# BP 2J Rebuild



## sd624

So heres the rebuild pics as discussed in jjtjr's thread. I really did just start out one morning cleaning it up just a little bit and things kinda got out of hand. I don't have a ton of good before pics so sorry about that.









I purchased the mill off eBay and the condition matched the description so I was pretty happy with that. I had been looking at all the rebuild threads here and other sites and that really pushed me to do a complete rebuild on it.


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## sd624

Starting the tear down.








One of the biggest problems (obviously) in rebuilding any machine as you can see in the pics is cleaning the 40 years of way oil, cutting oil, grease and chips off of and out of everything.

- - - Updated - - -

Here's a video on how we removed the head.

[video=youtube;JYwFsY_vZvI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYwFsY_vZvI[/video]



Here's a video of the head tear down. Its edited down to about 15 mins. Its' by no means a howto. It's just us doing it.

[video=youtube;avnFK0I5b3w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avnFK0I5b3w[/video]


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## sd624

This head was fun to take a part. Even though I was using a tear down guide it takes some time to figure it out. 








As a whole the machine didn't look that bad to me. A little cleaning here and there was all it needed. Once I started and as you can see in the pics. It really was grubby.

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Ram and turret getting ready for clean up.








Video of the ram and turret being removed.

[video=youtube;8ZHFPg57e_Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZHFPg57e_Y&amp;feature=youtu.be[/video]


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## Tamper84

Great looking machine!!!!! 

Chris


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## 8ntsane

Looking good, I would like to see the vids you made, did they get moved? or removed?
Great looking job your doing.:thumbzup:


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## sd624

8ntsane said:


> Looking good, I would like to see the vids you made, did they get moved? or removed?
> Great looking job your doing.:thumbzup:



No sure whats going on Paul they are working fine on this end.

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Here's a video of the knee coming off.

[video=youtube_share;hmJZGvp1nYA]http://youtu.be/hmJZGvp1nYA[/video]

I have a ton more pics of the tear down but I think you guys get the idea so on to the fun stuff painting and rebuilding.


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## sd624

The first part I worked on was the quill housing. The factory fill was chipped badly in many places so I just sand blasted it, patched the deep pits with spot puddy, and used a lot of high build primer.





2K Primer from a can. This stuffs pretty good. Its a true 2 component primer. 

[video=youtube_share;Ndgd1z1681g]http://youtu.be/Ndgd1z1681g[/video]

After paint


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## sd624

Getting things ready for paint.








- - - Updated - - -

Belt and gear housings








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In the paint booth.








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Turret, Ram, and Knee paint complete.








- - - Updated - - -

Saddle


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## Tamper84

Very nice rebuild!!! We like to see pictures of these kinda things!!! Thats a nice mill rite in the back ground as well!!

Chris


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## sd624

Tamper84 said:


> Very nice rebuild!!! We like to see pictures of these kinda things!!! Thats a nice mill rite in the back ground as well!!
> 
> Chris



Thanks Tamper84! More pics are coming. Had the Millrite for about ten years. It's a great mill and we have used it a ton. The kid does most of his projects on it now. He claims it as his. 




In this pic he's cleaning up the backlash bushing on the x axis after converting it to the two piece design.


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## itsme_Bernie

I look forward to seeing this thing together!



Bernie


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## RandyM

Great Job! I love seeing these machines getting made new again. Thank you for posting.


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## sd624

So the next step was the column. My plan was to degrees it, sand it down, fill in and the chips, and repaint. The last thing I wanted to do was strip it down to a bare casting. Unfortunately that didn’t work out. The problem was I could not get it to stop weeping oil. I would sit it in the sun for hours and just keep wiping it down over and over again. Finally it stops weeping oil and I painted it. It looked great! Maybe the best painting I had ever done. A day or two later all the paint was bubbling and the weeping started all over again. At that point I accepted my fate and started stripping it with a needle scalar.


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## sd624

I don’t have any pictures of the major stripping of the column with the needle scalar because I didn’t want my son breathing any of the dust that was coming off. 
After the needle scalar I used and wire brush to finish cleaning up the casting. After it was clean I let it sit in the sun for several hours and get nice and warm bring any oil to the surface. Wiped it down with thinner and that was it no more oil problems.


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## sd624

I didn’t have too many deep casting flaws. I have seen some almost big enough you could fit your fist in them. Makes you wonder how bad it would have to be to get rejected. Anyway I filled all the deep flaws filler then covered the whole thing with Bondo.


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## sd624

Next step was sanding and spot puddy. I have to admit it was a lot easier then I thought it was going to be and if I ever do another one I wouldn't think twice about stripping it down to a bare casting.


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## sd624

Next step 2K high build primer to fill in any sanding marks and any spots missed with the spot puddy.

[video=youtube_share;kRIPM0Lhx4A]http://youtu.be/kRIPM0Lhx4A[/video]


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## sd624

Time for paint


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## sd624

While I was waiting for the paint to harden I started on the last part the need some work done.








The pump had a bad o ring and other than being really dirty the rest of it was in good shape. I replace the filter and reservoir.


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## sd624

So with everything painted, cleaned, rebuilt, or whatever and I started to assemble everything. Dropped the knee on the column no problem. Then the saddle on the knee and the problems started. If I adjusted the gib with the saddle in the middle of the knee I couldn't move the saddle to the ends and if I adjusted it at the end of the travel it was to loose in the center of the knee. It was hard for me to get my head around what was going on since before I tore it apart I had full travel with no slop. So I talked to a couple of machine re-builders to confirm my fears. cleaning 40 years of harden grease, oil, and metal chips can give you some problems. So here I am with freshly painted parts that have to be sent to a grinder and then to a shop that can fit, scrape, and flake them. I figure by the time I get them back I'll be redoing everything. The grinder tells me "no problem I can do it without hurting the paint. Sure enough no damage one down one to go. So I call the machine re-builder to do the rest of the work and mention to him that the parts were just painted and if he could do the work without to much damage. Hes says not a problem that because he has guys train in certain areas that to keep production moving that some of his machines are painted before they get to the ways so his guy is very careful and he guaranteed no damage. I couldn't believe it!!! So I loaded up the column, knee, saddle, and table and off they went.

Here are some before and after pics.


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## sd624

Finally I could start putting her back together.















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Turret, ram, and quill housing


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## sd624

Installing the table 









- - - Updated - - -

Next was the belt housing and motor but for some reason I don't have a single pic of the belt housing going on. My photographer must have been on break.





- - - Updated - - -

Next we moved her into place and wired up the RPC to the mill.


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## sd624

Installing the DRO















[video=youtube_share;_Kss7ykIfYc]http://youtu.be/_Kss7ykIfYc[/video]


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## sd624

Next we installed the power draw-bar.







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The last thing....the way covers!!!!!


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## sd624

Just to summarize the machine has been completely taken apart, cleaned, inspected, and any part that was wore or out of spec was replaced. The spindle was sent out for rebuild (3 new bearings and a taper regrind). The table, saddle, knee, gibs and column were sent out for regrinding, scrapping, fitting, and reflaking. All metal parts (table locks, handles, and ect) were cleaned and polished. The one shot oiling system was rebuilt. All new metering jets, new plastic lines, and fittings. Spindle bushings replaced. New drive and timing belt. Gear housing assy completely rebuild. New bearing on the motor. Basically any that that could be done was done. 

I hope you guys enjoy the pics and it wasn't to much!!!!


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## RandyM

WOW!

That is amazing you did all that on a hobby machine. You have one sweet machine. Looks like you thought of everything. Not only the resto but the add-ons. Now the real fun begins, getting it dirty. I bet you had quite the learning experience.


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## sd624

RandM, I learned a lot to say the least. It was a ton of fun and a lot of work. But I would do it again in a second. Thanks for the nice words!!!


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## sd624

Added a shield for the column plus the seal for the way covers had a tiny gap the chips kept getting in. It also stops that from happening.


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## woodtickgreg

Man this thing looks amazing, better than new. I was really liking the mill rite in the back ground, I tried to buy one but the deal never happened. I wish I had the room for a bridgy, yours came out great. I'm glad I found this thread, it was a very educational and fun read. Thanks for doing this.
Greg


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## David

Super nice job on the Bridgeport!  It should last another 50 years.  Nice detail work for sure and great presentation.  Thanks for sharing.

David


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## chip_slinger

Beautiful rebuild! Where did you source the way covers?


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## sd624

Thanks guys I'm glad you like the thread and my BP!!! Woodtick the Millright has been a great mill and is going no where anytime soon. I paid 500 for it about 12 years ago and it was money well spent. I still use it mainly for drilling and the kid makes most of his stuff on it. 

The way covers I got off eBay. McMaster Carr  has them but new they are over 600 bucks. I just kept watching eBay and got these for 150. I see them on there from time to time for about the same price.


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## Tony Wells

You really did a nice job on that mill. You should be proud of it. Probably as good as it ever looked, and likely better in places, since they were doing it for money, and you were doing it for love. 

Congratulations on a job well done!


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## sd624

Tony Wells said:


> You really did a nice job on that mill. You should be proud of it. Probably as good as it ever looked, and likely better in places, since they were doing it for money, and you were doing it for love.
> 
> Congratulations on a job well done!



Thanks!!!!


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## LJP

Great job! I bought a BP that is in decent shape, still learning how to use it. You did an amazing job that seems a bit overwhelming to me right now. Great job! Larry


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## sd624

LJP said:


> Great job! I bought a BP that is in decent shape, still learning how to use it. You did an amazing job that seems a bit overwhelming to me right now. Great job! Larry



Thanks Larry! Lets see some picks of your BP. 

Steve


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## trukker

Wow, very nice job.  Thanks for taking the time to share.


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## sd624

trukker said:


> Wow, very nice job. Thanks for taking the time to share.



Thank you!


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## woodtickgreg

Congratulations on winning p.o.m. well deserved, excellent work and documentation. :man:


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## stevecmo

Congrats!  Well deserved!!!


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## sd624

WOW that's really cool. Thanks everyone!!!'


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## gdu

Fantastic work.

Thanks for posting the pics.

MK


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## core-oil

Absolutely superb workmanship, You have a nice milling machine good as new  I take my hat off to you for your skill & dedication,  Sadly I have noticed on other sites Bridgeport's getting some caustic & disparaging remarks flung at them,   Where I worked some years back, they had Bridgeport's, They are very fine machine tools Ideal for light toolroom duties, to a high accuracy.


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## chips&sparks

A thorough and beautiful restoration. Congratulations! Thank you for posting detailed photos of the process. It reminds me of a Hercus lathe (South Bend replica) I restored many years ago, mainly because of the colour. Mine was pale gray out of a spray can - expensive, but I did not have a compressor then.

One day, I hope to get a Bridgeport. I enjoyed using one at tech. college and like the size and versatility of the machine.


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## sd624

chips&sparks said:


> A thorough and beautiful restoration. Congratulations! Thank you for posting detailed photos of the process. It reminds me of a Hercus lathe (South Bend replica) I restored many years ago, mainly because of the colour. Mine was pale gray out of a spray can - expensive, but I did not have a compressor then.
> 
> One day, I hope to get a Bridgeport. I enjoyed using one at tech. college and like the size and versatility of the machine.



I used Rustileums 7400 DTM Alkyd paint for almost everything. A hand full of small parts were painted with a spray bomb. 

Silver Gray (1 gal) 906402
Light Machine Gray (spray bomb) v2183838


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## chips&sparks

I just did a Google search and could not find Rustoleum here in Australia. I'm sure there are equivalent products.

For anything outdoors, I use zinc-rich paint, 2 coats followed by an enamel, 2 coats. For indoors, anything that bonds well to the base metal. Since I have more experience with automotive paints than industrial paints, I tend to use those products, depending on the finish required. For industrial tools, today I would look for something resistant to cutting fluids and oil, which is what I did not do with my lathe resto 35 years ago!

Thanks for that info.


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## ariscats

This was a dissertation on rebuilding.
Many things learned.How much work was the sanding of Bondo?
Thanks for the presentation.
Ariscats


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## sd624

ariscats said:


> This was a dissertation on rebuilding.
> Many things learned.How much work was the sanding of Bondo?
> Thanks for the presentation.
> Ariscats



It was one of the  easier parts of the rebuild. I used a DA sander and it made quick work of it.


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## Daver

Just wanted to add another congrats on P.O.M!  Totally awesome job!


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## OldSkull

Congratulation! You did an *AMAZING JOB! *I bet that Bridgeport never look that good brand new! I just bough a Millrite lately and I don't know yet how far I want to go in this project, the only part of restoration scaring me is finding a place to have the way redone like yours and how much this cost SO......

Now It's time for you to restore that Millrite for the kid....I promise to be a good listener...)


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## sd624

OldSkull said:


> Now It's time for you to restore that Millrite for the kid....I promise to be a good listener...)



I would like to some day rebuild the Millrite but it's way down on the list. It's a great mill and the 500 bucks I bought it for was the best money I have ever spent. 

Thanks again guys for all the comments on the BP.


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## mikegt4

Back in post #10 you said that you converted the bushing on the x axis of your Millrite to the two piece design. Any details? My Millrite has a lot of slop on the x-axis (screw itself is good, the nut is worn) and I am getting to the point of fixing it. I live less than 20 minutes from Morrison but their replacement nut is apparently made of gold, not bronze.
Mike


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## sd624

mikegt4 said:


> Back in post #10 you said that you converted the bushing on the x axis of your Millrite to the two piece design. Any details? My Millrite has a lot of slop on the x-axis (screw itself is good, the nut is worn) and I am getting to the point of fixing it. I live less than 20 minutes from Morrison but their replacement nut is apparently made of gold, not bronze.
> Mike



Mike, I modified bushing for BP using Millrite.


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## mikegt4

That makes more sense, I couldn't figure out how a Millrite bushing could be a 2 piece.


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## SteveM

sd624 said:


> Added a shield for the column plus the seal for the way covers had a tiny gap the chips kept getting in. It also stops that from happen


WOW. What a great job!


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## dssokhey

sd624 said:


> Added a shield for the column plus the seal for the way covers had a tiny gap the chips kept getting in. It also stops that from happening.


you did a really good job. was it cost effective at the end of the dayk? or would it havee been cheaper to buy a new one


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## sd624

Steven said:


> I'm curious about that too.
> 
> If you ignore the painting, what kind of costs did you hit on the new parts and the rebuild / grind/scrape labour?
> 
> 
> 
> There's a rusty one here that I'd love to redo but I just don't know how smart it would be for me.



So here's a breakdown 

Machine 3500
Re grind and scrap 2400
Spindle rebuild  600
Paint and the rest 800

So about 7300 for the rebuild. 

I guess it's up to you if it's worth it. It's a like new or better than new BP for less than half the cost of a new BP.  You can get a China built machine for less. In a home shop I'm sure it would be just fine.


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## JVL

WOW! that is one of the best rebuilds I have ever seen.


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## Mr.20c

Well Done!

    I know what is involved with tearing down machinery and its no picnic .......


exceptional restoration....

B,


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## Old Rannochian

I'm thinking that selling it would be akin to selling your first born but... what is a total restoration like your excellent job worth if you were to consider selling ???

VERY NICE!

Regards,

OR


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## sd624

Well you're asking a guy who has never sold anything except a few old cars. It would take someone offering a ridiculous amount for me to sell it.


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## OldSkull

sd624 said:


> Well you're asking a guy who has never sold anything except a few old cars. It would take someone offering a ridiculous amount for me to sell it.



You spend $7000 in it, how many hours? 150, 200? About $3000 to $4000 at a cheap rate of $20/hr...Your already over $10,500 before making a profit...A new one like yours cost $17,500, you saved $10,500 doing the job yourself! They need to propose a INSANE amount of money to convince you to sell this beauty. We talking about labor of love here! )


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## sd624

OldSkull said:


> You spend $7000 in it, how many hours? 150, 200? About $3000 to $4000 at a cheap rate of $20/hr...Your already over $10,500 before making a profit...A new one like yours cost $17,500, you saved $10,500 doing the job yourself! They need to propose a INSANE amount of money to convince you to sell this beauty. We talking about labor of love here! )



I'm not sure the total hrs we have into it. I think your close at 150-200. It was no weekend project. LOL 

 Here's the other part of it. My 13 year old son was right along side me throughout the build doing whatever he could to help.  One day I hope it's in his shop and every time he's uses it he thinks of the fun we had rebuilding it together. That to me Is priceless.


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## OldSkull

sd624 said:


> I'm not sure the total hrs we have into it. I think your close at 150-200. It was no weekend project. LOL
> 
> Here's the other part of it. My 13 year old son was right along side me throughout the build doing whatever he could to help.  One day I hope it's in his shop and every time he's uses it he thinks of the fun we had rebuilding it together. That to me Is priceless.



I'm a father of 3 boys, trust me wen I tell you I know what you mean..My younger son have been with me for 2 months this summer (He live with is mother), He tell me he learn more spending two month with me then leaving 10 years with is mom and husband....He finish his school program in November and he ask me to come living with me...Yep I know what priceless mean... 

This Bridgeport is a special one...No money can buy this one )


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## Muzzer

mikegt4 said:


> Back in post #10 you said that you converted the bushing on the x axis of your Millrite to the two piece design. Any details? My Millrite has a lot of slop on the x-axis (screw itself is good, the nut is worn) and I am getting to the point of fixing it. I live less than 20 minutes from Morrison but their replacement nut is apparently made of gold, not bronze.
> Mike



Here are some pics of me splitting my nuts(!). 

This is what I found - single piece replacement bronze nuts. Not pretty - and worn.



After parting off with a std 1/8" tool and cleaning up. Note the (original) key.



Back in its housing, with adjuster nut and keep nuts. These were original, so presumably it shipped with 2-part nuts when new:



Both nuts modified and refitted, ready to go back in:



Back in the saddle:



View of the Y axis adjusters, handle removed, looking into the saddle:



Of course, the leadscrews are still worn, more in the middle than the ends, so if I eliminate all backlash at the middle, it will force my half nuts apart(!) and bend the adjuster screws. And I'll still have backlash in the middle. You have to be sensible! A big improvement though. And with a DRO, the backlash becomes less important. That was the next modification....

Muzzer


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## rdtbull

Amazing! I cant stop looking!


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## NEL957

Wonderful build, now you have the machine you always wanted. The only question I have is why not all 3 axis DRO? Lovely machine!
Nelson Collar


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## sd624

NEL957 said:


> Wonderful build, now you have the machine you always wanted. The only question I have is why not all 3 axis DRO? Lovely machine!
> Nelson Collar



That's a question I ask myself every time I use it.


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## Muzzer

Completely agree. I installed a 3 axis DRO on my clone and a lot of stuff that was painful has become quick simple and deadly accurate.

I made a mistake when I specified the Z scale for the knee and ended up with an extra scale. I cut that down and fitted it to the quill so I now have a choice of Z axes. For heavy stuff I use the knee scale and for drilling and boring I use the quill scale.


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## Kickstart

Muzzer said:


> Completely agree. I installed a 3 axis DRO on my clone and a lot of stuff that was painful has become quick simple and deadly accurate.
> 
> I made a mistake when I specified the Z scale for the knee and ended up with an extra scale. I cut that down and fitted it to the quill so I now have a choice of Z axes. For heavy stuff I use the knee scale and for drilling and boring I use the quill scale.



This post would be much better with a picture


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## Muzzer

Fair enough! Here's how I did it:

Firstly I removed the quill feed trip mechanism from the head:



This is what comes off. It's a good time to clean it all up and check it all looks fit. On mine, the "ball reverse lever" was a bit bent but I was able to straighten it out without breaking it.



I then butchered the quill stop knob so that I had a feature to locate on and a couple of threaded holes (you can see this happening in the first pic). I'm quite happy to perpetrate this kind of damage on my machine tools, as you can see from the final picture:



I then made up a bracket that mated with this feature and extended out to where the scale slider would be:



Here's the scale mounted to the head and a view showing the slider mounted to the quill stop knob using this bracket:



This is what it looks like with all the bits back in place and the scale assembled:



You can see the 2 Z scales here - the quill scale which I use for drilling and boring at the top and the knee scale which is more useful for heavy machining which requires the whole table to be raised at the bottom. Both have their uses and I go round the back of the DRO to swap the plugs over if needed. I suppose I could use both at the same time if I ever needed to by unplugging the X or Y axis instead but that seems unlikely.



Cutting the scale down to size was another exercise - there's a glass scale inside the scale housing that you need to shorten but it's actually fairly straightforward if you just think it through carefully. There's also a zero datum point that you don't want to accidentally lose in the process by cutting off the wrong piece!

Hope you find this interesting. I only did it because I had a spare scale left over but in the end I'd recommend it if you have the motivation and means to do so.

Muzz


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## sd624

Today I finally got around to doing the last thing to this rebuild. I still had not adjusted the pivot pin for the speed change plate. So I new the RPM dial was not indicating true spindle speed. 




When I put the belt housing together I just set the pivot pin by the whiteness marks. I figured it would be close. 

As you can see the spindle was running about 180 RPM faster the the speed dial indicated. 




A couple of turns of the pivot pin and right on the money. 




It's right on from the bottom end to about 1800. 




I tested it up to 3000RPM and it slowly starts to move of the mark above 1800. 




I can live with it being off 27 RPM at 3k since ill never run it that fast anyway.


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## al.t

Great work .
I will be starting a rebuild  soon also.
It almost looks to good to use 
Al


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## Splat

I must admit, I'm jealous! Very nice work and now, what a beautiful machine! She's almost too pretty too use now. I think the best part of this whole thing is the time spent with your son and the memories, and maybe the machine, he'll have.


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## ariscats

sd624 said:


> Today I finally got around to doing the last thing to this rebuild. I still had not adjusted the pivot pin for the speed change plate. So I new the RPM dial was not indicating true spindle speed.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> When I put the belt housing together I just set the pivot pin by the whiteness marks. I figured it would be close.
> 
> As you can see the spindle was running about 180 RPM faster the the speed dial indicated.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A couple of turns of the pivot pin and right on the money.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's right on from the bottom end to about 1800.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I tested it up to 3000RPM and it slowly starts to move of the mark above 1800.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I can live with it being off 27 RPM at 3k since ill never run it that fast anyway.



Any way "SPEEDS ARE APPROXIMATE"  though i don't know if i can live with 1% inacurracy


 	 		 			:roflmao:


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## hvontres

sd624 said:


> I can live with it being off 27 RPM at 3k since ill never run it that fast anyway.



You might be supprised.... This Chart shows that a 1/4 endmill @ 200 sfm runs at 3056 RPM. And keep in mind, that in Aluminum, you can run 400-1000 sfm with HSS tools


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## Kickstart

Outstanding Job on the BP and I also like your Tee shirt on the video. :thumbzup3:


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## sd624

hvontres said:


> You might be supprised.... This Chart shows that a 1/4 endmill @ 200 sfm runs at 3056 RPM. And keep in mind, that in Aluminum, you can run 400-1000 sfm with HSS tools



I know the charts show some high RPM for the smaller dia. Tooling but that doesn't mean I'll run the old girl that fast.


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## sd624

Kickstart said:


> Outstanding Job on the BP and I also like your Tee shirt on the video. :thumbzup3:



Thanks Kickstart!


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## EmilioG

Awesome!
Outstanding work and quite an inspiration.
That's it. I'm buying a good used BP and doing the same thing.


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## blay127

incredible restoration/rebuild! great job! and i'm sure you smile every time you use it


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## Ski

Very nice job ! I think it has to be the best documented one I have seen yet. I redid a Lagun to include a regrind that seems pale in comparison. I did not take enough pics though. Congrats !


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