Epic Bridge City Tool Works Field Trip to China: Details Emerge…

"I am not skipping school! I am just on a SELF-MOTIVATED field trip!"— Meghan Sherwood

Drivel Starved Nation!

I am thrilled to share that we have been receiving early interest in the Shanghai/Nanjing field trip this fall.

Here are the crucial dates you need to know to make a decision:

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Chopstick Master v2 Tutorial

"If I ever go to China, I'm going to find a piano and play "Chopsticks"--only not with my fingers... I'll be using two forks."— Jarod Kintz

Drivel Starved Nation-

It looks like the BCTW field trip to China is resonating with the DSN.  I will post complete details next week regarding the itinerary. I also think we may limit this to 30 or so for logistical reasons.

Hey! We received the first shipment of the CSMv2s at the end of December. This is such a fun tool to use!

Here is a real-time tutorial on how it is used — you can tell I had 4 cups of coffee the morning we shot this–oh well… Continue reading

Announcing An Epic Bridge City Tool Works Field Trip!

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow. Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”— Mark Twain

Drivel Starved Nation!

I got so fed up with the voluminous holiday email blasts in December, we spared you and kept our antsy fingers off our keyboards until today. How cool is that?

First, the Portland Weather Report: As some of you may know, I am an Iowa son, and no stranger to snow. In fact, it is one of the reasons I wanted to move to Portland. No snow shoveling here.
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Gyro Air Mea Culpa, Questions and Answers…

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”— Albert Einstein

Drivel Starved Nation! Yesterday we did an email blast for the Gyro Air which I reviewed in a previous post. This morning I received an email from China and my initial reaction was “Oh shit!” Continue reading

Bridge City Review of the Gyro Air…

"Good health is not something we can buy. However, it can be an extremely valuable savings account. "— Anne Wilson Schaef

Drivel Starved Nation; A couple of months ago, I broke the news about a new dust collector technology that we are employing in our prototype shop – the Gyro Air. Before I get into the details of this collection system, it is important to understand why I want to ditch my standard cyclone collector — which likely looks just like yours. Continue reading

New Tool from Bridge City Tool Works…

"Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything." — Wyatt Earp

Drivel Starved Nation;

Today I offer you some drivel with some “fresh off the bone” meat — we have a new tool!

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Bridge City Tool Works News – It’s Kind of a Big Deal…

"Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes." — Lewis Grizzard

Drivel Starved Nation-

I have much to share with this report, so drop whatever it is you are doing and feast on this delicious bowl of drivel!

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Bridge City Tool Works: Commemorative Tool #19 Sneak Peek…

“Always do things right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”— Mark Twain

Drivel Starved Nation;

Over the past three months, I have been working on Commemorative Tool #19. For those of you new to this Totally Awesome and Worthless Blog, we make one tool each year (well almost) that we will never duplicate. They are considered the finest series of tools in our almost 34 year history.  (The first Commemorative Tool was introduced in 1991 or 1992, I am too old to remember.) Continue reading

Changing the World One Photograph at a Time…

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world." — John Milton

Drivel Starved Nation;

It was an exciting time to be a furniture designer/maker back in the 1970’s. I can still remember the excitement of my first commission —it’s such an honor when others want your work in their home. I was so lucky.

But this luck came with a caveat. All of the people who were ordering furniture from me had money. Lots of money. Continue reading

The Furniture of Seth Rolland

Drivel Starved Nation!

Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of viewing Seth Rolland’s exhibition at the Bellevue Arts Museum  which is 20 minutes east of Seattle. This field trip turned out to be incredibly interesting, first there was our train ride, then the fascinating work of Rolland, and a major surprise that will appear in my next post.

It’s always nice to follow the progression of a woodworker who sings with a unique voice in this world we call woodworking.  This is a small sample of his exhibition — I hope you enjoy the pics… Continue reading