bridgeport end mill

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jimjimjimmy

jimjimjimmy

lobsterman
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im starting to look for a bridgeport mill for my backyard machine shop.it will be a used machine in the 2 to 3 grand range.i know there is professional and backyard machinests on here can you give me any tips? and how about some pics of your machines . i will gladly take any and all advice thanks.
 
I was a precision tool maker for 22 years. I would say make sure you get as many collets and attachments as you can with the deal. Power feed is a big plus. I personally wouldn't go to old that you have to change belt to different size pulley to change speeds, get variable speed. You can't take big heavy cuts on Bridgeports, i used to use a Deckel (German built) mill more than Bridgeport. Deckels are different to run, the head moves not the table, they take some time to get used to running, i love them, some guys just can't get used to the difference. Way better machine, much heavier duty.
 
power feed on the x is nice.. and a digital read out is awesome to.. we have 2 bridgeports at my work that we use and i love them things..

i agree with bb dave.. get as many collets as you can.. try to get as much tooling with it as you can boring bars, collets, different sized end mills, drills exc..
 
BB-Dave said:
I was a precision tool maker for 22 years. I would say make sure you get as many collets and attachments as you can with the deal. Power feed is a big plus. I personally wouldn't go to old that you have to change belt to different size pulley to change speeds, get variable speed. You can't take big heavy cuts on Bridgeports, i used to use a Deckel (German built) mill more than Bridgeport. Deckels are different to run, the head moves not the table, they take some time to get used to running, i love them, some guys just can't get used to the difference. Way better machine, much heavier duty.
Click to expand...
thanks BB-Dave nice sound info
rgreule said:
power feed on the x is nice.. and a digital read out is awesome to.. we have 2 bridgeports at my work that we use and i love them things..

i agree with bb dave.. get as many collets as you can.. try to get as much tooling with it as you can boring bars, collets, different sized end mills, drills exc..
Click to expand...
thanks for the info i seen your work with a bridgeport in one of your threads.........very nice.there must be more machinests out there feel free to chime in.
 
With BB Dave on this, too.
Get as many collets as you can,and cutting tools.
You can spend a whole lotta money REAL fast on that stuff if you start using it a lot.
You're also going to want to find a local tool grinder to sharpen your stuff when needed.
 
J Head is the best starter and home use . Static Phase converter is all you need. If you add a lathe you can use the mill for a roto phase to run the lathe on sow speed. R-8 collet sets are cheap. Look for a machine with tooling and a vice. A angled vice as an extra is a plus . Also a right hand head attacment. Look for hash markes in the wheys . If they are worn off the machine is junk. I bought 4 bridge ports belt driven J's. They are easy to fix and repair plus all used parts are available. I paid between $200 and $400 a piece for all. I got every attachment combining the 4 and have extra heads. One had barely any wear but was broke. I have a like new machine with all attachments when done. and total investment ended up in the negative after the sale of one. and the weight of the junk parts left over . All of mine were bought private except one was out of world trade No#7. I have a lot of parts and extra tooling if needed. plus vices and indexers.

My son works a performance engine shop so this is for home use only. I broke my share of tooling learning when he is not around. I just throw them away and put another in its spot. What he don't know don't hurt em. My next investment is auto feeds. X, Y, and Z. The Z is only because I am lazy and changing tools would be easier. Other then use for the right angle head. Z is not really used much. The most important thing to look for is wear on the wheys.
 

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Like Oldmanmopar stated above, look for the hash marks (scraping) on the ways. Make DOUBLE sure that there is way lube on the ways (can't stress this point enough)! Way lube on a machine is like motor oil to our engines, they need it to survive! See pic #4 for correct looking "scraping" of the ways.
The varible speed heads are nice and convenient, but the cheaper route maybe to buy the older belt change unit head. I've worked on some pretty old Bridgeports, the newest being from 1985. Good machines if they are taken care of properly. They are easy to do maintenance on. If you get a Bridgeport, get the corresponding manual for it, as it'll come in handy.
If you happen upon a Bridgeport with the head extension (a metal ring, between the head and the machine body), get it. They are Not rare, but are somewhat harder to come by, and can be very useful when working on large parts. I will try and post some pics comparing one with the extension and one without. Pic #1 w/extension, pic #2 w/o extension.
And like others have stated above, get any and all tooling/accessories that you can get. Check out your local Machinery Auction houses for deals on lots of tooling/accessories.
See pic # 3 for your automatic feed.
Good luck and let us know what you end up buying.
Steve~
 

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71beater said:
With BB Dave on this, too.
Get as many collets as you can,and cutting tools.
You can spend a whole lotta money REAL fast on that stuff if you start using it a lot.
You're also going to want to find a local tool grinder to sharpen your stuff when needed.
Click to expand...
thanks i will keep this in mind

Oldmanmopar said:
J Head is the best starter and home use . Static Phase converter is all you need. If you add a lathe you can use the mill for a roto phase to run the lathe on sow speed. R-8 collet sets are cheap. Look for a machine with tooling and a vice. A angled vice as an extra is a plus . Also a right hand head attacment. Look for hash markes in the wheys . If they are worn off the machine is junk. I bought 4 bridge ports belt driven J's. They are easy to fix and repair plus all used parts are available. I paid between $200 and $400 a piece for all. I got every attachment combining the 4 and have extra heads. One had barely any wear but was broke. I have a like new machine with all attachments when done. and total investment ended up in the negative after the sale of one. and the weight of the junk parts left over . All of mine were bought private except one was out of world trade No#7. I have a lot of parts and extra tooling if needed. plus vices and indexers.

My son works a performance engine shop so this is for home use only. I broke my share of tooling learning when he is not around. I just throw them away and put another in its spot. What he don't know don't hurt em. My next investment is auto feeds. X, Y, and Z. The Z is only because I am lazy and changing tools would be easier. Other then use for the right angle head. Z is not really used much. The most important thing to look for is wear on the wheys.
Click to expand...
thanks old man i will use your advice
smlveightis said:
Like Oldmanmopar stated above, look for the hash marks (scraping) on the ways. Make DOUBLE sure that there is way lube on the ways (can't stress this point enough)! Way lube on a machine is like motor oil to our engines, they need it to survive! See pic #4 for correct looking "scraping" of the ways.
The varible speed heads are nice and convenient, but the cheaper route maybe to buy the older belt change unit head. I've worked on some pretty old Bridgeports, the newest being from 1985. Good machines if they are taken care of properly. They are easy to do maintenance on. If you get a Bridgeport, get the corresponding manual for it, as it'll come in handy.
If you happen upon a Bridgeport with the head extension (a metal ring, between the head and the machine body), get it. They are Not rare, but are somewhat harder to come by, and can be very useful when working on large parts. I will try and post some pics comparing one with the extension and one without. Pic #1 w/extension, pic #2 w/o extension.
And like others have stated above, get any and all tooling/accessories that you can get. Check out your local Machinery Auction houses for deals on lots of tooling/accessories.
See pic # 3 for your automatic feed.
Good luck and let us know what you end up buying.
Steve~
Click to expand...
thanks steve you told me lots of useful stuff and thanks for the pics i am haveing some trouble finding a mill in the maritimes there seems to be lots in ontario but for the most part they are all 3 phase i only can get single phase power i think i will up my price range to 5 to 6 grand and look for maybe a digital read out and power x and y maybe z. and if the right mill came along with some amount of tooling and the options above i would expect to pay more.
 
I would never pay 2 to 3 grand for a bridgeport....Our company just gave a perfectly good one away, and we had a hard time getting rid of it. Were upgrading to CNC machines in our shop. The next peice were getting rid of for upgrade, is a 10" lathe, but that's comming home with me....
 
fanofpetty said:
I would never pay 2 to 3 grand for a bridgeport....Our company just gave a perfectly good one away, and we had a hard time getting rid of it. Were upgrading to CNC machines in our shop. The next peice were getting rid of for upgrade, is a 10" lathe, but that's comming home with me....
Click to expand...
i would of drove down to get it you are not that far from me.
 
fanofpetty said:
I would never pay 2 to 3 grand for a bridgeport....Our company just gave a perfectly good one away, and we had a hard time getting rid of it. Were upgrading to CNC machines in our shop. The next peice were getting rid of for upgrade, is a 10" lathe, but that's comming home with me....
Click to expand...
Man every one of the Bridgeports on CL or EBag must be made of gold because they want alot more then that. Any body giving away a mill or lathe in north florida let me knowO:)O:). Have trailer will pick right up LOL.
 
Man, if I had a 10" lathe and a Bridgeport, I would call in sick...ALOT! Good luck. We got a machine shop "club" out here (I just found it) $199 a month, or $50 an hour, full range of machine shop tools and a few machinists to assist. A little expensive but if you can set it up fast, could bust out a few nice pieces.
 
theres a lot of industry around here that went out of business, and I see stuff in our local paper all the time. There usally not asking very much, and basicly need to get rid of it.
 
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