Bridge City LA Smoother *LINK*

Re: Bridge City LA Smoother

Dave Anderson Chester, NH

>While I'm sure the plane is indeed nice and well made, I find the description and advertisement offensive. The ad copy is a compilation of hype, hucksterism, half truths, distortions of fact, and worst of all it is verbose. I don't have anything against Bridge City, but it seems to me the advertisement does a dis-service to their reputation and is in many ways counter productive to the desired objectives of informing and seliing to their audience. What is so mystifying about double dovetails, A2 steel, cryo treatment and half of the other malarky? These technologies have been around of a while. It almost appears that this is an attempt to hornswoggle the uninformed folks who haven't had the opportunity to learn much about hand tools. Rarely has so much ad copy said so little. But on the other hand, nothing is worthless, it can at least set a bad example.

Re: Bad Ad Copy / Good Ad Copy *LINK*

Mark Meier (Ann Arbor, MI)

>Yeah, there's a lot of woodworking tool advertising that's pretty horrible.

Here, however, is an example of some good, honest, writing :)


Honesty in Advertising

Wow..

Rob Lee

>..guess your fingers are feeling a bit better!

Cheers!

Rob

Re: Bad Ad Copy / Good Ad Copy

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>That's hilarious, Mark (and whoever at LV wrote the copy). Funny thing is, it makes me want to buy the tool, just to reward the writer and have a tool that's an underdog. Truly great stuff.

Rob, give that person a big raise, you definitely want to keep him/her. :)

Pam

That's a good one...

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>I laughed pretty hard after reading that...

Two hundred years from now...

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>... when Patrick Leach's great great great grandchild decides to write a Veritas version of the Blood and Gore, that description will be quoted in the work.

:)

Re: Bridge City LA Smoother

Steve Knight

>it was pretty pathetic. but hey I know the secret of the double dovetail do I belong in the upper class of magic?? (G)

I have one of those.

Dan Donaldson

>It actually is a useful tool just like they say, and it really is that ugly. However it works well for stuff where you don't want to ruin a better tool. All in all, I would recommend it ;-)

Re: Wow..

Dave Anderson Chester, NH

>Well Rob the fingers are all bandaged up, but I can type with one hand, albeit slowly. Usually I don't get worked up over ads or most other things, but this one just seemed to hit a hot button with me. Of all of its offenses, the most aggregious is the inflation of its length with puffery and psuedo technical drivel.

Re: No Don't!

Ernie Miller Topeka

>I'm just getting to the point in life where I can afford/justify new tools at least yours any way and giving your employees raises might price me out of the market. ;<) maybe a small bonus wouldn't hurt.

Re: Bridge City LA Smoother

Roy Hennagir/Vista,CA

>That Lee Valley ad looks like some of my Ebay ads. I just sold something that was broken and I rated it as a turd. How can you return a turd? That ad made me laugh! I like the complete with wood filler part......

Re: Bridge City LA Smoother

dave jeske

>Since the Bridge City is where I live I felt obligated to email BCTWs a few times to comment on their marketing efforts. They make some decent tools and some really nice ones. Yes, they are all very expensive and yes, they cater to the type of folks that want to own the high-end even if they don't use them or even know how to use them. (But I own a few of their tools that I bought through "blem" sales at about 50% off - almost affordable!) I feel they do a dis-service to sincere handtool users with over-hyped ad copy, pseudo-technical terms and "space age" CAD images of planes (wood planes) flying through the air or whatever they are doing on some of their flyers. They should go back to selling on the basis of fine quality and craftsmanship.

my 2c

dave

Re: Bad Ad Copy / Good Ad Copy

Rob Lee

>The guy that wrote that copy used to have the job I have now....;)

Cheers -

Rob

Another example of exemplary ad copy *LINK*

mike recchione

>Kind of in the spirit of the new LA Smoother.


HTW Millenium Lever

Re: Bad Ad Copy / Good Ad Copy

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Would that be dear old Dad? I think I love him, what a hoot.

Pam

Re: Another example of exemplary ad copy

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Mike, thanks to you and all above I've been ROTFL all morning.

Pam

Reminiscent of the Twin Screw Vise directions

Russell Seaton

>The ad copy on the ugly tool is similar to the instructions on the Veritas Twin Screw vise. On the first page in about three different paragraphs it warns you to read and follow the directions. It especailly says people who only read directions after they get into trouble should mend their ways now. It also says for those who want to be creative, to wait until after they have installed the vise. And finally for those who will not heed the warnings to follow the directions, it suggests to at least read through the directions first before being creative. I pulled the directions out last night to disassemble the vise and chuckled when I read them.

Re: Wow..

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>I found your comments to be quite on the mark, and actually a little milder than what I have said to myself upon reading this and similar announcements from Bridge City.

I actually have quite a few Bridge City tools, but the combinations of their offensive advertisement copy, their membership marketing scheme, and their increasingly poor ratio of performnce to price caused me to stop buying from them. I must confess I have (and will continue to have) an unfulfilled lust for his great little chamfer plane,but their marketing strategies have permanently alienated this former good customer.

yes, but can you use it to adjust an infill?

John Truxell-Svenson (jvs)

>

Re: yes, - once

joel

>

Re: Bad Ad Copy / Good Ad Copy

Rob Lee

>..I won't tell Mom.

Cheers -

Rob

Re: Bad Ad Copy / Good Ad Copy

William R. Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Can I get one of those with a rosewood handle with brass accents, and an A2 cryogenically hardened blade, hand-wrought at the Dead Horse Forge? Now that would be a collector tool worth having. One could even use it for adjusting their C&W and Knight wooden hand planes, and the cap screws on their L-N planes.

Tongue planted firmly in cheek, after a fine day on the water, pushing and pulling large boats and floating docks (no power tools involved).

Re: Bad Ad Copy / Good Ad Copy

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, South of Miami FL

>Now, I wonder what Todd has done with the Original Shovel Steel Saw?

Re: Bridge City LA Smoother

paul womack

>I wouldn't mind so much, but every damn feature of that "unique" plane is pretty much standard in the current second golden age of tool making.

Holtey made his #98 a ways back, LN did the #62 along time ago, LV have a very nice low angle smoother, the world and his dog will sell you A2 Cryo blades, some people are just starting into even more exotic steels.

I've lost count of the number of places that have shown, clearly and with pictures, how to make double-dovetails.

And here we have BC trying to make out they're in a league of their own.

Maybe so.

But only for hype.

BugBear (spittin' angry)