Any thoughts on Bridgewood PBS 540 bandsaw?

[Michael Heffernan]

Looking at a used Bridgewood PBS-540 bandsaw. I know they were made by ACM in Italy and come with a 4.8 hp motor. Not sure if it's a Baldor or Marathon. It sounds like it is in good condition.
Anything to look for when I check it out? I'll look for table flatness, balance wheels, vibration, blade tracking etc.
Anybody know if the dust collection is any good on this saw? Doesn't appear to have a port below the table, only on the bottom of the lower wheel cabinet.
Any insights would be appreciated.

[Jamie Buxton]

As you say, those were made by ACM. ACM also made saws for Laguna and Hammer/Felder. That is, they're good.

I have a Laguna LT16HD built by ACM. Like the saw you're describing, it has one dust port down at the rear. It does a pretty good job of extracting the dust -- way better than my Unisaw.

It'll probably have Euro guides. That was the standard ten years ago. The thrust bearing in that design made me crazy. It is a steel-on-steel wiping interface, which is kinda dumb. It wears too fast. I first built my own thrust bearing which rolled instead of wiping. Eventually I bought Laguna's ceramic guides. But lots and lots of folks have used those things, so I wouldn't tell you they're a deal-breaker.

[David Wong]

I bought a used 2004 Felder 540, which I think is about the same as the Bridgewood. My saw is only equipped with a 3hp motor. The bearings on my euro guides were shot, so I ended up replacing them with Laguna ceramic guides. My saw does not have a pin aligning the split in the table, and the table was badly out of alignment. This did not turn out to be much of an issue, and was easily corrected by adjusting the support bolts under the table. I was able to power on the saw before purchasing it to check for abnormal vibrations, which there where none. I also checked that the wheels spun freely and the tires were in good shape.

I am a hobbyist, so the saw has not seen heavy use, but with a blade matched to the job, it has performed well. I wish it had more resaw height than 12 inches, and a bigger motor.

[Ed Griner]

I have one,its a first class band saw.

[Erik Loza]

If the price is right to you, it's a safe bet. Not a whole lot really goes wrong with machines at this level and used Italian BS' seem to be getting harder and harder to find these days.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[michael flay]

If it is a 4.8hp it is probably a WEG motor made in Italy.

[Dave Lewis]

I bought a used BS440 back in 2011. It's much more solid and smooth than the Delta 14" it replaced. I bought new blades from BC Saw, Toronto.

Only small annoyance is that that the (european) magnetic switch hums when saw is turned off. C.H. Wilke, who still sells parts, says that a new NEMA magnetic switch would solve the humming noise; but I just unplug when done.

Overall, 2 thumbs up.

Dave

[Ed Griner]

Dave you might eliminate the humming by blowing out dust in the magnetic starter.Mine has an IEC starter and it's fine running a 5HP marathon motor.

[Gus Dundon]

It's a great band saw. Probably the same with other Laguna saws.

[Erik Loza]

I've seen mag protection switches hum during under-voltage situations. Had an MM16 hum for an entire trade show once. Turned out the the supply was something like 205V. The saw performed OK for my demos but to be fair, I don't recall resawing anything huge with it. You could always check the supply with a multi-meter if you were just curious to know.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA