Early Access Video: The $750 Handplane Review
Added 2023-09-30 11:00:59 +0000 UTCFriends:
Months ago, a member of our community offered to lend me a Bridge City Dual Angle Bench Plane to review. I was very excited. I really like fancy planes.
But the reality of this plane was...sobering. It wasn't at all what I expected. I won't spoil the video here, but there were many surprises, and some of them weren't good
Hope you enjoy his rare look at an upper-crust tool.
Happy Saturday!
--Rex
Comments
Here's my decision to buy the plane: to make wooden camera parts, I need a plane to bring a dowel part within specific dimensions, with about 0.001 inch tolerance, and not lower. Yes, there were wooden cameras made, and some are still made. These are called "view cameras" and the design basically hasn't changed. So the planes that fit the concept are the Veritas bevel-up jack rabbet plane, and the Bridge City Tools HP-12. A machinist gave me a quote on the parts that would make the Veritas do what I needed, and I decided to go with the HP-12, since it already had the parts. I viewed all of the reviews. Not one bad word about the HP-12. The small HP-8 had been OK, so I figured that it would be an acceptable purchase. I knew that Rex would give it a thorough and honest review. If there were flaws with the plane, he would not BS about them. And he didn't. I had no idea that the plane's sole would be that bad. Rex offered to send the plane back when he found out how bad it was, but I decided to let him lap it because I wanted the video to show everyone what a skilled craftsman does with his tools, how he knows that a plane needs lapping, etc. I hope his video causes BCT to improve their tool quality, and they don't know who is willing to buy their tools and send it to someone who will give an honest review.
Brian Miller
2023-10-11 05:10:05 +0000 UTCI’m not spending $750 for any plane… I’d send that back needing that much work (excluding honing the iron). $.02
Chris Hornberger - Lazy Gretl Wood Works
2023-10-09 11:20:19 +0000 UTCFrom one BillB* to another, the links are found on Youtube after the video is released into the wild. This is just an early release for the Patreon crowd.
Bill Brisky
2023-10-06 13:15:46 +0000 UTCStanley Fatmax brand has a bottle opener, also in their older screwdriver livery.
Benjamin Fouty
2023-10-02 23:25:37 +0000 UTCWow. I now know why I would just go to woodcraft.com and get a 4 and a half smoothing plane. Wood River planes maybe expensive too, but the most bang for the buck. Thanks Rex. You have done all the home work again.
Dan Delie
2023-10-02 19:31:49 +0000 UTCThanks Again for your knowledgeable review it is very informative and like you said the Bridge City plane is I) expensive and 2) not necessarily a daily user. Not something I could afford to buy or want to use, again thank you
Carlos Alvarado
2023-10-02 18:15:22 +0000 UTCIt's honestly pretty fun watching expensive tools getting demolished by reviews.
LiraNuna
2023-10-02 17:44:35 +0000 UTCI have a Stanley No 4 Sweetheart bench plane. Just like the one in your video. It's wonderful as far as I'm concerned nothing can touch it. You can feel the history. Enough said
Richard C von Brecht
2023-10-02 16:36:25 +0000 UTCIt seems to me that BC is aiming for a very specific demographic. I'm not part of that demographic, as I'm sure the vast majority of Rex's patrons are also not. The plane is a pretty piece of industrial art, but as Rex's review shows, it's not a day to day user. It's a Ferrari F355 F1, and we're a Toyota Corolla crowd.
Brian Taylor
2023-10-01 03:20:47 +0000 UTCThat is a very pretty plane. Don't think I would every buy one but thank you for reviewing it Rex.
Matt Evans-Koch
2023-10-01 02:34:54 +0000 UTCI bought an HP-8 from them recently and came away with a very bad taste in my mouth around their business practices, unfortunately.
Kenneth Carlile
2023-09-30 20:43:52 +0000 UTCI had a very similar experience between a hock wooden plane kit and the Bridge City block plane (it was on sale). While the BC plane is nice to look at, I reach for my Hock way more often.
Tom Manseau
2023-09-30 17:39:42 +0000 UTCWhere are the "links down below"?
BillB
2023-09-30 17:32:26 +0000 UTCI wanted the review to be favorable to high end plane. It looks like it should be. I have one of their little HP8 block planes. It also looks great, and it works great as far as I have used it....out of the box. It is not comfortable to use. So...it seems these tools are made to look expensive and be expensive. It does not seem that they are made to be used all day....much less every day. Every line of every type item, tool, toy, whatever....has a high end price tag manufacturer....that is selling a name....an honest review without an agenda is a welcome thing. Who lets someone lap their new unused to them $750 plane? NO ONE would be lapping mine if I ever bought one.
Craig Thibodeaux
2023-09-30 17:25:49 +0000 UTCThis was very interesting. Thank you. The sharpening part had me on the edge of my seat... is he going to cut himself? Does the honing guide come with the plane? Did you try that? Your message at the end was hilarious. You can buy 10 planes on eBay and still have $200-$300 left over from what you'd spend on the dual action dual angle duelling plane.
Joseph Vaughan
2023-09-30 15:27:20 +0000 UTCBridge City Tools aren’t for working wood, they’re for displaying on a shelf under golden lights in a sealed cabinet where they won’t get dusty. They would be exceptionally engineered paperweights, but that sole wouldn’t hold paper well
Mark H
2023-09-30 15:08:55 +0000 UTCGood and thorough review. Given the price and the China origin I wouldn't be the least bit interested in buying a Bridge City tool...any Bridge City tool. I have a #6 Stanley that I am modifying to be a high angle plane ala Trevor Gore's plans from his Guitar Building book and I like your practice of a dedicated plane or four; joiner, jack, smoother, and high angle for those difficult figured woods;)
John Griswold
2023-09-30 14:47:01 +0000 UTCI have many BCTs. All are signed and certified by John who started the company and from before BCT sold out and left Portland. These are quality precision classics. I feel that since that time many of the tools have become frivolous in the design and accessories. Hence the plane you tested moved away from the day to day functionality.
David A Merrihew
2023-09-30 14:41:25 +0000 UTCThanks to Brian for loaning out his new toy (er, tool) for this review. I too have been fascinated by Bridge City and their engineering prowess, though I likely would never buy any of their products due to cost which my hobby can't justify. Watching your sharpening segment gave me the willies too. I kept thinking you needed something a little more robust and reliable to protect you from that back edge, like maybe that Compass Rose planing stop cover just a few inches away from your sharpening setup...
Hal Songer
2023-09-30 12:07:32 +0000 UTCWhen I first started I purchased the Bridge City honing guide. It looked idiot proof (and I needed that). It's not. I do own a very nice Harvey Ambassador band saw. It is a workhorse. The fit and finish were of second rate quality. I just don't know what to think about these two companies. I give them an A for originality and effort and a B- to C for execution for the products that I've received. It's a strange combination.
Bill Brisky
2023-09-30 11:43:55 +0000 UTCAs someone that's never likely to be able to afford a tool like this - I'm still really interested to see what they're like! It does feel that there's an element of what you're paying for with this is partly all the design that's gone into it - but that some of the design elements (such as the tote) have been allowed to get too far, to let the aesthetic triumph over the practicality. I'm not averse to spending money on my hobbies, but I have to be really convinced that I'm still getting value out of what I buy. I carve for example, and the majority of my gouges are Pfeil ones - not cheap. But then, they are exceptional tools to use that make the whole process easier, safer, more enjoyable. That's where I find the value. I think for a Plane like this, I would really struggle to find the value - even if I was working with it every day, it's got to be an order of magnitude better than its cheaper competitors....
Rob Weir
2023-09-30 11:33:06 +0000 UTCThanks for the honest review, Rex. I have afew Bridge City tools - mostly the simple stuff (squares, miter squares, etc), most of which I purchased 2nd-hand on eBay. I would not be the interested in a plane like this, even if it had been perfect out of teh box - but that;s just me. I too, wish Bridge City success, but I am not their target customer.
Curtis Lee Zeitelhack
2023-09-30 11:28:30 +0000 UTC
