Opinion on older Bridgewood saw

[Chris Lee]

[Chris Lee]

[David Wong]

I have a 2004 Felder 540, which was also built by ACM. It looks almost exactly like the Bridgewood. My bandsaw came with a 2.2kW motor (~3hp). One issue I recently discovered is that the table has drooped at the split. This model saw does not seem to have a pin to keep the tables in alignment. I will have to play with the leveling bolts underneath the table to coax it back into alignment. Otherwise the saw has been great. I mainly use either a 1 inch Lenox tri-master, or a 1-1/4 inch Laguna kerf king blade. I paid almost 3 times the asking price of your saw three years ago.

[Chris Lee]

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty sure I'm going forward and will try and reach the guides, tires may e have the table machines flat if its drooling. Gonna have to find a switch but should be easy to do. Probably add a Laguna drift aster fence and do a lot of clean up. I think I can make this quite the saw with little investment. After I fix it up I could probably sell it for more than I put in it, but I don't know why I'd want to )

[David Kumm]

Looks to be in good shape. The table can be helped by adjusting it at the trunnion supports and the electrics will be easy to find. Even a motor in the future would not be out of the question. Since you paid full price for a N4400 you should be happy to cough up the 600 for this saw. Even fixed up you will be in for way less than before and have a much heavier saw. Motor is a little light but these were usually three phase with a bigger motor. When sold as single phase the motor got smaller. Frame strength is much more important than hp. Dave

[Jim Andrew]

So did you buy it? That saw looks like my Minimax. Except the wrong color.

[Chris Lee]

Im going to pick it up tomorrow afternoon. The price is the only reason i am buying. I had decided i can get by with my Jet 14 which was why i sold the Hammer. With the discount i got on the Hammer and i traded it for a camera lens and some cash, it worked out real well me and i ended up about breakng even or close enough. But ive always wanted a big saw. The Hammer is nice an the other 16" saws are good but yhis thing is a beast. Im gonna clean it up and find a switch, i think i can get upgraded guides from laguna or carter. If i have to replace a motor or want more power i can probably find a motor for not too much damage. Either way i think it should work out good. Cost wasnt the ssue for me. Its more can i resurect(spelling) this great machine and keep 2 saws. I will post pics as i rebuild it, assuming my back survives getting it home and in my shop ).

[David Kumm]

Chris, play with the saw before you decide on guides. If the saw is strong enough to tension in the 25-30000 range the guides almost become unnecessary. If you run a 3/4" trimaster or RK for resawing you won't even touch the guides enough to care. Dave

[Rich Riddle]

That saw looks very similar to the Agazzani N'RA 600 saws. What size are the wheels?

[David Kumm]

That saw looks very similar to the Agazzani N'RA 600 saws. What size are the wheels?

They will be slightly smaller 540mm vs 600. Should be about the same weight though. Dave

[Chris Lee]

Unfortunately im not sure if this will happen or not. I was supposed to pick it up this afternoon, but my wife needed my truck to take the kids and girlfriends to an outing up in northern virginia. I tried to reschedule pick up time to another day as i now had no way to get it home. I even told him if someone came along and bought it before i could get there i understood as he said several people were interested in it. He flipped out and started sending me nasty texts etc. i apologized, but i still wanted the saw, just couldnt get it today.

I think i am done with this. He has changed his story so many times. First it was him selling, then his boss. It was running perfect, then it was no starter switch, new motor, then rebuilt motor, then his attitude today. I know its a good deal but im not a fan of doing business with people that turn sketchy on me. We'll see..if it hasnt sold by next week, maybe i will hit him up again. I dont know, just dont have that excitment about the saw i did at first.

[Erik Loza]

That is off-the-wall, Chris. I hope it works out for you.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Stephen Cherry]

I think i am done with this. He has changed his story so many times. First it was him selling, then his boss. It was running perfect, then it was no starter switch, new motor, then rebuilt motor, then his attitude today. I know its a good deal but im not a fan of doing business with people that turn sketchy on me. We'll see..if it hasnt sold by next week, maybe i will hit him up again. I dont know, just dont have that excitment about the saw i did at first.

Chris- you need to listen to yourself- if you are getting a bad vibe, just walk away. If he is sending you nasty texts, let him know that you will not be harrassed, and report him to the authorities. I think that the bridgewood is a nice saw, but it's not the only nice saw, and good ones do come up on occasion. I had the opportunity to buy one at one time that looked like it had only been used just a few times. I was offering 800, he wanted 1k. (This would have involved me selling my aggazzani),

Don't think twice- just let him go. A better deal will come up.

[Carl Beckett]

Well, my experience on CL is that there is quite a bit of noise to sort through. Sometimes it sails along, but other times its poor descriptions, no shows, inaccurate model even.

Thats just the nature of it. My advice is to just ride it along without getting emotionally invested until the deal is done. If it works out, great. If not, there is always another.

All of this is just part of the overhead of searching for 'deals'.....

Goodluck, but dont be afraid to step away if it becomes a hassle.

[Myk Rian]

let him know that you will not be harrassed, and report him to the authorities.

What authorities? Are you kidding? Report him for what?