15" Bridgewood Planer NEW IN CRATE value

[Andy Birenbaum]

I have a friend who bought a 15" Bridgewood planer in 1993 and never took it out of the crate. Now he wants to sell it and we don't know what the price should be on it. For used equipment I generally pay 1/2 of new, but this technically isn't used. I'm assuming it still has packing grease on all of the metal components inside the crate so it should be like brand new. Any thoughts on the value of this machine?

[Mark Wooden]

I'd look for it with the current importers, chances are pretty good that someone still carries the model or something very close to it with the same specs.
Bridgewood imported a lot of the same machines that Grizzly, Jet and others had. A main difference was that Bridgewood would further grind tables for a better finish, smooth rough castings and i hear they would change out motors and belts to better grades. I have used a 12" jointer, a 20" planer and own a powerfeed badged by them. All very satisfactory machines.
For 'new in the crate' I'd say 75% of current new price is a very fair offer.

[John Lanciani]

The problem is that it is a 23 year old orphan. If there is anything wrong with it the new owner is going to have to figure out what to do for parts. Additionally, it is going to need new belts right off the bat, and there is a good chance that the bearings will fail soon after it is put into service due to the grease separating from sitting for so long. Bridgewood quality was decent for the time, but none of the imports were outstanding in the early 90's. My opinion is that if he can get 50% of current replacement cost he's doing well. If I was buying I would personally be at $500 max, if it appeared that there was no shipping or storage damage and no missing parts.

[Cary Falk]

John pretty much summed it up for me. Things can still go wrong straight out of the crate. No warranty and Bridgewood no longer exists. Things would be slightly different if it were a current Grizzly model New in crate but still would be considered used by me.

[Tom Trees]

It sounds like it might possibly be a really good machine ..
I've never heard that Bridgewood re-badged Grizzly and Jet machines !
I'm only familiar with their bandsaws ,specifically the 540 sourced from Italy from ACM or Centauro ?
The 540 being heavier built than either the 500 or 600 SNAC machines . I'm unsure if the Italians still make this saw though .
So its a surprise to hear that they re-badged eastern machinery aswell considering the quality of the saw I mentioned .
I'd defiantly look up where the machinery was sourced from in 1993 .
Maybe Bridgewood had to find a cheaper company to source machines from ?
Following with interest ,piccys might be helpful
Good luck
Tom

[Peter Kuhlman]

I wouldn't use blanket statements that the Bridgewood is just a rebadged Jet or Grizzly. I base this on my 10" cabinet saw I purchased around 2003 or so. Yes the paint job was slightly lower quality than the Jet. The saw design - especially the trunnion design truly set it apart. It was far better built, far larger and heavier castings than Jet or Grizzly and was near identical to the Powermatics. I did a lot of research before purchasing my 10LTS and felt it was a steal at new price compared to the competition at the time and it continues to work perfectly.
We need specifics on the planer model to try to research the build quality. It could be an amazing deal. At half price of current new models from Jet I would not hesitate. Very difficult to set a price as it is such a unique purchase item.

[Robert Engel]

Check to see if this machine was made in Taiwan. If so, then its no better than the rest of them and they range in price from ~$1200 up.

The biggest concern for a purchaser would be product support.

I'm thinking $8-900 asking price. I'll bet that is close to what he paid for it 23 years ago.
Personally I'd be in the $600 range this would lv room for a helical head upgrade.

[EDIT] John brings up very valid points. With this in mind I think you should plug it in and get it running before selling it.

[Robin Frierson]

I bought a Bridgewood 15in planer around 2002 with a Byrd head installed and it was a fine machine. Bridgewood would import the Taiwan machines and wire them up with made in the USA motors and test run them before delivery. I later upgraded to a 20 in two motor planer and it ran great and was a beast. Also got a big Bridgewood jointer. At the time I felt Bridgewood was a higher grade import than Grizzly due to the usa motor and test run they did.

I happen to have a 2006 Wilke catalouge laying around and by that time there was no 15in Bridgewood planer for sale, but a lesser brand Yorkcraft 15in was available with Asian motor. The price is 2006 was $799. By 2006 the end was near for Bridgewood.

I personally would not buy the machine without running it.

[Matt Day]

It's a typical 4 post planer right? Parts are available from grizzly/Powermatic. I'd have no hesitation buying it but I don't mind machine work and don't need plug and play. I'd be a buyer for no more than $600, if I didn't already have a 15" planer.

[Andy Birenbaum]

Thanks for the info everyone.

[Jesse Busenitz]

Make sure the mice haven't got to the wiring or anything else.

[Curt Harms]

If I were interested in a Bridgewood machine, I believe I'd call C.H. Wilke. I thought though I wouldn't swear to it that they still offered some support for Bridgewood machines. They were the original seller and sell Jet & Powermatic today.

http://www.chwilke.com/