Australian Wood Review – June 2019

http://www.woodreview.com.au 77

TOOLS & EQUIPMENT

a mirror angle you can’t flip the tool
but instead need to release the lever
and re-fix at the desired angle. The
blade has laser etched markings from
0–605mm although this was not
quite perfectly zeroed to the fence
and was out around 0.25mm over the
full length. The blade is, against my
reference squares, perfect at 90°.

The new TS-2 square is a big move
away from the original tool that
started BCT. Traditional brass and
wood have given way to modernist
aluminium and stainless steel however
the new tool is very handsome and
uses clever design.

Two L-shaped aluminium fence
sections fold together to sandwich
the 2mm thick stainless steel blade
which is fixed to the fences with four
screws. It’s a very finely made, strong
and sophisticated tool. The blade has
laser etched ruler markings on both
sides, although the ruler was around
0.15mm different over the length to
my reference rulers. The blade to
fence which is what a square is all
about was, to my reference squares,
a perfect 90°.

An included 8:1 angle dovetail

marking cut-out is a nice touch

extending the functionality. At $139

I thought it quite well priced for a

reference square.

The MT-1 Multi-tool offers, as the

name suggest, many functions in

one tool. Using hard aluminium for

most of the build and a stainless steel

blade the bevel function is the heart

of the tool. It has a quick to use and

secure camlock lever and 180mm

reach. It’s a good bevel gauge and

the saddle square function is also

good for folding over a pencil line

on a workpiece for example. There

are both 8:1 and 6:1 angled dovetail

markers for joinery on wood from

8mm to 45mm thick.

As shown opposite, the collection

also includes multi-tools, a 45° mitre

square and the mini block plane which

I reviewed in AWR#101.

So is the Bridge City name in good

hands? Yes, the quality is spot on

with build and angle accuracy.

Moving to aluminium and steel

is fun and a different take on

woodwork tools. These materials

also won’t rust or tarnish and offer

more stability without the vagaries of

wood movement affecting accuracy.

All the earlier BCT brass and wood

tools are highly collectible, having

not been in production for years.

I do know of people who were not

pleased with early BCT tool accuracy

with regard to marking gauges and

squares, and you may need to fettle

older tools to get the best from

them. Well priced and more readily

available, the next generation of

Bridge City Tools should now find its

way into more workshops.

Bridge City Tools are available from

Carbatec, see http://www.carbatec.com.au

Left and above: Bridge City 605mm metric

T-square ($329) showing camlock and angle

setting fixtures.

Above right: Available in two sizes (large

shown here), Bridge City multi-tools offer

several functions.

Right: The new generation try square in

aluminium with dovetail marker and decorative

orange inset.