It is always fun to look backwards, particularly when you have this overwhelming sense of not accomplishing much.  So, for those who are tired of most of my prose, I offer the following pictorial of 2009 (in no particular order).

CS-2 CenterScribe

I have an engineer friend who suggested a closed loop cable design as I was bitching about backlash in rack and pinion gears. The result when applied to the CS-2 is fantastic…

CS-12 v2

The number one selling initial offer in our history was the CS-12 Combination Square.  As part of our 25th Anniversary, we conspired to make a line of tools called the “Bridge City Essentials” which we will make at minimum once a year moving forward.  The choice of stainless steel is what makes these tools unique. We dubbed this “The Tool Too Sexy for Mass Production” and it will go into production in early 2010.

The Tools of Bridge City Tool Works: 25 Years through the Lens of Joesph Felzman

In progress, this is the only AUTHORIZED version of our past 25 years. All the others are fake. Available sometime in late 2010.

HP-6v2 Surface Cove Kit

It was one of two additions to the HP6v2 line in 2009. We have more planned for 2010.

Commemorative Tool #16

Currently in production, this little tool is sure to become one of the most cherished little tools we have produced. It is just plain cool.

The JMP SW

When we introduced the JMP in 2008, the internet made us out to be fools. Well, they were wrong but we do understand the current economic climate and we will deliver the JMP SW for $795 in 2010. When you consider that some handsaws today are selling for $300, this tool makes sense in many ways.

HP-6v2 Face Bead Kit

It is one of the most versatile HP-6v2 sole iron combos to date. Did we mention no electricity, hearing protection or dust collection?

The MG-5 Marking Gage

The MG-5 made our “Bridge City Essentials” list. Black chrome and stainless steel, this little tool is simply a joy to use.

The KM-1 Kerfmaker: aka “The Tool You Will Want Real Bad!”

The KM-1 will, sometime in the next year or two, be the single best selling tool in our history. What made this fun is that although I take my design work seriously, me? Not so much. We had a lot of fun putting “fun” into the marketing of this little tool.

The Biggest Surprise of the Year

We made 50 of these and at $2500 apiece (worth every penny) they sold out in about 5-6 weeks in an economy that…sucked–this was a very pleasant surprise.  Gives us lots of ideas…

The DJ-1 Drilling Jig

We are on a quest to allow woodworkers to do high-level work in confined spaces without the need for dust-collection. The DJ-1 when put to the test will exceed the benefits of a drill press (production work excepted) in both accuracy and capability.

The JMPv2

The next version of the JMP which will hit customer’s doorsteps around May, 2010 features linear ball bearing rails. We were happy that we could adapt this technology for existing JMP owners if they choose.

The DSS-6 Double Square, a “Bridge City Essential”

One of the coolest squares in decades. Oh forget that…EVER! Solid stainless steel and a tour-de-force of craftsmanship.

In addition to these products, most of you can attribute your Google search for the Mongolian Death Worm to me, John Economaki.

Next year promises to be better than 2009–if I can figure out a way to deal with Cooter Ditchman and his sidekick, “Bleeder” Dirtsmith.

After reviewing this post for edits, I now understand why I feel so tired.

So, on behalf of all of us here at Bridge City, THANK YOU for making all of our jobs possible and your continued support during difficult times. There is not a day that goes by that we are not truly thankful (except for the crap on the internet…).

Happy New Year Bridge Citizens!

Warm regards,

John and crew.

In this lightning-fast gossip climate, I am forced to report the following before TMZ pays off one of our grossly underpaid staff members…

You should know that prior to our annual holiday staff party last Friday evening, I gave a short speech with the following theme; “Behave as if You were a Bridge City Customer”…

Briefly, here are a couple of lowlights;

• Imagine my surprise to learn that Michael speaks multiple languages–none of them familiar to me or Marissa (our staff word geek, or so she says). We were all clueless, except for the phrase, “more Champagne” which was common to all five dialects.

• Natasha has threatened to sue me because I suggested that dancing on the table would be inappropriate.

• I am also pleased to share that I glanced over the banquet area prior to leaving and ALL of the silverware was accounted for… which is a first.

• Despite my best efforts, I was unsuccessful in my attempts to sell KerfMakers to the wait staff. Damn. (I almost made a sale to the waitress with the scorpion tattoos–all she wanted to know was how hard it would clamp… I said, “Clamp what?”  … she looked at me as if I was an idiot and I KNOW THIS LOOK.)  It was then I violated the number one rule of sales by forgetting to ask for the order.  Michael probably could have closed the sale if he spoke English.

This was our first party at a “biker bar” and I feel like I should share more, however, bawdy and lewd recounts are of no interest to anybody I know, particularly our customers.

Just think, none of this would have been possible without the influence of you and your fellow Bridge Citizens!

Feast on that TMZ!!!

–John

PS: Remember, you heard this here first. Next year we will eat at a place with chairs–if we sell enough of the “Tool Too Sexy for Mass Production”. I promise.

Something about this tool awakens prurient interests…at least mine anyway–I feel just like I did approximately 50 years ago when a band of misguided 10 year olds found their first Playboy magazine at the local illegal dumping site…

We have been playing with the prototypes here for a couple of months and this tool is way cool.  Study the pic below because we have made a beneficial change to the 18″ blade we think you will really like.

Here’s what is different; the 18″ blade is unique and has some new functionality that will save you time. The bottom scale is in inches (32nd’s) and regardless of what hand you hold the square in, you can set the long leg to whatever distance you desire from the end of the blade.

The top scale features centering rules on each face, one metric and the other imperial.  I would not use the imperial centering rule for finding centers, I would  use this scale with straight leg aligned on 9″ (zero on the center scale) and as such, converts the square to a killer hook rule–reads from the leg out as opposed to the end of the blade in.

Opposite of the imperial centering scale is the metric (.5mm) centering scale which reads either left or right from the center. This is what I would use to find centers, i.e., 42.5 on the left and 42.5 on the right and you know center. This is way easier than reading 2-23/32″ on the right and 2-23/32″ on the left.

In addition, for those of you who are trying your best to wean yourself from the lunacy of imperial measurements, with the long leg set to 9″ on the lower scale, you can use the top scales to quickly convert between imperial and metric. This is cooler than you think.

We are also including in the kit a standard 12″ blade, all imperial because, hey this is America damit! (Not my view, but we need to pay rent here…)

Milled from solid stainless steel and graced with a black chrome web, this is the next tool in our Bridge City Essentials series. We will begin accepting pre-production orders as soon as we quantify our costs in a couple of days.

Now, I don’t have a tree-house anymore, but IF I DID, this tool would join Ms. June, 1963 as one of my most cherished belongings.

Your thoughts?

–John