Replies

1. 
   user-49352 | Jan 24, 2006 05:09am | #1

   gerald, shop fox is for amateurs... look at Wilke

1. 
   gerald | Jan 24, 2006 06:21am | #2

   Why Wilke, it's a copy and the price is the same than W&H

2. 
   JeffHeath | Jan 24, 2006 08:01am | #3

   Dave

   With all due respect, Wilke Machinery, i.e. Bridgewood, is Taiwanese knock off crap just like the rest of the low dollar import stuff being pushed in all the magazines as good machinery.  No offense, but all that stuff is "for amateurs".

   Jeff

   Edited 1/26/2006 8:25 pm ET by JeffHeath

1. 
   nikkiwood | Jan 26, 2006 06:21am | #5

   Jeff,I don't own any Bridgewood equipment, but I am not sure I would be so quick to write them off. I have heard speculation from people who are in a more knowledgeable position to comment than I that the Bridgewood stuff is actually pretty good -- better than Grizzly, for example. I know a couple of guys that run big Bridgewood planers, and they swear by them.********************************************************
   "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

   John Wooden 1910-

1. 
   JeffHeath | Jan 26, 2006 09:54am | #6

   Sorry.  I've seen and used their stuff, and I'm not impressed.  Not even as good as Powermatic, which is average at best.  I know, I've replaced 5 different Powermatic machines with quality industrial american cast iron.  For a hobbiest, their fine, but for a pro, as the antagonist suggests, they are a joke.

   Jeff

1. 
   WhatKnot | Jan 26, 2006 06:34pm | #7

   Very good description of Powermatic... Average. Most folks don't know what's available out there other than the average stuff.Steve

   "You can either be smart or pleasant, I was once smart but now I'm pleasant. I like being pleasant better." Jimmy Stewart - Harvey

2. 
   mrbird90 | Jan 27, 2006 02:06am | #8

   I recently visited a high end cabinet and furniture shop in PA. that employes 60 craftsmen and almost every piece of equipment was Bridgewood. They have been in business over 20 years and have no problems with Bridgewood equipment. In fqact they recommend it highly.

3. 
   JeffHeath | Jan 27, 2006 04:31am | #9

   My point exactly!  It's not the machinery, it's the person/people using it.  Machinery doesn't make great cabinetry, the craftsman does.  My only reason for responding here was to push aside the thought that certain machinery is professional, and some amateur.  All that really matters is the pulse and desire of the person doing the work, not the dumb equipment.

   Jeff

2. 
   giametti | Jan 28, 2006 05:14am | #10

   Not all Bridgewood machinery are Taiwanese knockoffs. Some of their bandsaws are made by ACM in Italy and are the same machines that Laguna sells.Jim Eddy

   http://www.jameseddywoodworks.com

1. 
   JeffHeath | Jan 28, 2006 08:23am | #11

   I believe you're missing the point I was trying to make.  I have nothing against Bridgewood, Powermatic, Jet, Grizzly, or any of the other 300 million companies from anywhere overseas that manufacture machinery.  The craftsman makes the furniture, not the machinery.  

   Saying that Shop Fox is for amateurs, and bridgewood isn't , just isn't a responsible statement, imho.

   Jeff

    

1. 
   WhatKnot | Jan 28, 2006 07:28pm | #12

   Jeff, I agree.  However the problem is that the craftsman relies on a tool to be able to perform a specific job in the manner which they expect. If a piece of equipment makes the same error consistently you can account for that and work with it. If a piece of machinery is inconsistent you can only guess what your results will be.

   One could theorize that you could mount a sawblade made from a coffee can lid on an arbor from a bicycle axle and hook it all together with a washing machine motor and a few pulleys to create a table saw. 

   If you were able to produce this saw in such a way that it produced exactly the same errors everytime you used it, it would be the perfect saw. But if the coffee can lid got hot and warped during your cut or the axel/arbor bearings wore out rather quickly you would not produce very good work.

   Therein lies the difference between quality equipment, average equipment and bargain basement equipment.

   Does that make any sense? I don't know, I just sell woodworking tools for a living.Steve

   "You can either be smart or pleasant, I was once smart but now I'm pleasant. I like being pleasant better." Jimmy Stewart - Harvey

2. 
   WhatKnot | Jan 26, 2006 05:11am | #4

   Gerald, there is nothing to compare between the two. Seriously! The difference is hobbyist versus professional... How do you classify your needs?

   Steve

   "You can either be smart or pleasant, I was once smart but now I'm pleasant. I like being pleasant better." Jimmy Stewart - Harvey