price with most, if not all, listed new in box, or
> new
> condition.

>
> As a side note, check out this link to their website. Their new
> benchplane,
> the CT-12 boasts a new revolutionary articulating cap which is to
> significantly improve the planes performance and functionality. The othor
> gizmositious HP-6 multi mini plane offers interchangeable soles which
> allow
> conversion for rabbets, edge planing?, and chamfereing. More sole
> conflagurations are promised to be forthcoming. Trey cool, but will any of
> their founders circle members ever try this plane out and report back as
> to
> it's wonderous precision and versatility? What a shame...geeeez...do they
> even
> work?
>

        You know, Johnathon you got a pretty good point there. I'm not a 
master wood worker, nor do I get invited to a TV show of no kind.

    Now for myself, I've learned on a set of old low knob Stanleys, the 
newest tool I work with is the Sweet Heart Species. Now I ain't gonna say 
those at that sight aren't good tools, but one of those would serpast the 
price of my whole plane collection.

   Like I say, they may work really smooth,and dang if they ain't pretty, 
but they should do the same thing as these old bunch that where given to me 
years ago do,"They shave  wood"....

           How did anybody get anything done before these came along??.....

                      IMHO.....Thanks for your time, Lamar

>From: Jonathan Peck <jpeck@m...>
>Reply-To: Jonathan Peck <jpeck@m...>
>To: "oldtools" <oldtools@c...>
>Subject: [oldtools] BCTW
>Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2004 18:16:28 -0500
>
>Hello galootaclausinous ones,
>
>I have to admit to admiring the clean lines and tight fitting precision 
>made
>parts on the Bridge City Toolworks line of tools. They would appear to be 
>of
>quality make but their price causes me to admire from afar. I see a steady
>flow of commemorative issues on the bay going for list prices at a regular
>pace. When you go to their website, their classified page lists many 
>offerings
>at full or near full price with most, if not all, listed new in box, or new
>condition.
>
>So what makes these super polished tools so collectable? They appear to be
>offered in limited edition numbered sets like those franklin mint Elvis 
>plates
>that we all see advertised on late night television. Available with display
>boxes and authenticating certificates of numerical origin. So who are thes
>BCTW collectors and why are these tools so collectable?
>
>As a side note, check out this link to their website. Their new benchplane,
>the CT-12 boasts a new revolutionary articulating cap which is to
>significantly improve the planes performance and functionality. The othor
>gizmositious HP-6 multi mini plane offers interchangeable soles which allow
>conversion for rabbets, edge planing?, and chamfereing. More sole
>conflagurations are promised to be forthcoming. Trey cool, but will any of
>their founders circle members ever try this plane out and report back as to
>it's wonderous precision and versatility? What a shame...geeeez...do they 
>even
>work?
>
>http://www.bridgecitytools.com/ok_default.html
>
>Rant off. Any information regarding this company will be greatly 
>appreciated
>
>Regards
>Jonathan
>
>Archive: http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu/~cswingle/archive/
>To unsubscribe or change options, use the web interface:
>     http://galoots.law.cornell.edu:81/read/?forum=oldtools

Plane testing galoots and those interested in the Bridge City tools over 
the years quickly followed the link

Jonathan Peck wrote:
> http://www.bridgecitytools.com/ok_default.html

to look at the new plane they are offering.

I spent an hour or two over the specs and can find nothing in the write up 
to convince me that this design is *better* than many others. I have 
written up my notes on this and will put them into a web page over the weekend.

However, it is indeed a pretty plane, with what appears to be a 1/4" thick 
iron (Steve Knight did this some time ago) with a fixed bed (any woodie) a 
movable toe-piece for setting the mouth size (too many to mention any 
single one) a screw cap (just like most infills and my test plane - a 
Record #4 with a wide enough mouth to test even the thickest iron).

These features alone would produce a very good result.

I did notice a lack of actual testing of the iron. Most of the A2 irons I 
have tested have performed poorly. Without a thorough test, one can only 
assume this one would be about the same as the rest. If the good folks at 
Bridge City will send one of their planes along, I will put it through my 
standard test for iron durability and include the results in my plane iron 
testing page

   http://www3.telus.net/BrentBeach/Sharpen/bladetest.html

I would even return the plane after the test, if they insisted.  ;->

Brent

Jonathan Peck started this thread with a few questions:

>>>>>So who are these BCTW collectors and why are these tools so
collectable?
>>>>>Trey cool, but will any of their founders circle members ever try this
plane
>>>>> out and report back as to it's wondrous precision and versatility?
>>>>>What a shame...geeeez...do they even work?
>>>>>Any information regarding this company will be greatly appreciated

Being here in Portland, Oregon, the home of BCTW, we have above-average
access to BCTW.  John Economaki, the founder and president is a brilliant
and extremely clever person who taught design courses in high school and
major woodworking schools around the country.

Around 1990, it was John, his design advice and his layout tools that helped
bring me from making ill-fitting rocking horses one year to a dead square
and plum exotic grandfather clock the next year.  It didn't hurt that BCTW
sold their annual production of blemish tools at the Portland woodworking
show in November.  In fact, we became a spoiled market as blems look almost
as good as the flawless production tools, except for the "B" stamped in
them, work flawlessly and don't look a bit different from production tools
after being used in the shop for a few hours.  They were roughly half price
off, or better.

But those are the layout tools.  They might be a bit pricey, but they're
less expensive than Starrett tools, feel good in the hand of a woodworker
and are accurate.  I like wooden tools with brass inserts.  The BCTW steel
rulers are superb.  I would never trade my BCTW layout tools.

But some of the newer tools represented a change in design and strategy.

It's not my place to assign motive, but at some point around 1993 they
started producing a number of far more exotic tools that were made of brass
with wood inserts instead of the other way around.  Some I found to be very
useful and bought.  Most were extremely clever designs or based on clever
designs.  Others I may have bought and found less than useful.  I felt some
were too heavy for their purpose.  But they were beautiful.  If I had more
confidence in my tool usage knowledge back then, more would have been
returned.

I have a sneaking suspicion that a number of the newer tools were designed
on a CAD system and put into production without real-world testing.  Maybe
that's why CAD images instead of product photos appear on product Sneak
Previews.  The tools are beautiful to behold with recurring design elements
making them artistically exciting.  I think the L-N planes are heavily
tested before being offered for sale and made as attractive as possible
after the function is perfected.

There are some BCTW tools I would return at this point if I could get my
money back as they were expensive and I have chosen not to use them, usually
due to the weight.  Maybe they should be placed on e*bay with the funds then
used to get some fine old user tools.  But in a way I like having them.

I have a few of their earlier planes that I bought at major discount at
their warehouse sales when they were the last one or two left at the
warehouse.  The price may have been right.  The blades come so shiny and
with a warning not to lap the backs because it will scratch them and to keep
them coated so that they won't rust, that some of us keep looking at them
and putting them back in the boxes.  How can I use a plane if I can't lap
the blade back first?  After all, I'm obsessive.

The dovetailed bodies are beautiful, but I think I would actually use a
Shepherd plane.  But the Shepherd plane will have to wait until I get some
ball peen hammers and an anvil.  I keep planning to use the BCTW planes, but
I haven't.  I'm sure they would work.

In contrast, I've purchased antique Stanley planes and L-N planes.  As soon
as the L-N plane arrives, I pull it apart, hone the blade to my
satisfaction, adjust it and plane wood.  I take care of my L-N planes, but
they are working tools.

I've used the BCTW CT-7 and CT-8, low and 20 degree block planes, belonging
to someone else.  I don't think they worked any better than my similar L-Ns,
which feel very comfortable in my hand.  But the L-Ns don't have dovetailed
soles.

Due to cost and having been laid off, I didn't order or canceled my order
for the CT-9 crowning plane.  I later used one at a woodworking class and
found it wonderful.  Since there doesn't appear to be a Stanley to do that
job, I would buy a CT-9 if I could find one at a rational price.  Although
they have been on e*ay a half dozen times in the last two years, my bids
were always either too low or wouldn't meet the seller's absurdly high
reserve.

Having missed out on the CT-9, I bought a blem of the CT-10 knowing I could
bring it back within 90 days.  The CT-10 was the first of the three big
planes and is low angle, somewhat like the L-N 64.  I have the L-N 62 low
angle jack plane and find it to be a truly superb tool that finds frequent
work in my shop.  The CT-10 is much shorter and very heavy.  Aside from the
painfully high price, I didn't think I would want to use it and felt it
wouldn't match or surpass the performance of the L-N 62, so I returned it.

In contrast to L-N, I've heard that over 80% of BCTW's sales come from a
very small percentage of their customers and consists heavily of the new
tools, probably accelerating the need for new designs of expensive tools.  A
number of these customers buy the tools but don't use them.  I'm not sure if
they are as strange as me and keep their planes in the original boxes, but
from the sales on e*ay, it appears they are.  Many keep them in glass-front
cabinets.  I think I would do that with a Holtey, an Ultimatim brace or one
of the wooden plow planes with the dial adjustable fence.  But I don't own
any of those and don't plan on buying any.

Gary Laroff,
Portland, Oregon

Gary P. Laroff said:

> In contrast to L-N, I've heard that over 80% of BCTW's sales come from a
> very small percentage of their customers and consists heavily of the new
> tools, probably accelerating the need for new designs of expensive tools.
> A
> number of these customers buy the tools but don't use them.  I'm not sure
> if
> they are as strange as me and keep their planes in the original boxes, but
> from the sales on e*ay, it appears they are.  Many keep them in
> glass-front
> cabinets.

Can you say Franklin Mint or Bradford Exchange? Based on my occasional
excursions to their web site and the evolution of the tools since the
first time I got one of their print catalogs, I'd say Gary is right.
They're not in the tool business, they're in the artificially inflated
collectibles business. As someone (Lamar?) pointed out, their intrinsic
value as tools is no greater than a Stanley type 11. If the market ever
decides that BCTW tools aren't desirable as collectibles, they will become
users and door stops at someone's great expense. Not mine.

Steve - another Kokomo galoot, and cynical too

Steve Jones wrote:

>I dunno. They always seemed over-engineered to me - gizmocity for the sake
>of gizmocity rather than function. I do like their triangular hook rule,
>but I had to retun the first one because the end wasn't square.
>  
>
>  
>
It does indeed seem that the design capability at BCTW has exceeded 
their QA capability by a bit.  The ongoing fiasco of BCTWs manufacturing 
capacity and "manufacturing defect" issues with the Woodsmith 25th 
Anniversary Squares is evidence of this.

Woodsmith Magazine (a shameless proponent  of electron munching 
woodworking apparatus, Jeff) contracted with BCTW to manufacture three 
models of squares, four and six inch fixed and a six inch slider,  to 
commemorate their 25th anniversary.  The prospect of owning "pretty" 
tools with rosewood inserts in the brass handles attracted orders for 
about 15,000 squares.  It seems that a few hundred orders were 
originally anticipated. (They must have used the same market research 
folks that perform exit polls during US elections...)

Originally, it was expected that the squares, would be shipped in time 
for Father's Day , that date came and went with a postcard announcing a 
volume induced delay.  In the third quarter, another mailing was 
received announcing a further delay due to a recall of squares because 
of a "manufacturing defect" in a number of the early squares.  The folks 
at Woodsmith put a hold on shipments until all planes could be inspected 
and replaced if necessary.   There was no elaboration about the nature 
of the "manufacturing defect"; however, it certainly seems more likely 
for an out of square condition to pass through sloppy QA than an 
aesthetic defect.

Initially, I was excited about the prospect of owning a "nice" set of 
squares.  Now, I suspect that I will be satisfied just to receive a 
square set of squares.  Either way, my perception of BCTW has been 
changed by this experience.

Tim

Esteemed Galoots

When BCTW first began I seemed they sent me something in the mail at
least once or twice a week. Sometimes it was a glossy postcard (I think
these were really aimed at the mail delivery persons, should he/she be a
woodworker) Sometimes they were voluminous letters, most of these were
discarded unopened.

But the ads had worked there magic and I began to think that I actually
needed that set of 3 squares, the rosewood and brass ones. I approached
SWMBO about it, and in her usual astute way asked "Why would a
cabinetmaker need anything that comes in a velvet lined box."

                Regards, Paul Johannsen

GG

I just tried to poke around on their website - have never seen a site 
with special instructions on navigation that pops up in a separate 
window!  Very difficult to follow and I got frustrated and left before 
I saw any tools other than the ones on the first page.

In my experience there are very few new tools that can surpass what has 
already been made (but there are some!)

Ed minch

Scott commented on the new BCTW CT-12 plane and said:

>>> "Yeah, but did you do the closeup of the one clear picture on the
website?
>>>No need to worry about chipping the tote on this one. There is no tote
>>>tip to chip! (they shroud it in shadow on all the pix save one) Looks
>>>like a headless snake.  The exagerrated serpentine shape of it means
>>>either it's some kind of imitation wood (plywood?) or wouldn't last 5
>>>minutes in actual hard use.

Although I agree with much of the commentary, there are a few facts that I
know.  First, you did not see any clear photos of the real plane on their
website.  I believe the three views are computer generated output from the
Ashlar Vellum Cobalt CAD program, which can do 3D rendering of designs with
multiple light sources.  John uses Cobalt to design the tools.  That is one
reason why you don't see photos of new tools sitting on a workbench or in
the hands of a real person.

The other point is that the handles are solid rosewood "built around a
stainless steel spine".  The front tote, like all the BCTW scratch awls, is
hand turned by Mark Stevens.

The BCTW lobby has bargain boxes of error, defect and blemished plane
handles for sale fresh from the numerical control machine.  I keep looking
at them and poking in the boxes with hopes that one day they will be longer
in long-grain so that I can buy a box and make carving tool handles out of
them.

There was an interesting and apparently continuing story about the handles
that might answer some of the questions about who the customers are.
Historically BCTW supplied cocobolo and rosewood handles that were wax
finished.  The CT-10 plane was so heavy that any normal person could not
hold it straight out by the handle and not have the waxed handle slip from
their hands.  As a result of this, BCTW quickly changed the finish from wax
to lacquer very much like the L-N handles.  Many customers balked as the new
tool didn't match the previously purchased collection.  I note from the
description of the new CT-12 tool that it is available as both a model
"1200" with lacquered finish on the handle or as a "1200W" with wax finish.
Maybe you should buy both.

Gary Laroff
Portland, Oregon

 The CT-10 plane was so heavy that any normal person
 could not hold it straight out by the handle and not have the waxed
handle slip from their hands.  As a result of this, BCTW quickly
changed the finish from wax to lacquer very much like the L-N
handles.  Many customers balked as the new tool didn't match the
previously purchased collection.  I note from the description of the
new CT-12 tool that it is available as both a model "1200" with
lacquered finish on the handle or as a "1200W" with wax finish.
 Maybe you should buy both.
 
 Gary Laroff

  Hi guys---at the last PNTC meeting I bought my first MF plane, a
smoother, #9 I believe is is, sole's about 9" long---there were
several there, in the boxes for around 40 bucks, but I bought a
well-used user for $10.  It cleaned up nice--I took this Wednesday
"off"  at my latest job site---I'm gonna be there for several months,
so I'm setting up shop. I ground new bevels on all the tools I carry
to the job, a Stanley #5, (jack), a Stanley #71 (router) a Sargent
butt-mortice plane, a Stanley #90 bullnose rabbet plane, a Union copy
of the Stanley #78 rabbetting fillister plane, a no-name arc-welded
and much repaired 1 1/2" firm paring chisel/light framing
chisel---this chisel is hard like a rock, and it took a long hour to
grind a full new bevel on it---should have brought it home to the
tailed grinder wing, but I was in the groove.  I also re-ground the
four travelling bench chisels, these are a 1/4" Stanley Wood Chisel,
(that's what it Proudly says on the red and clear plastic handle), a
Great Neck 1/2" with a round plastic handle, a Mayes "Stay-Rite" 3/4"
chisel with plastic handle and a Robt Sorby 1" firmer---these tools
have earned the right to travel with me every day--none has ever let
me down, planing and chiseling all kinds of plywood and MDF and
recycled woods---I used the 1/4" and 1/2" chisels to cut a pair of
deadbolt holes through a thick brass plate recently--no worries---I
decided to bring the KK4 smoother home, and try the MF for a
while---what an epiphany---once tuned up, it's a dream--comfy handle,
very accessible lateral lever, plenty of room to get to the adjusting
wheel---which also works very nicely---it's a truly fine plane, at
first acquaintance. I can't say for sure how it'll hold up, but it
seemed plenty hard when I ground it.  So, with the 118 steel block
plane, and a 60.5 block plane (which I roller-guide-ground at home on
glass not so long ago) I'm loaded for bear.
  If you had the time, you could buy a similar set of tools in any
city in the US for less than $300. I don't know what you'd get a BCTW
for $300, but I'd sure love to hear from someone who carries the
stuff on the job.
  Hey all, I'm giving some serious thought to putting a tail
ball-handle on a 118 block plane, like some of the Bailey and Stanley
blocks had early on---where can I get steel or bronze balls,
preferably hollow, about the size of ping-pong balls? Is there such a
thing?
  No Tony, and Scott, if I needed big Brass balls, I'd have pinged
you guys already.
               best to all galoots, everywhere GAM in Seattle

=====
"I'm not trying to say everyone's wrong about me, but they are." 
                                                    P W Herman

		
__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
The all-new My Yahoo! - Get yours free! 
http://my.yahoo.com 
 

At 12:52 AM 12/5/04, gary may wrote:

>   Hey all, I'm giving some serious thought to putting a tail
>ball-handle on a 118 block plane, like some of the Bailey and Stanley
>blocks had early on---where can I get steel or bronze balls,
>preferably hollow, about the size of ping-pong balls? Is there such a
>thing?

You can buy a reproduction knob with the correct mounting screw from 
Patrick Leach, I think he still sells them
http://www.supertool.com

>   No Tony, and Scott, if I needed big Brass balls, I'd have pinged
>you guys already.

Hmmmmmmm......baiting me is ya?????????????????

Tony

                         Olde River Hard Goods
                             350 West Catawissa Street
                               Nesquehoning PA 18240
                                         570-669-9421
               The best old tool store in Pennsylvania!
                     http://www.oldetoolshop.com  

Ed wrote:
 
 Gary:
 
 Glad to see at least one of us is making some money with tools
 
>  -I took this Wednesday "off"  at my latest job site---I'm gonna
> be there for several months, so I'm setting up shop.
 
 What is the job?

Hi Ed, and GGs:
  About ten years ago I got the nerve (once again) to go into
business for myself.  I started out by taking a long term job with a
nice couple with a new baby who'd bought a 1313 Mockingbird Lane kind
of house--designed and built by an architect in the late twenties.
  The builder went broke and sold it in '29, after having lived in it
only a few months. The Jaeger family bought it from him in 1930 and
Mrs. Jaeger lived there alone for the last thirty years of her life,
dying in '95.  She hadn't been upstairs for decades, nor into the
basement or garage---the house hadn't been maintained, not painted or
even cleaned, for many years---it was a true basket case: I saw my
opening and took it.  Over the next three years, I did pretty much
everything to bring it up to snuff---they had a roof put on and new
power brought in and they cleaned and painted the inside, which was
mostly OK, once cleared out.  But everywhere there could be real
trouble, there it was. 
  After about 5000 hours of work, I had the house pretty much
restored---all the casement windows pulled out, re-built and
re-installed, 80% of the house re-sided with full 24 inch "Royal"
cedar shingles (16" to the weather)---new gutters, new sill plates
about halfway around, like that----you name it.......it cost them a
lot of dough, but they swear it paid off handsomely. I sure hear lots
of compliments from their friends, and even get some work
occasionally. 
  Well, now they want me back to build a bedroom in the basement for
their ten-year-old son. So, I'm building myself a shop in the garage
to produce for them an office and pantry and bedroom downstairs,
basically jacking up the house and installing a new basement
underneath---I don't know how long it'll take, and I don't have to
think about it---they like me and apparently trust me to get it done
at a reasonable figure---I just bill them for my time and get
reimbursed for my outlays.  Clean and simple.
  Back in the early days, I showed them a secret door in the upstairs
that led to a little attic space above the dining room---outside the
house it's a little octagonal dormer roof, with only six sides of the
octagon actually extant since it juts out at 90o from the main roof.
It covers a similar shaped cantilevered dining room---basically a big
bay window, but its roof is a part of the main roof, with a common
eave. (There are four corners on the outside walls of this dining
room that meet at 45o, and the weaving of the siding shingles at
these corners is something I can't help but be inordinately proud of)
In this little attic we made a walk-in closet. You can only walk in
the very center of the space, since the ceiling is the same pitch as
the roof outside, 12 in 12. But it's very cool and easy to use, since
you walk into a horseshoe-shaped clothes rack and naturally stand
where the ceiling is tallest.
  Now, for those of you who are still reading, here's the payoff.  In
this space was no floor, and lots of junk, an old Shaker sink, which
they gave me, a cool old easel, some mirrors, and a framed photo 6"
high and 42" long (150mm x 1M+, Wolfgang) of three railroad trains. I
was looking at the photo earlier today--they've had it cleaned and
re-framed.
  There are three engines, each with a couple of guys in the
cabs--engineer and stoker, I'd guess. The first train has only three
cars visible, being behind the other two---you see the engine, the
coal car and the first freight car---then you see the same parts of
the next train, then a third train with least ten cars disappearing
into the horizon---the first freight car of each train is mostly
covered with a huge banner, each banner reading: 
     ENTIRE TRAIN RED CEDAR SHINGLES
     HUNTTING-MERRITT LUMBER CO Ltd. 
       VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA
  Every visible freight car has a circular sign painted on it saying:
"See America First, Glacier National Park"  The engines are all
marked "Great Northern".  There are 10 suits standing in front of the
first engine, one pointing a long stick at the first banner, all the
rest of the men holding their hats.
  I'd be willing to bet the the original shingles on that house came
off one of those trains--just so you know, all the eastern and
northeastern shingles, the ones that don't see much sun, are still on
the house, and looking just as good as the ones I put on seven or
eight years ago.
  So, Ed, I'll be doing the last chapter of a pretty much total
rebuild on the coolest house ever.  And working for the nicest people
ever---I can't help it if I'm lucky. But I'll keep in mind how little
I actually deserve it!
                  best to all galoots everywhere; GAM in Seattle 

=====
"I'm not trying to say everyone's wrong about me, but they are." 
                                                    P W Herman

		
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Brent Beach wrote:
>> http://www.bridgecitytools.com/ok_default.html
>
> However, it is indeed a pretty plane, with what appears to be a 1/4"
> thick iron (Steve Knight did this some time ago) with a fixed bed (any
> woodie) a movable toe-piece for setting the mouth size (too many to
> mention any single one) a screw cap (just like most infills and my
> test plane - a Record #4 with a wide enough mouth to test even the
> thickest iron).

Remind me again; which plane are you talking about? From those specs, it
shounds like this one

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=49708&category=1,41182,4894-
4&ccurrency=3&SID=

but it can't be, because it only costs 179 dollars...

     BugBear (making mischief)

--- Jonathan Peck <jpeck@m...> wrote:

> http://www.bridgecitytools.com/ok_default.html
> 
> Rant off. Any information regarding this company will be
> greatly appreciated
> 
> Regards
> Jonathan 

What a load of bunk.  I never saw such a pig-in-a-poke in
my life.  That website is unworkable - I got lost several
times, and all I could get it to show me was software, not
tools.  And is there some reason why they don't want us to
look at photos of real tools, and instead look at computer
illustrations?

This is God's way of telling you that you have too much
money.  

Cheers
Ryan

=====
http://www.gunstocker.com

		
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