Bridge City Tool Works Mini Block Plane review

[Portlandplayer]

Sometimes you just have to buy a tool, even if you don't think you need it. The Bridge City Tool Works Mini Block Plane HP 8 fits that bill nicely. To say that Bridge City's tools look incredible on their website would be an understatement. I have been eyeing their planes for quite some time, but just couldn't come to paying their hefty prices. 

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email in regards to their HP 8 Mini Block Plane with a very enticing price. Being fairly well set up with planes, it took me a while to justify owning another plane that I probably don't need. Long story short, a new plane was in my hands a couple of days ago. First off, the packaging (presentation) was impressive, but so what? As they say "you can put lipstick on a pig, and you still have a pig", but that's not where it ended. The second I pulled it out I could tell this was going to be special. The fit and finish was flawless, but pretty doesn't plane wood.  

The first thing I do with any plane is pull the iron. What is interesting is they are adamant you do not level and  polish the backside of the iron. Personally, I have never heard of such a thing. Just to see how sharp out of the box it was, I did the paper slicing trick.  Perfectly smooth cuts, right off the bat, but how can that be? The iron comes with a 30 degree micro bevel that I reground and polished. When I finished, I did the paper cutting trick again and it might have cut just a little smoother, but not by a lot. 

The plane comes with these cool side plates that are used to plane a board to exact thickness. I don't know if I will use that feature, but nice to have. For now, I just pulled the plates and now have a normal block plane. 

One thing that I hate with most planes is backlash in their depth settings. I you want to retract or extend the iron, you have to take out the slop in the adjuster first, which becomes a back and forth frustration. Not with this little guy. I am felling no backlash at all. Just a micro twist will change the cutting depth. Throat adjusting is just as easy and precise. So how does it plane wood? Do you like two foot long curls so thin you can read a book through? And the best part is they have it on sale for just $85. Hard to get much of anything for 85 bucks. 

https://bridgecitytools.com/products/hp-8-mini-block-plane

One issue is Bridge City sold out to a Chinese company and no longer build them in the USA. From what I can tell, their quality hasn't declined. but I haven't owned any of their products until now and of course time will tell how well it holds up. 

That's it. I have no affiliation with these people and your milage may vary.   

[Philip Hutchison]

I have their Chopstick Master jig, which comes with that plane. Expensive as heck, but works great! I figured it's a good way to use up my scrap hardwood cutoffs. My son (5th grader) uses the jig to make chopsticks for family members. It's fun.

[Charles Tauber]

I currently own - and have owned and sold - a number of Bridge City Tools. 

I purchased the stainless steel version of the American-made HP-8. It was crazy money, partly because of it being stainless and partly because it came with accessories that are no longer offered with the current HP-8. In my experience, it isn't a great plane regardless of price and I'm not very fond of it. The only reason that I don't sell it is that I couldn't get anywhere near what I payed for it. 

One of the selling points of Bridge City Tools was that 100% of their tools were designed and manufactured in the U.S.A. Most of their tools were offered for sale, sometimes only once, the number of sales tallied and then they manufactured as many as were pre-purchased. Many of their tools were not stock items and could only be purchased during the pre-order window. The manufacturing in the U.S. is one of the things that made their tools very expensive; the inability to order any tool you wanted when you wanted added to the exclusivity. The fit and finish of the U.S.-manufactured tools was excellent. The design and practical functionality is a different subject.

Some years back, Bridge City Tools was sold to Harvey, a Chinese tool designer/manufacturer. Some of Harvey's machinery looks top-notch in both design and manufacture. As the owners of Bridge City Tools, they continue to manufacture many of the tools that Bridge City previously made in the U.S. Having examined some of the Chinese-made versions the manufacturing - fit and finish - is equal to those that were made in the U.S. The reduced cost of labour has allowed Harvey to offer a subset of the same tools, but made in China, for a fraction of the U.S. made versions. Some of the Chinese-made versions are currently selling for as little as 1/3 of what the U.S. made versions originally sold for. Interesting implications for the tool collectors who bought the then-exclusive U.S. versions.

I have bought and sold several of Bridge City's U.S. made planes, as well as handsaws and other of their tools. While the designs are innovative and beautifully made, at least some of them are not great as functional tools. I owned their "upside-down saw" (Joint Maker Pro II), with all the bells and whistles, for about a decade. It had way too many functional design problems to be a very useful tool, at least to me. One of the functional design problems that has been repeated in many of their tools that contain moving mechanisms is their attempt to maintain the position of one component relative to others using a single point of contact/force. Doing so creates a pivot about which the object will rotate if subject to eccentric forces and is a basic concept in mechanical design. One of the simpler examples of their doing that is trying to keep a plane iron (blade) bedded while pressing on the iron at a single point. If one skews the plane in use, so that one edge of the plane iron contacts the work before the other edge, creating a moment about the pivot point, the blade pivots about the single point of pressure so that the blade is no longer square to the plane body. That, in turn, causes the iron to protrude further from the sole of the plane at one edge than the other, preventing a uniform depth of cut the width of the plane iron. (One of the techniques to combat this used by Veritas in their planes is to use set screws in each side of the plane body that prevent the iron from pivoting.) In reporting this issue to Bridge City on their HP-9 plane - a larger more expensive plane - their response was to simply tighten the single pivoting screw more, something the plane's instructions explicitly said NOT to do because it could damage the relatively fragile "spider" in which the screw resided and would void the warranty. If one cranked the screw tight enough, to the point that the "spider" visibly deformed, the iron would be largely prevented from pivoting. 

I've found a few of their tools to be clever and innovative but have found many of their tools that incorporate moving parts to be lacking as functional tools, regardless of price. As a mechanical engineer, I've found many of their what-should-be-obvious design flaws to be frustrating. Their tools are a very mixed bag. Curiously, relatively few reviews of their tools can be found. 

Charles

[Portlandplayer]

I was hoping someone would chime in on some of their other tools. When you look at their line, there isn't a lot that we as builders need or that can be bought at a lot lower price point. With Harvey now owning them and everything coming out of China, I have to believe their prices will start coming down. Harvey seems to have frequent sales. I have a hard time justifying $745 for a tool that makes pencils! 

[Charles Tauber]

The Chinese-made Bridge City Tool prices have already come down, in some cases to a third of what they were. 

I agree that few of their tools are particularly relevant to guitar makers. 

While not a huge fan of their tools, I think that their pencil maker and chop stick maker are two of their more successful tools. They are successful tools because they allow people of nearly any age, with no prior woodworking experience, the joy of successfully making an object that they can use and enjoy in their daily lives. They aren't intended to be an economical way of making a pencil or a pair of chopsticks. The chopstick maker was designed for use at shows in China and was met with tremendous enthusiasm there. A very clever way of introducing members of the public to their tools and to making things with their hands/handtools. They provide many fun opportunities in places like public schools and, perhaps, seniors' homes. 

Imagine if they had the "Guitar Maker Pro", a complete set of jigs and tools that would allow any novice with no previous woodworking experience to successfully make a guitar. There would likely be lots of happy people who are thrilled to have made their first guitar, something they never thought possible. 

[Paul McEvoy]

Has anyone used their honing guide?  The price is reasonable and it seems maybe to have some superior features to the Veritas.  I used to be anti honing guide but I am coming around I think.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Robert O'Brien Guitar Building Forum" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to obrien-forum...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/obrien-forum/aa17d657-2d51-4b41-9397-14c1de5be088n%40googlegroups.com.

--

Paul McEvoy
207-699-9526

[Roger Sorensen]

I have one.  It works like it is supposed to. 

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 

Roger D Sorensen PE, CQE, CMQ | Task  Manager -Technical

Federal and Building Department Services
Institute for Building Technology and Safety

Cell 817.781.3447

Office  703.481.2000 |  www.ibts.org

/ibts.org         @ibts_org         IBTS

 

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Robert O'Brien Guitar Building Forum" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to obrien-forum...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/obrien-forum/aa17d657-2d51-4b41-9397-14c1de5be088n%40googlegroups.com.

--

Paul McEvoy
207-699-9526

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Robert O'Brien Guitar Building Forum" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to obrien-forum...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/obrien-forum/CAP6VTpUfkaMDvTPJdHQ8yyRJcjgsZJe-PncHK8O012HW5f6Jsw%40mail.gmail.com.

 

[Colorado Clem]

Honing Guide is on sale. $119

Coupon Code HGPLANE

[Charles Tauber]

Here in Canada, the honing guide is "on sale" from $248 to $189 CAN, with no further discount. Shipping is $32 and taxes are $39 for a total of $340 CAN. 

In the U.S. it is $119, using the discount code, for a total of $143 USD (about $192 CAN) including shipping and taxes within the U.S. 

By contrast, a Veritas Mark II honing guide is $87 CAN and a Lie Neilson one is $150 USD, with a variety of add-on's that add to the price. 

I have not used the LN or Bridge City versions and can't comment on them. I've used numerous other honing guides over the years, all of which have their own unique advantages and disadvantages. 

While I'm at it, if you want to get into free-hand sharpening, Rob Cosman's "Angle Trainer", https://robcosman.com/collections/sharpening/products/master-product-page-template-2, works very well. 

[Charles Tauber]

Since posting the prices 15 minutes ago, the Canadian website now lists the honing guide at $349 CAN on sale for $269 CAN. That's how $189 + $32 + 39 = $340. 

[Ted Dodds]

I second Charles's comment about freehand sharpening.

While I am new to guitar building I've done a fair bit of furniture making (tables, chairs, chests, boxes and such) that demands sharp tools.  I have a couple of the Veritas honing guides for that reason. Then, a few years ago, I contacted Lee Valley customer support with an inquiry about yet another honing guide I was considering buying. That inquiry happened to be answered by one of the people who teaches their sharpening courses.

He suggested that I not buy the honing guide but have a go at freehand sharpening. He sent me a couple of articles to describe the technique. I haven't used a honing guide since, and believe me, I have less skill than just about anyone else on this list so you can do it too.

The benefits of freehand sharpening stem from the speed with which you can go from not-bad-but-not-quite-sharp-enough to razor sharp. That, in turn, lowers the mental barrier to stopping work in order to sharpen. In my experience, this means sharpening more often but spending much less time doing so. As a result, my tools are always sharp.

If there is any interest, I would be happy to post the instructions I was given. I don't think they are proprietary in any way, but I'd check with him before sharing widely. 

...Ted

[Barry Oren]

Please share Ted!

In His Name -

Barry 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Robert O'Brien Guitar Building Forum" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to obrien-forum...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/obrien-forum/1fec160c-baa6-4f7d-996f-de85aa98c88fn%40googlegroups.com.

[Charles Tauber]

A lot of the freehand sharpening that I learned I learned from Rob Cosman, robcosman.com. He has many free YouTube videos on the subject. An excellent teacher. No nonsense, good skills, nice guy. 

I've tried many different sharpening methods over the last four decades - Veritas honing guides, generic honing guides, Veritas power sharpening, Worksharp, Tormek, M-Power, diamond stones, oil stones, water stones... These days, I do most of my honing freehand. It is much faster and produces very good results after a little practice. 

Each method has its unique advantages and disadvantages: none of the methods are perfect. You simply chose the one you like best that gives you the results you want with least effort. If you haven't tried freehand sharpening, I suggest it is certainly worth trying. 

[Dick Fulco]

Ted, 

I’m very interested in the articles about free hand sharpening. 

Op di 17 jan. 2023 om 22:13 schreef 'Charles Tauber' via Robert O'Brien Guitar Building Forum <obrien...@googlegroups.com>

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Robert O'Brien Guitar Building Forum" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to obrien-forum...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/obrien-forum/d02fdac2-bb31-49a7-8235-ffe7e53fffben%40googlegroups.com.

[Paul McEvoy]

I've always honed and ground more or less freehand.  I used to be better at it and got mostly good results but there's always been at least an element of inconsistency.  I'm trying to up my game and I'd like to know that at any given time I can get something dangerously sharp without much effort.  Hence my interest in honing gauges.  I have the cheap honing guide copy but I've never put much effort into it before.

There's a guy on instagram, Doran Violins, who put up a sharpening series and I'm partially inspired by him.  He genuinely seems to be a great maker and his tool demos point to his stuff being exceptionally sharp.

Perhaps I will find it all annoying and go back to hand honing but we will see.  I'm waiting for some 3m lapping paper and glass to arrive. 

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Robert O'Brien Guitar Building Forum" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to obrien-forum...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/obrien-forum/d02fdac2-bb31-49a7-8235-ffe7e53fffben%40googlegroups.com.

--

Paul McEvoy
207-699-9526

[Ted Dodds]

I'm pleased to attach two documents with detailed instructional information on freehand sharpening, courtesy of Brian Greene of Lee Valley Tools who also authored one of them. 

These documents are text based descriptions with all the benefits and shortcomings that implies. I found them extremely helpful in making the transition from jig-based sharpening to freehand. As mentioned previously, this has meant sharpening more frequently but for less time, with better results.

I think the Rob Cosman videos that Charles mentioned are equally valuable; perhaps even more so since you can see how he does it. Still, I think this written material could be worth the few minutes it takes to read through.

It makes me happy to give back a tiny bit to this group, having benefited so much from your generosity and support.

...Ted

[Patrick Harris]

Ted

Thank you for the info. I'm sure a lot of us will find it very useful. 

You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "Robert O'Brien Guitar Building Forum" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/obrien-forum/vOOhKllN7sA/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to obrien-forum...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/obrien-forum/ec0580cf-a444-4b1f-93dc-808eafaf45e8n%40googlegroups.com.

[bleak]

Ted - that's really great, thank you. Does anyone know if there is some kind of video or pictorial that demonstrates the freehand sharpening method described by Andrew in Australia? Some of his descriptions are taxing my spatial reasoning abilities.