That new Bridge City saw.

[Dave Lehnert]

As I talked about in another thread I got to visit Popular woodworking magazine last night. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...944#post875944

John Economaki, the president of Bridge City tools ,did a demo on the new Joint Maker Pro that has been talked about on here. Said he got the idea after using the Mini Multi Plane. That plane is an amazing tool in itself. He wanted something to cut very small moldings that the Multi Plane produced.
Long story short the saw is very well designed and built. You do have to see and use it in person before a true opinion can be made.
He is fully aware of all the discussions on how expensive the tool is. He went through the tool part by part and explained what it was made of and how much each part cost in raw material and to manufacture. You quickly can see how expensive it is to produce such a tool in the U.S. To look at the tool you think it is nothing but sheet metal. Nothing is farther from the truth. Like I said, you have to see and feel it in person.
The tool you see on the web is a prototype. The one that will be available for sale will have some changes to it.

[Brent Smith]

Hi Dave,

Was anything mentioned on when the tool would be available?

[Dave Lehnert]

Hi Dave,

Was anything mentioned on when the tool would be available?

I believe he said October

[Narayan Nayar]

While there's no doubt the tool is expensive, I love what people like John and Thomas Lie-Nielsen and Mike Wenzloff etc are doing, and I'm glad they seem to be doing well.

What are they doing? They're reminding Americans (well, at least some of them) of what quality means. Quality doesn't mean lowest price or most number of units sold or furthest offshore manufacturing facilities. And not just quality of products--quality of life for the workers who make them. If you value skilled craftsmanship in your workforce and are discriminating in your selection of materials, quality costs, period. I think wal-mart and BORG culture have made many Americans forget about this...

I doubt the saw is for me, but I haven't yet seen it in person. I'm a huge fan of BCT products though and have no doubt it's an amazing piece of kit.

[Vince Shriver]

While there's no doubt the tool is expensive, I love what people like John and Thomas Lie-Nielsen and Mike Wenzloff etc are doing, and I'm glad they seem to be doing well.

What are they doing? They're reminding Americans (well, at least some of them) of what quality means. Quality doesn't mean lowest price or most number of units sold or furthest offshore manufacturing facilities. And not just quality of products--quality of life for the workers who make them. If you value skilled craftsmanship in your workforce and are discriminating in your selection of materials, quality costs, period. I think wal-mart and BORG culture have made many Americans forget about this...

I doubt the saw is for me, but I haven't yet seen it in person. I'm a huge fan of BCT products though and have no doubt it's an amazing piece of kit.

Spot on - well said.

[Peter Quinn]

Spot on - well said.

Ditto. I'd rather have my couple of Lie-Neilson planes that work well every time since day one and are a pleasure use than a full array of ill made import model that needs hours of work to make them serviceable and never perform the way a quality tool should.

I think companies like these are a breath of fresh air in the modern disposable mass market instant gratification world we have found ourselves in. Over a life time Value is about far more than price.

[Tom Henderson2]

Can somebody explain to me how this saw is supposed to work?

Thanks...

-TH

[Dave Lehnert]

Can somebody explain to me how this saw is supposed to work?

Thanks...

-TH

Did you see the video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ruwZdaPjbs

[Ron Dunn]

There's a slowly evolving report on this saw at the Festool Owners Group forum. Lots of good picture of how it works.

[Clifford Mescher]

There's a slowly evolving report on this saw at the Festool Owners Group forum. Lots of good picture of how it works.

Thanks Ron. Clifford

[Tom Henderson2]

Did you see the video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ruwZdaPjbs

Hi Dave-

I had not -- thanks for the link.

-TH

[Frank Drew]

What Narayan said. I think the fairly recent renaissance in artisanal toolmaking is one of the most encouraging developments in this country in a long time. Even if this saw doesn't succeed in the marketplace, at least John Economaki is thinking, trying out new ideas.

It's a welcome corrective to something overheard a few weeks ago, "It seems like all we make in this country any more are phone calls."

[Dino Makropoulos]

Did you see the video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ruwZdaPjbs

Thanks for the link Dave.

Awesome tool.

Thanks.