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Thread: Who has $4222 to spend on a Smoother?

  1. #1
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    Cool Who has $4222 to spend on a Smoother?

    The new SE Dual Angle Smoother from Bridge City Tool Works.

    Not sure I even like it.

    se2016_render_800_1.jpg
    "If you have all your fingers, you can convert to Metric"

  2. #2
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    Bridge City makes some of the best tools available. That said, they are as much pieces of art as they are efficient, effective, and fully functional tools.
    I am the proud owner of one of their TS-1V2 Try Squares. It sits in my toolbox, I side of the box it came in. I pull it out every once in a while to check the setting of a tool before I carefully wipe it off and play e it back in its box. I live it because it is absolutely positively dead-end, and because I own a beautiful piece of art.

  3. #3
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    It is a beautiful piece of art.

    It isn't practical for using as a shop tool unless you are producing extremely high end work. What happens years from now when it needs a replacement blade?

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    What happens years from now when it needs a replacement blade?
    I wonder if anyone has actually needed a replacement blade for their BCTW plane(s)?

    Still not convinced on the tote design.
    "If you have all your fingers, you can convert to Metric"

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hilton Ralphs View Post
    The new SE Dual Angle Smoother from Bridge City Tool Works.

    Not sure I even like it.

    se2016_render_800_1.jpg

    BC have a unique take on tools. While they appear complicated, they are also pared down ... minimalistic construction. That is where they become an art form.

    One cannot ask questions, such as whether they are value-for-money. Obviously they are not. While they are functional tools, they are also clearly not for everyday use.

    I'd own this plane in a heartbeat if I could afford it. I'd use it too. Just not very often.

    A similar concept plane has been designed and developed by Quangsheng (factory of the infamous WoodRiver). This is a redesign and rebuild of the Record #043 ...



    This sold by Workshop Heaven (UK), only I believe.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Last edited by Keith Outten; 05-05-2016 at 9:17 AM.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hilton Ralphs View Post
    I wonder if anyone has actually needed a replacement blade for their BCTW plane(s)?

    Still not convinced on the tote design.

    "If you can count to nine, you can convert to Metric"
    I kind of agree with you on the tote design.

    I kind of chuckle when I read the sig line at the bottom of your posts.

    What comes to my sometimes warped mind, "If you can divide by fourths, eighths, sixteenths, thirty-secondths, sixtyfourths and convert them back and forth to decimal, you can work with inches."

    Certainly the Metric system is so much easier but most Americans are likely still using a yardstick their father gave them.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hilton Ralphs View Post
    The new SE Dual Angle Smoother from Bridge City Tool Works.

    Not sure I even like it.

    se2016_render_800_1.jpg
    That looks like a nice "budget" alternative for folks who can't quite afford a Holtey.

    Seriously, not my cup of tea either aesthetically or functionally.

    Note that those are rendered (ray-traced) images, not photos - based on that and the wording on the website ("will be produced" etc) it would appear that BCTW is basically doing a Kickstarter for extremely well-heeled tool geeks.
    Last edited by Patrick Chase; 05-05-2016 at 3:13 AM.

  8. #8
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    I have to say I don't like this one. It is too skeletal and "cold" looking. I have their scratch awl- bent it the first time I used it just to make a mark for drilling- and their small square, which has very visible glue showing over time. I cannot say I am very impressed with those two tools, especially for the price.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Malcolm Schweizer View Post
    I have to say I don't like this one. It is too skeletal and "cold" looking .

    You can say that again.

    if I found that on the side of the road, I'd probably leave it there.

  10. #10
    I think it's neat looking and I'd enjoy trying it out. I wonder how many BCT will sell and to whom?

    Like others, my feeling is that this is really intended as artwork. I can imagine it being bought by a wealthy collector, someone who focusses on finely-made crafts in various media. Then, when Buffy and Muffy come over for dinner, the owner takes it out of the display case and makes a few shavings to show that "it works". Kind of an expression of industrial design as art work?
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  11. #11
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    You don't need to be wealthy to purchase one, you just need $4222 + shipping.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Chase View Post
    That looks like a nice "budget" alternative for folks who can't quite afford a Holtey.

    Seriously, not my cup of tea either aesthetically or functionally.

    Note that those are rendered (ray-traced) images, not photos - based on that and the wording on the website ("will be produced" etc) it would appear that BCTW is basically doing a Kickstarter for extremely well-heeled tool geeks.

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...e-Seattle-area

    dont think this is a kickstarter. You can buy one "used" from a creeker right now.

    Edit: nevermind the link above is for a different plane. Good pictures of the planes body though, very similar.
    Last edited by Mike Cherry; 05-05-2016 at 8:44 AM.

  13. #13
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    I don't think their designer is particularly good. The designs are too extreme. Their block plane is way too "stretched out". All that complicated gizmo mechanism is not necessary. Their weird little brace and bit is just odd looking. Their combo square is a bunch of extreme looking angles.

    People never seem to buy their tools to use. Ebay is littered with never used examples.

    Yes,their tools are well made,but I can do without the extreme designs.

  14. #14
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    I think the front knob is totally out of place on this plane. It should have a skeleton form instead.

  15. #15
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    PLEASE,Barry!!!!! It is already weird enough looking without a skeletal front knob.

    But,if anyone wants to buy it AND have a skeletal knob made,I'll do it for ONLY $3000.00!!!!

    Actually,the existing front knob is the best designed part on the whole shebang. The REAR TOTE is just horrible.

    The plane is a fine example of some art student gone BIZARRE. I wonder if the company was started by a wealthy trust fund guy gone bizarro World!!
    Last edited by george wilson; 05-05-2016 at 8:49 AM.

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