Comments on: Jointmaker Pro – From Bridge City Tool Works

By: red

red — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 07:05:08 +0000

I may be the guy who has everything, a Felder KF700SP combo shaper, 2800mm sliding table saw and an AD741 16″ planer joiner with a Byrd Shelix, and much more, but I find this actually fills the space for fine small work. The only thing I think this can’t do is partial dovetails. But compared to a $1k dovetail rig, this really does so much more. I like the quiet and the precision. Aigner offers a more expensive fence addition for my Fleder for stock down to 1/16″ and Incara has there 1/32″ increment fence products, but they are no where near as flexible as this tool. Here the only thing missing is the mortice. And by almost 2012, it is not only a $1300 table& saw, it is also another $1200 fence and another $500 or so for metrology tools and extra types of saws, etc. My guess is wider and other tooth type saws will become available. This tool has the potential to evolve to Japanese pull saw itself.
red

By: RWL

RWL — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 02:15:20 +0000

Here’s why this tool would appeal to me: I never learned to use a table saw properly, and with two young sons, have no interest in getting one now. (I did try to learn once and took a shop class with a professional instructor–he was missing most of two fingers; I though the shop class was unsafe and quit after the 2nd or 3rd session.)

BCT seems pretty interested in putting out a extremely well made products. If it works well, 1200 seems cheap to me considering the cost of a good table saw (e.g. a SawStop) and the lower risk.

By: Todd T.

Todd T. — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:55:15 +0000

I’m late to the game, but I thought I’d add a comment on the price. I’m a recreational woodworker, but I grew up in a family of machinists, and spent a few years working in low-mid volume CNC milling. Having watched the video a few times, I can say that given my best guess about the sales volume for such a niche tool, the price is probably spot on. There are a lot of machined parts, and therefore a lot of setups. For a super-simple setup (maybe the woodworking equivalent of getting a dado set in and setting up a mitre gauge), you won’t get ANY economy of scale below 100+ parts. The machine has to be set multiple times (vises, rotary tables), a program has to be written, jigs may need to be made, tooling has to be set up, etc.
Recreational woodworkers don’t often think about it (but production guys will get it); it’s a problem of time spent cutting vs. time spent getting ready to cut. If we’re nice enough to give BCTW 5,000 orders, it might get to $895. If we snapped these up as fast as deWalt sells chop saws, they could farm it to China and sell it for maybe 400 bucks. But then you wouldn’t see BCTW’s logo on it.
If the idea’s good enough for a wider market, you’ll see a cheaper model evolve. If you want to own something cool made by people who are absolutely in love with making great, innovative tools, you’ll have to shell out your $1,300…

By: Eva

Eva — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:26:41 +0000

They have sold out of their first production run. My thought is that this would be a great basis for an apartment workshop. Provided you have an extra room in your apartment.

By: Paulg

Paulg — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:48:50 +0000

This a conceptual game changer. Like art, this device is creating a Great dialog about design, use, skill, craftsmanship, economics and long held ides.

I would venture to guess that many people who see the video ask themselves “why not?”. When you produce tools like bctw it’s not just about the function of the tool. It’s also about spirit and purpose.

I have no intention of buying one of these. But, I know next time I’m at the bench I’ll be asking myself, “are there any ideas in that tool’s design that I can use to improve my work.” then I’ll pick up my saw. I’ve gotten the bennefit of some new thinking, and BCTW gave me that for FREE

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:40:22 +0000

I think you may have misread my comment. I didn’t say power tools cause the user to be less precise, I said they require less precision from the user. Two very different things. The point can be illustrated with a simple dovetail joint. Set up a jig correctly and anyone with a router, two hands and an electrical outlet can make a decent dovetail joint. Cutting that joint with a saw and chisels, on the other hand, requires much more in the way of manual dexterity from the user.

By: woodNfish

woodNfish — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:27:38 +0000

Well it was good to read Blair Green’s post above – someone who actually has one and is using it. I am surprised that in addition to paying $1200, you have to build the durn thing too!

The nylon gears aren’t working for me – they are not rugged enough to justify the price. Well actually nothing on this tool does enough to justify the price to me.

The commentary at the top of the page says that power tools allow the user to use less precision. That is nonsense. They just make the same precision easier to achieve. This tool is a nice idea, but not at this price.

By: John

John — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:26:45 +0000

Very cool, but ultimately will become a niche tool.

By: Wayne Stump

Wayne Stump — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:53:07 +0000

My first exposure to the JMP was at a MASW class in ’08 that John Economaki taught. My initial reaction was, “Well, ain’t that cute!” Then I had a chance to play with it. My second reaction was, “I gotta have one of these!” Then the videos started showing up on various websites and providing even more ideas. I ordered one!
I took mine to John’s class at MASW last month where we spent five days learning more about it. It can be a little fussy to adjust at times, but it provides accuracy that I had no idea was possible when working with wood. I wouldn’t sell mine at twice the price… well maybe I would if I were sure that I could get another one right away.

Nobody was ever sorry that they bought the best!
WDS

By: Blair Glenn

Blair Glenn — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:30:57 +0000

I have mine and it’s working. Tough job building it. Lots of fine tuning. Lots of lube points. It works really nice but there is a learning curve. As with any new tool, practice improves quality. I can see blades being damaged easily as I damaged my first one. The thin teeth bend if you have a slight mishap as I did. If even one tooth is off, the whole thing is cutting bad. If the alignment is off, forget it. This must be absolutly square and everything in order. Then it works really well.

Blair Glenn