Thanks guys, that gives me a lot more to work with than just blindly yanking stuff! I'm hoping that I can just adjust it up, but I'm not going to attempt that without inspecting all of the bearings first. The machine came from a business in OKC that made custom storm windows, doors, and store displays. Judging by the swarf, it was mainly used on aluminum and plexiglass but they guy told me it didn't get used very often because they had a B-Port right next to it with a DRO and X,Y, and Z feeds. My main concern is that it didn't get lubed properly when it WAS being used, although this is the only thing that I've found wrong with it.
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Help!
- Thread starter toolman
- Start date
Welp, I dropped the quill and spindle assembly which took about 15 min. plus another 20 minutes to figure out how to get the stinking drawbar back up high enough to clear the spindle (note to self-pull the freaking drawbar before dropping the quill!). Looks like I get to replace the bearings, which sucks because it's just because of the previous operators not lubing it before use. The guy that loaded it for me said they just used it as a big drill press when they used it at all. I'm going to talk to my buddy at the bearing supply house tomorrow and see how bad this is going to hurt the ole wallet. There are three bearings and I'm betting around $100 apiece, but maybe he can hook me up with a better deal.
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- Feb 8, 2014
- Messages
- 11,144
The top bearing is about 12 bucks. The lower pair will run about $300 or so. I'm having mine rebuilt right now at the local spindle shop, doing the 5 bearing upgrade. About $600 and another $300 if the taper needs grinding. Ouch.
Be sure you understand how to put the angular contact bearings in and how to preload them. Google Bridgeport Spindle Rebuild, there is a lot of info out there.