New jointer and thanks...

[Brent Harral]

for all the great advice on cutterhead options I got here. I went back and forth with the Byrd and and others for this Bridgewood 12" jointer, but in the end I decided to just go the conventional route. The Byrd was a 2 month wait and I although the Tersa head sounded sweet, I might as well save some bucks and keep my knife setting skills and blades sharp :rolleyes: I really can't compare the BW to other 12", but it is certainly a "better" engineered head than that of my two previous jointers (DJ-20 & older powermatic). The jack screws are BIG and fine threaded, not as clumsy as the other ones.

<img src="http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL563/2750473/9618795/137312775.jpg">

The heads are flattened and there was minimal, if any, shifting of the knives when tightened. Have to say it was the easiest time I ever had with setting jointer knives.

<img src="http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL563/2750473/9618795/137312778.jpg">

All in all this is one pretty well made jointer. Beds are flat and coplaner outta the box (thanks to Wilke setup) and fence is dead 90 to the beds except for a slight .002 bow a couple inches from the outfeed end.

<img src="http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL563/2750473/9618795/137312774.jpg">

Thanks to Larry Fox who bought my DJ-20 and and was nice enough to stick around after we got his out and helped getting the new one in! (we don't need no stinkin forklift! :D )

[John Timberlake]

Wow! Marvelous machine. Don't think I could get one of those in my basement. You should get many years of use and great projects with that one.

[Don Baer]

Brent,
Congrats on the aircraft carrier. Are you gonna shoot touch and goes on that beast..:D

[Jim Becker]

Ah...a beautiful machine! Congratulations.

[Jeff Finazzo]

Man thats nice, I am very close to pulling the trigger on a jointer and you are making me rethink. Is this BW not the same as the Grizzly?? any difference. I was planning on getting the 10" Oliver, but for a littely bit more, (never heard that before) I could go to a 12" unit. Id be set for life in the jointer department. I must admit Im a little leary of these overseas units, especially since I have never even seen one myself. I know the new Oliver is made overseas too, but at least I have actually seen and played with one. Any words of wisdom.

[Jay T. Marlin]

Is this BW not the same as the Grizzly?? any difference.
Jeff, I own the 16" spiral cutterhead Grizzly. There are a few differences I noticed right off the bat.

First, the BW has a rabbeting table. My Grizzly does not.

Second, my Grizzly has a lip in the base of the cast iron body, on both sides, next the handwheels. When lifting the jointer for transport, I found that it's best to loop the web-slings around these lips. That way, you're not putting pressure on the tables and potentially distorting them. See the picture here...
http://images.grizzly.com/grizzlycom/pics/jpeg500/G/G9953ZX.jpg

Third, the BW's fence post appears to be a rectangular bar, with depth adjustment done by manually sliding it back and forth (as on most other jointers). My Grizzly uses a round post with a rack & pinion handwheel adjustment. I wouldn't say either is better, just different.

Fourth, the locking of tables on the BW is done by adjustable levers located at the side of the tables. My Grizzly has locking knobs in the center of the of the handwheels.

IMHO, the Griz has the slight advantage of being better suited for lifting due the lips in the base. Also, if you live on the west coast, Wilke's shipping will kill you. But if you've grown accustomed to using the rabbetting table, by all means go for the BW.

[lou sansone]

congrats on the new jointer. It looks like a very nice machine and I think that you will really appreciate the extra width.
Best wishes
lou

[Pete Harbin]

Nice gloat Brent...but why'd you go so small? :p :D

Congrats on the new tool bud!

Pete

[Brent Harral]

Man thats nice, I am very close to pulling the trigger on a jointer and you are making me rethink. Is this BW not the same as the Grizzly?? any difference. I was planning on getting the 10" Oliver, but for a littely bit more, (never heard that before) I could go to a 12" unit. Id be set for life in the jointer department. I must admit Im a little leary of these overseas units, especially since I have never even seen one myself. I know the new Oliver is made overseas too, but at least I have actually seen and played with one. Any words of wisdom.

Jeff, in addition to what what Jay pointed out - comparing the BW 12" to the Grizz 12" I found several differences. The BW bed is 85" compared to 80" with the Grizz. I think that is pretty signifcant. The fence is also about 6" longer and 3/4" higher than the Grizz. The width of the bed for the BW is 13" compared to 12.5. Lastly, 4 knife vs. 3 on the Grizz. I didn't get an up close and personal look at the Grizz fence, but the BW has two locking screws in the back. The fence weighs close to 80lbs I bet, and I can't flex it when locked if I tried! Not sure if the Grizz comes with an US made motor or not, but the BW has either a Baldor or Marathon. And lastly, it's nice to know the folks at Wilke uncrate, set up and test it before it goes out the door.

In my case, Wilke is much closer (York) than Grizzly and I really wanted to pick up. Pretty sure that Grizz shipping is less than Wilke on something like this, but it looks like Wilke is trying real hard to keep shipping costs down with some kind of "credit" program. Dunno.

So, given the same price for both the BW and Grizz, I thought it was a no brainer to get the BW.

[John Miliunas]

Brent, a big congrats on that new beast and, you've got my vote for making the right flavor choice!!! :) I've had numerous dealings with Wilke and found them to be the Lee Valley of major equipment. (Ahhh...That'd be a compliment, BTW!:D ) I love the idea of them setting up and pre-testing all their major equipment and the single issue I had with any of my equipment (minor one at that), was taken care of post-haste and with a smile! Again, congrats and enjoy!!! Don't forget to do a bit of follow-up reviewing after you've gotten to use it for a bit! :) :cool:

[Brent Harral]

Brent, a big congrats on that new beast and, you've got my vote for making the right flavor choice!!! :) I've had numerous dealings with Wilke and found them to be the Lee Valley of major equipment. (Ahhh...That'd be a compliment, BTW!:D ) I love the idea of them setting up and pre-testing all their major equipment and the single issue I had with any of my equipment (minor one at that), was taken care of post-haste and with a smile! Again, congrats and enjoy!!! Don't forget to do a bit of follow-up reviewing after you've gotten to use it for a bit! :) :cool:

Thanks, John! Yep, couldn't agree more about dealing with Wilke. I also have a BW shaper and it's a great machine. It just seems to me there are those little extras with BW machinery that sets them apart from the rest of the imports....while staying just as competitive in pricing. Their 10" TS is probably their best "sleeper"...!

[John Miliunas]

It just seems to me there are those little extras with BW machinery that sets them apart from the rest of the imports....while staying just as competitive in pricing. Their 10" TS is probably their best "sleeper"...!

Their BW 10LTS ain't a "sleeper", I can guarantee you that one!!! Built as tough as the old PM66 or the General 650. Great machine and that isn't only 'cuz I happen to have one! :D :cool:

[Brent Harral]

Oops...no! I meant sleeper as in GOOD :D I saw the top's off the PM66 and Delta next to the BW a couple years ago and if I hadn't already owned a 66, I would have gotten that saw in a heartbeat. Yea, it doesn't have an american made motor but I've never know anyone to really wear em out. The fence on the BW is certainly equal to the PM accufence in stout (which I think BOTH are better built than the beis commercial)....:rolleyes:

So yea, we're on the same page :D