bridgewood vs yorkcraft joiners

[joe zarnitz]

is the bridgewood 8''jointer worth $350 more than the yorkcraft ?----tks,joe

[Michael Gabbay]

I had the same question when I bought my 6" Bridgewood. For the 8" it boils down to: BW has wheels on the infeed and outfeed tables and a 4 knife head. The YC has levers and a 3 knife head. If it were me, I'd go with the BW. I like the wheels on mine and the 4 knife head should leave a cleaner surface.


Mike

[Bill Lewis]

Also Bridgewood have American made motors, Yorkcraft are imports.

[Don Morris]

I've looked at those too as I'm in the market for one. The 8" BW is still a possibility. I have stayed away from the 8" Yorkie because of the rack and pinion fence. It would take up too much room in my small and narrow basement shop where real estate is critical. The shorter bed of the BW doesn't bother me as it's only a couple inches, but the rod sticking out the side of the Yorkie would be a bother. I have heard one WWer put a hole in his wall to accommodate it. Other than that I've heard nothing but good reviews for both with the BW getting the notch above in finish and a good US made motor.

[JayStPeter]

The Bridgewood is a Geetech. Same casting as Grizzly, Jet, Sunhill, and some others. The Bridgewood has a nice US motor and switch. The differences between all the clones is cabinets, motors, switches, cutterheads, and bed extensions. The BW is a nice cabinet. You might ask if they do anything else different than the other clones also.
The Yorkcraft is a clone of the Delta 8" (not DJ20). As mentioned, cheaper motor and the fence that sticks out the back are really the only downsides.
My personal feeling is that US motors are overrated for hobbiest shops. If I did this for a living, I would go with them though.

Jay