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Thread: Bridgewood Machinery

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
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    Pittsburgh
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    Bridgewood Machinery

    Hi Fellows,

    I have a question, is Bridgewood machinery still made? I ask because I have been looking all ove the net and it seems as if it had some special metals in and no one wants to talk about it. I feel like I came home from summer camp and the family has moved and they didn't tell me. Was Wilke the only importer of the machines??????

    It seems as if Wilke was the only distributor of this make mahine.

  2. #2
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    Feb 2003
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    South Windsor, CT
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    Wilke was the only distributor for Bridgewood.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    Northwestern Connecticut
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    As my friends who speak Spanish might say "Bridgewood no mas. Lo siento."

  4. #4
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    Mar 2005
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    Bridgewood

    Thanks guys,

    what would happen if you needed parts?? Was there a sister company like Powermatic or Delta. I'm sure that was not the only machines made on that assembly line. Just curious, I don't own any but was thinking of purchasing a used machine and I have concerns in the event of a break down.

    I did read that Wilke is coming back and will handle parts. But Wilke has been saying that for some time and what line of parts will they carry?? All machine or just popular ones like Table Saws and such

  5. #5
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    Monroe, MI
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    C.H. Wilke is supposed to still have parts according to post made in the past. The machines were well regarded--I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. Heck, its getting hard to get Delta parts.


  6. #6
    Well the edge sander I bought from Wilke was missing some paint (someone forgot to remove some grease so the paint flaked off) and the undercoat was that wonderful Powermatic, early 2000's gold color. Bridgewood was just a name applied to Chinese sourced product, the product is still being made just imported under a different name.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
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    Atlanta , Ga.
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    As stated, Wilke Machinery Co. is no more... Curt is still in business under C.H. Wilke, Inc. and is now a dealer for Power-matic.. Steel City.. etc. He has about 90% of parts for Bridgewood and Yorkcraft on hand.

    I have a Yorkcraft 20" planer and it is a Grizzly 20" planer with different paint. Parts are interchange-able. I purchased Wilke's last
    Bridgewood Industrial Floor Mortiser from Curt for $800. It is the same as the Grizzly Industrial Mortiser for $2100 with the exception of the Bridgewood has a 1 phase motor instead of 3 phase as the Griz.

    Hope that helps... BTW.. throw another deal at me with a Bridgewood as I got on the floor mortiser and I'll jump on it regardless of the fact it is no longer being imported under that name. Parts for them are being sold by Curt and other names that if came off the same assembly line with.

    Sarge..

  8. #8
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    Mar 2005
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    Pittsburgh
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    Bridgewood

    Thanks fellows,

    I always knew they were a pretty good machine, I just thought I would check around before pulling the trigger. I used to stop in at the York Pa. store when in the area. Nice store and nice people. Was there too much competition that drove them to close? Oh well, again thanks for the info

    take care
    Ben

  9. #9
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    Ben, there were rumors at the time that they couldn't reach an agreement with their manufacturer. I also know that shipping was killing them compared to Grizzly, especially west of the Mississippi. Towards the end they were offering some pretty hefty shipping discounts, but their shipping on a similar machine was still considerably more than Grizzly's.


  10. #10
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    Dec 2006
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    What Matt said and more. Problems with dealing with over-seas manufacturers and real ETA's... and problems with people that can make a trivial problem and solution a federal case especially if you are not a business that is Incorporated. That's enough said from me.

    Sarge..

  11. #11
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    Mar 2005
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    Pittsburgh
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    Bridgewood

    John,

    You seem to have a bit of inside information which is good for all of us. By your reponses to the post would you know if they are presently open for business??

    I have been going to there website but it only has an announcement of they will be back but has no date or contact info. I haven't tried to call because I concluded that they were not open presently.

    By the response from most people here and on other sites thru the years I don't believe I have ever read a bad review of Wilke Machinery. And I think that is why some of us were surprised at the announcement of their closing.

    take care
    Ben

  12. #12
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    You won't likely read a bad review Ben, as Curt knew his machines well and stood behind them. He is still in business under the name C. H, Wilke Inc. and is a Power-matic.. Steel City.. etc. dealer. And as stated he still has parts for Bridgewood.. York-craft and other lines as he is and always has been in the service and repair end.

    The phone # for C. H. Wilke Inc. is 717-764-5000 local and the toll-free is 800-235-2100. Every time I have called, I was able to get him, BTW.

    Regards...

    Sarge..

  13. #13
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    Dec 2005
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    West Lafayette, IN
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    I know i'm digging up a 6 month old thread, but I might have an opportunity to buy a used bridgewood table saw. Would you all still think this is a good decision? My only concern would be for parts, but it appears I could get them from Grizzly or still from Wilke.

    Anything in particular to look out for?

    Thanks,
    Matt

  14. #14
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    Beantown
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    Hmmm, my experience with their machinery was a bit different. I bought a 20" planer from them for almost $4k and a 2 hp dust collector. I read good things about them so though it would be a safe bet. The planer was an ok machine, comparable to a Grizzly or other inexpensive import machinery. I used it for a year but it wasn't really up to what I needed it to do, and I couldn't resell it for the life of me. For 1/4 of what I paid for the Bridgwood I bought a used industrial planer that is so much better it's not even comparable.
    The dust collector on the other hand was absolute junk, the worst piece of garbage I think I've ever bought. I also have a 2 hp Grizzly which was far and away better made than the Bridgewood, and that's saying something.
    I've seen a couple older Bridgewood machines that surprisingly seemed much better made than what I bought, maybe the quality degraded over time? I don't know, but I'd be very skeptical about buying another Bridgewood. That's my experience for what it's worth.
    good luck,
    JeffD

  15. #15
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    Apr 2008
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    Virginia
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    Jeff,

    I believe that in the late '80s early '90s, Bridgewood equipment was held in higher regard than that from the relatively more recent entrant, Grizzly.

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