Bridge City Tools Chopstick Master V2

Now first of all, before the howls of derision start, YES I know that this is an indulgence and that I can buy chopsticks for a few cents each but....... THIS IS FUN!
I bought mine a week ago from Major Woodworking Equipment. It is BEAUTIFULLY packaged and presented and well thought out.

Attachment 431042

In addition to the jig and block plane you get a honing jig, pencil(!), A square of sandpaper(!), chopstick oil, 6 pairs of blanks and 10 chopstick bags. I have decided not to use the supplied consumables as this could enhance any future resale value.
Basically the main jig holds the blank at the required angle/s and provides a guide for the block plane to taper the 4 sides of the blank about its centre line and then further taper the lower half by shaping the ‘pointy end’ to an octagon.
Mine is a V2 and the difference only appears to be the method of making the pyramid on the ‘blunt end’. The V1 used a depth stop and tiny saw blade wheras the V2 uses a clamp set into the end frame of the jig and cuts the pyramid using the block plane...
Attachment 431043

.... and does a lovely job of it!
My GRAND PLAN is to use off cuts (from most probably my box work), trim them to 7 x 7 x 270, throw them into a box and convert them to chopsticks in batches?
So far I have made some from wenge and will soon convert some Huon pine off cuts as well.
My daughter will probably package them in little ‘velvet’ bags, include a descriptive note about the exotic timber and add them to her market range 🙂
A price tag of $380 confirms its indulgent and quirky status ......but it sure is FUN!

fletty

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Originally Posted by fletty

A price tag of $380 confirms its indulgent and quirky status ......

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Just having the Bridge City name confirms that :p

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Originally Posted by elanjacobs

Just having the Bridge City name confirms that :p

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:iagree:

PS, there is (at least) one more practical use for the chopstick master. By stopping before planing the ‘octagon at the pointy end’ stage, it makes brilliant square tapered bore pins for Arts and Crafts style furniture. I’m going to get a drift punch made that should stop unwanted rotation and won’t damage the pyramid as it is driven in.

fletty

As you say Allan, an indulgence.

But next time you have a GTG, you could serve noodles and require each forumite to make their own chop sticks before they eat.

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Originally Posted by ian

...require each forumite to make their own chop sticks before they eat.

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Why stop there? Let 'em make the noodles too!

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Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Why stop there? Let 'em make the noodles too!

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you put saw dust and shavings in your noodles ???




seriously, having watch a Japanese chef make noodles, it's a pretty skilled task

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Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Why stop there? Let 'em make the noodles too!

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....and I could call it the "use ya' own noodle GTG" ?

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Originally Posted by fletty

....and I could call it the "use ya' own noodle GTG" ?

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:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

OK, since one person has purchased this kit (and fletty at that), that's the entire Australian market for handmade chopsticks covered....:D. No need for anyone else to get one.

Honestly, when I got the Bridge City email announcing this "exciting new product" some time ago, I emailed them back to ask if this was some kind of late April Fool's prank (like the products Veritas announce around then). They were most upset :rolleyes:

I confess to owning a Bridge City KM-1 Kerfmaker, which does get some use in the shed. The rest of the time it is on display in a glass case in the pool room...

Interesting that a few outlets here are reselling Bridge City stuff now. When I dealt with them years ago I had to use their "pre-order, pay half up front, we'll make it when we feel like it, pay the rest when it's ready to ship" business model. All the Bridge City stuff Major Woodworking had on display at the Canberra WWW show already had a liberal coating of drool on it by the time I got there.

Fletty now needs to buy the saw so myself and FF can work out if it is worth the dollars or not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...;v=3ruwZdaPjbs

Don't knock the saw, the way electricity prices are going it may well be the answer :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Chris Parks

Fletty now needs to buy the saw so myself and FF can work out if it is worth the dollars or not.

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Yeah that is a seriously nice looking bit of kit........still nagging at me......

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Originally Posted by Chris Parks

Fletty now needs to buy the saw so myself and FF can work out if it is worth the dollars or not.

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Who? Me? The one who has spent a large part of the last 12 months improving and sound proofing his dust collection system? :doh:

Mind you, a few days after routering off half a finger, I did download all of the brochures. Like all Bridge City fare, the Chopstick Master and Jointmaker are aimed at niche markets and those 2 are aimed at those who have removed fingers but would rather have kept them to eat Chinese food with tailor made chop sticks?

fletty

No need to justify it... It looks like a seriously cool and fun little tool. No doubt the plane is useful on it's own.

Let's face it... All of us here have spent money on worse and more useless junk - though perhaps less at a time... If I added up the money and time I spent on old tools that turned out to be duds... And don't even talk about the money I have spent on cheap chisels - and trying to reharden them..... And then there's the boat... Well - bridge city would have several more sales...

We forumites should consider ourselves lucky to have fletty as our "canary down the mine".....:D

He's saved me a fortune already.

DIY noodles = use an Imperia machine $50. They've been around since the mid-1930's, even for stained glass noodles.

Cut the blanks and chop sticks are pretty easy to make with a $16.00 Samona spoke shave.

I’ve received MY FIRST CHOPSTICK COMMISSION! :hpydans2:

Alright, so it is from family..... but it’s still A COMMISSION?
My grand urchins require shorter chopsticks and so a black (= wenge) and white (= Huon pine) pair have been requested..... only 379 more pairs and it will have paid itself off?

The wenge might be interesting - quite a brittle and splintery timber.

Look forward to seeing the results of your efforts :2tsup:

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Originally Posted by fletty

I’ve received MY FIRST CHOPSTICK COMMISSION! :hpydans2:

Alright, so it is from family..... but it’s still A COMMISSION?
My grand urchins require shorter chopsticks and so a black (= wenge) and white (= Huon pine) pair have been requested.

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what ??


you have no ebony or holly in your wood stash ?


I tend to think that the just watching the grand urchins make their own chop sticks would, in itself, be worth half the cost.

I was thinking the same thing - that "queen ebony" which always seem to be sold at the WWW shows, is very dark (not completely black), but much easier to work than wenge. Also I believe wenge dust can cause allergies in some people? Wenge has huge open pores in the end grain as well.

How about rock maple for the lighter stick, if you don't have any holly to hand?

I have some seriously fiddled fiddleback Blackwood which could work (dunno about how foodsafe it is). I could spare you a splinter or two....

Look for the serious darksiders take on the saw kit ...& so we wait?
Could be an option but price & shipping to here in Oz begs the question?

Edit here-
Just looked US 1585 so some serious money plus shipping.

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Originally Posted by Mr Brush

I was thinking the same thing - that "queen ebony" which always seem to be sold at the WWW shows, is very dark (not completely black), but much easier to work than wenge. Also I believe wenge dust can cause allergies in some people? Wenge has huge open pores in the end grain as well.

How about rock maple for the lighter stick, if you don't have any holly to hand?

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hmmm, now you’ve got me thinking, in (I think) 1938 my father (my grand urchin’s Great GaGa) made an ebony straight edge for his intermediate certificate. I found it amongst his stuff and ripped it down to strips to make stringing to go on the lids of boxes made for the birth of the urchins (I wrote a thread called, I think, Boxes for Bubs, EDIT https://www.woodworkforums.com/f87/bo...ht=Fletty+Bubs). I think I have some left over and stashed in a ‘safe place’? It is probably less than the required 7x7mm though?

it looks to be to be a great bit of gear - congratulations. And, wow, that saw could really come in handy if I have to downsize my workshop - definitely something to keep in mind.

It’s VERY quiet next door so, rather than disturb the peace, I need a quiet job and I have the perfect candidate?

Attachment 432651 Attachment 432652 Attachment 432653

Im not happy with the results yet but the last near-silent 10 minutes tells me that wenge is ok (note lower case!) for chopsticks and that getting a regular octagon on the pointy end is dependent upon the size of the blank and its squareness. It is quite sensitive to size and 6.6 mm ain’t good enough!

It wasn’t QUITE a case of RTBI (Read The Bloody Instructions) but the problem was probably 50:50 technique and not having the plane mounted fully in its cradle? All fixed now though....

Attachment 432676

From left to right are the first pair and the third was shaped with the plane mounted properly!
‘Mass’ production has begun!

Are you seriously going to turn that entire billet of wenge into choppies?

Nah, not the WHOLE billet, that would be silly, just the straight grained half :q!

I'll be checking tomorrow, but I remember it as being all straight grained....

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Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Are you seriously going to turn that entire billet of wenge into choppies?

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Originally Posted by fletty

Nah, not the WHOLE billet, that would be silly, just the straight grained half :q!

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Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

I'll be checking tomorrow, but I remember it as being all straight grained....

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You’d better be quick then

:roflmao:

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Originally Posted by Chris Parks

Fletty now needs to buy the saw so myself and FF can work out if it is worth the dollars or not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=3ruwZdaPjbs

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I bought the Harvey Industries “made under licence” one and have not regretted it for a second.

I already use chopsticks as pegs in my wood working, I use the tapered drills out of cheap countersink sets and the various sections of the chopsticks correspond to the different size drills. you can buy cheap chopsticks in not only bamboo but wenge and oak on eBay. I can not be critical of this bridge city tool purchase as I bought one of the tapered Japanese drills for their pegs at a cost of Au$43.00. I still feel guilty when I use it.

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Originally Posted by Ray153

I bought the Harvey Industries “made under licence” one and have not regretted it for a second.

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Do you have a link?

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Originally Posted by labrat

......you can buy cheap chopsticks in not only bamboo but wenge and oak on eBay.

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BUUGGER, there goes the competitive element of my GLOBAL marketing plan :doh:!

The wenge ones look very classy - you'll be the envy of all the other patrons in your local asian food eatery (I presume the term "chinky" isn't sufficiently PC these days...?).

Share prices of large chopstick making companies worldwide have plummeted since fletty arrived on the scene........:D

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Originally Posted by labrat

I can not be critical of this bridge city tool purchase as I bought one of the tapered Japanese drills for their pegs at a cost of Au$43.00. I still feel guilty when I use it.

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"Bridge City Tools" and "guilt" tend to go hand in hand. It's the nature of the beast. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by elanjacobs

Just having the Bridge City name confirms that :p

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Is there a Festool version?:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by fletty

BUUGGER, there goes the competitive element of my GLOBAL marketing plan :doh:!

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Think outside the square... Bamboo, Wenge, Oak... yes, they're on E-Bay. And they're all NON-AUSTRALIAN timbers.

Blackbutt, Ironwood, Spotted Gum... make some chopsticks from those timbers. Ding up a fancy looking website that uses the term "bespoke chopsticks" and other such terms liberally.

Pretty unique product IMO :)