What's the deal with Bridge City Tools?

[peter halle]

I think the bridge city tools look amazing they are definatly art work

I don't know how to post a link but have you seen that chess set the guy made with there cross cut saw thingy

Ha ha I'm sure that's not doing it justice but I think you will know what I mean

Here is a link to Neil C's thread on his chess set:  http://festoolownersgroup.com/member-projects/chess-set-at-precision-(pic-heavy)/msg353724/#msg353724

Peter

 

[rmwarren]

Having invested more in BCTW tools than I dare disclose to my wife, I must say that I use every tool I buy, regardless of the cost or brand.  Many of the BCTW tools have unique capabilities that are unmatched by any other maker. 

The JMPv2 saw is a prime example.  I was fortunate to be on BCTW's "Dream Team" at WIA in 2012 and demonstrated the saw making consistent, repeatable, difficult cuts that would be impossible without it.

I also have several HP6v2 planes with interchangeable soles that cut a variety of profiles.

Yes, they cost more than your everyday tools and they're not for everyone.  But your creativity is not limited by the capability of your tools.  As John Economaki says, "I've been going bankrupt for 30 years making tools."  [big grin]

[member=3821]Wonderwino[/member] - Love the new avatar. If ya gotta do a selfie, make sure there are antlers...

Nice to see you more active on the FOG recently.

RMW

RMW

 

[greg mann]

This is a great thread. When discussing these business models it probably makes sense to throw Woodpeckers into the mix as well. Personally, I feel more affinity for the Veritas approach. I see it as making a very high quality product, but reasonably affordable, so as to make it if not ubiquitous, at least more so than your competitors. To do this requires a passionate dedication to efficient manufacturing. Economies of scale only go so far and even in the best of circumstances for Veritas the scale cannot be that large. To keep costs down, and prices as well, equipment and manpower need to be highly flexible with very short changeover and setup times. Highly productive woodworkers should be able to relate to this but Veritas must do it on a pretty large scale.

The company I work for aspires to do the same thing providing precision components to the commercial truck axle industry. We only make one class of components which would be kind of like Veritas if they only made planes. I would love to benchmark against them someday.

BCTW makes really cool stuff but I suspect Veritas could duplicate their products exactly, sell them for half as much, and most likely make more money doing so. This is not to disparage BCTW or their business model. They are just that different.

 

[Wonderwino]

I had the opportunity to visit with Robin Lee, President of Lee Valley/Veritas at Handworks last weekend.  We talked about tools and the economics of making them.  He said some of the specialty proprietary steels they use must be "mixed" in $40,000 batches; forged as bar or flat stock as close to the final product size as possible.  Any resizing by either cutting or machining wastes valuable material.  That's a lot of cash that's not working if it's back-stock products or material in the warehouse.  He said they have dozens of new designs ready to go, but won't produce them until they have the ability to pay as they go and a reasonable expectation they will sell well.  That is a sound business model; not overextending to keep costly products on hand.

BCTW's model takes this a step further; not producing a product until it has orders and some cash in hand.  They can do this because they produce high-quality tools that are unique and many have unique capabilities.  As long as there is the "Drivel Starved Nation" (DSN), John will continue to have success!  LOL!