Drivel Starved Nation!

Last weekend we babysat grandsons “Speedy” and “Happy” (William and Henry) while their parents attended a conference in Florida.

It was… exhausting! Now I know why you have children when you are young.

While they were napping I went down to the shop for a couple of hours to survey the work ahead of me when I shutter my playroom sometime this fall. In one corner I found a box marked “John’s Stuff”. Since I am John, I assumed it was my stuff and it was, but I had no idea what was inside. Continue reading →

Drivel Starved Nation!

It’s been awhile since my last post and you need to know why. I’ve been incarcerated buried with work. Continue reading →

Drivel Starved Nation!

About 10 days ago I went down to Laser Marking Services in Mulino, Oregon to approve the first article on the long overdue Universal Gage. Here is a pic of the first burn;
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Drivel Starved Nation;

I have experienced several crazy and memorable years here at the helm of Bridge City Tool Works, but this year tops them all. After 35 years, I have found a part of life that is way more fun than tool making, and that is being a Grandpa. It is just the coolest thing.

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Drivel Starved Nation,

After spending almost six weeks in Dallas helping my son, and surviving the turkey holiday, I am relieved to be back in the shop.

It just occurred to me today that the last Bridge City tools made in the United States are the Universal Gages. It is also fitting that I am assembling and calibrating each and every one of them as I am enjoying the process for the most part. (I am really struggling with the arthritis in my right hand so things are not moving as fast as I would have hoped.) Here are some in-progress pics; Continue reading →

Drivel Starved Nation,

As mentioned in a post several weeks ago, I’ve been in Dallas, TX for the past month on a non-health related family matter. Next Thursday, the 15th, I will be back in the shop.

While away, the countersinks arrived in Portland and I asked my daughter Ashley, and Consuelo to ship them. As of this writing, the majority of orders have been shipped with the exception of 24 or so where it looks like we are short a single countersink. I’ll deal with this when I get back on the 15th. I suspect it is a shipping error, but I don’t know. If we are short (which makes no sense to me at the moment) we will send a partial and remake what we need to remake. We will fill every order.

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Drivel Starved Nation;

This week, the new owner’s of Bridge City Tool Works are opening their doors to customers old and new in Montclair, CA.

My good friend, Jack Xu, is flying in from Nanjing, China, Consuelo is flying down with her new baby, and there are quite a few DSN members showing up for the free food. No surprise there. The new BCTW team will all be on hand for the meet and greet. You can read more about it here.

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Drivel Starved Nation,

Since I am going to be out of the office for the next six weeks on a personal family matter, I just made arrangements for my daughter Ashley to help with partial assembly of the Universal Gauges while I am away. The first assembled UG-1 is pictured below (this is what they look like BEFORE they go our laser house for etching); Continue reading →

Drivel Starved Nation;

It’s another Sunday in the shop for me–I like days like this because of the lack of phone calls and emails. Ten minutes ago, I just boxed up the last of the HP-14 Scraper Planes and there are two different sole treatments in this run. Here’s a pic;

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Drivel Starved Nation;

On a personal note, Mia Jo Economaki arrived in this world yesterday. She was born in Mexico City where my ex-pat son is working. This is grandchild #3 and the first girl. I am a lucky grandpa! Both Mom and baby are doing terrific. Continue reading →