Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Bridgeport Mill Question

Strange question for the gunsmithing forum, but probably the best place on the 'Fire to find such info. Thanks in advance for your understanding.

For those that have a Bridgeport Series I mill, w/o a riser block, can you tell me what the measurement from the floor to the bottom of the dovetail on the horizontal ram is? Was asked to help move one and while loading at the origin is not an issue, unloading may be depending on the measurement above. (No forklift at the unloading point, smallish skid steer can't handle that much on the hydraulics, and engine hoist may not reach the combine height of the trailer deck and ram height. May have to look into renting a gantry.)

Added: What size are the hex heads for the 4 bolts that are loosened when rotating the head? Likewise, what size is the hex head on the worm drive that is used to rotate the head?

Man I really liked running those Bridgeports. Wish I had the room for one now as they are handy and a great machine.

Don't remember the dimensions or the size of the bolts but here is a manual on the Brigeport. Parts list starts on page 66, or 4-5 on their page number.


Good luck

3/4" on the nuts. From the floor to the top is 82". If you tilt the head all the way down I think it will shorten it about 15". To the bottom of the dovetail is 52".

Thanks Butch !

I JUST moved mine into my new shop. I had to nod and roll the head to get it off the trailer. Fun times. FWIW, spanning two of my bottom chords on the roof trusses 40" from the wall netted me almost no deflection when I pulled the machine dolly....thank God.

Well, I went to look at the Bridgeport my friend bought. Machine is in pretty good shape. Spent most of it's life milling small plastic pieces. No wear on the ways to speak of. Backlash on the table and saddle seemed a bit much to me (.050-55"), but it was the same across the table and saddle travel. ( say it seemed like a bit much to me as my Burke Millrite has about .020-25" backlash. Maybe I'm spoiled in that respect, but at times I wish I had a bigger table and the ability to nod the head.

Anyway, we prepped the mill for transport this weekend. Tilted the head, blocked the knee and assessed strapping alternatives. Hopefully all goes well this weekend.

Back lash on the table and saddle when it left the factory should be right around .003"to .005"

Keep the slack going the same way. You can tighten the back lash. Be sure and get a Bridgeport manual.
A good place for Bridgeport parts and manuals. http://www.icai-online.com/bridgeport-power-feed-checkout.html

Butch,

That a super link/resource for Bridgeport info. I'll be certain to pass it along.

I just bought a Series I mill. I clicked Ebay "buy" on a "local pick up only" 2000 miles from here on April 2, 2015 [Thinking there must be way to get someone to crate it up and move it]. They dumped a crate in my driveway 3 weeks later. It took me a week to figure out that with two guys with pry bars could quickly inch it around the house to the shop. Not possible for one guy. By May 2 it was in my shop, but still on a pallet.
I bought this 5/8-11 [4,000 pound rated] eye bolt:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004E3WC5K
The beam that bore the weight was a Douglas Fir structural select 2x10 that was spanning 9' 7".
The 2x6 on top of the bearing beam is just to add height for clearance on the length of the engine hoist.
I picked up the 2000 pound mill off the pallet with the cheap little harbor freight 4000 pound engine hoist, slid the pallet out, set it down on (3) 1/2" x 5' cold rolled round steel pieces:
http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchan...howunits=inches&id=198&top_cat=0
and rolled into place. With a big crow bar called a nose bar [over kill] I pried it up and took out the round bars from under it.

By May 6, last night, the wife had figured out the DRO with no marks on the buttons, I had torn down the old Kurt D60 and cleaned it, I hooked up 3 phase, and was making chips.

I bought the 1j renovation manual two months ago
http://www.amazon.com/Renovating-Bridgeport-Series-Milling-Machine/dp/1482368005/
Then I bought a 2j mill.
So I bought the renovation manual for the 2J
http://www.amazon.com/Renovating-Bridgeport-Variable-Milling-Machine/dp/1482367912

And then gave away the first manual.

The bridgeport manual is free on line, but the renovation manual costs money. It is very well written. I have written lots of manuals for my designs and then some technical publication screws it up. I redline their draft, and they only incorperate half what I tell them. It was a better team that made both of these manuals.

Looking good Clark.
My 2 mills.

Butch, that Bridgeport knee is a moose to pump up compared to my little Rockwell.

Maybe if I got a metal cutting bandsaw, I would stop wearing myself out with the hacksaw, and save my strength for the knee crank. I am 64 and 155 pounds. If I had been pumping that Bridgeport knee crank my whole life, it might be different.

I don't know if I can find it, but I have a drawing my best friend made. It slides on where the knee handle fits and you can attach a cheap impact wrench to run it up and down. Mine aren't hard to operate, but I really don't like cranking on it.

My brother converted a socket wrench to be a shotgun choke wrench.

He squirts Kroil in the muzzle, waits 10 minutes, sets the impact wrench on "stun" and the stuck choke will come out.

you might want to check your knee lock and check your way lube, The knee is heavy but shouldn't be a bear to crank up.

Does it replace the hammers in the wrench? Beating on the gear sounds mean.

Guys, save your money and get yourself a real Servo power knee feed. If you can find a used one from a Bridgeport clone, Servo will sell you the Bridgeport adapter kit. Mine came from a Lagun mill. In fact it is marked Lagun on the nameplate but is clearly a Servo unit house branded for Lagun. I got the parts kit to make it fit my BP Series 1. I would give up the X axis power feed before the knee feed if push came to shove. Sooo nice to toss that damn crank handle.

RAN

No, the part is a socket with teeth to match where the handle engaged the knee. No hammering, it just spins it up or down. An impact wrench only hammers when something is tight.

I added a Servo power knee feed to my Bridgeport, best money I ever spent.

It's a sacrilege to add power anything to a Bridgeport, unless it's a CNC add on...