# Benchtop Bridgeport - what would you do?



## cederholm

Hi all,

I am a novice machine hobbyist with a with benchtop Bridgeport mill that I would love to use. My father bought it at an auction and never hooked it up. When he passed I inherited it. The problem is that it doesn't have a cross feed bed. Can they be purchased? Is it worth messing around with this?

My hope is to use it for small projects.

Would love any advice/thoughts. Pictures below.
~ Carl


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## darkzero

That's pretty cool. Looks like a drill press to me & not a mill. Never knew those existed.


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## Bill C.

darkzero said:


> That's pretty cool. Looks like a drill press to me & not a mill. Never knew those existed.



I never seen one either.  Looks like a lite duty machine.  Maybe a tool room mill.


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## Billh50

Looks like someone took a Bridgeport head and mounted it to a drill press stand. You can  get a cross slide table for that just about anywhere that sells tooling. Won't be as sturdy as a real miller but would do for light work.


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## Bill C.

cederholm said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I am a novice machine hobbyist with a with benchtop Bridgeport mill that I would love to use. My father bought it at an auction and never hooked it up. When he passed I inherited it. The problem is that it doesn't have a cross feed bed. Can they be purchased? Is it worth messing around with this?
> 
> My hope is to use it for small projects.
> 
> Would love any advice/thoughts. Pictures below.
> ~ Carl




Looks like you need a cross feed table to make it a milling machine.  If it was mine try a Google search for a manual or more photos.  I have never seen one, may have been a special built production WWII era machine.

Be sure to mount it on a heavy duty bench so any vibration will not weaken the table.  I did read one advantage is it should be a direct electrical plug in. Apparently newer models are out there.


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## T Bredehoft

I'm with Billh50, its a marriage. Its pure Bridgeport until you get to the  pivot at the back.  the unit on the column with the pivot in it is shop made to fit the two together. It still has the draw bar to tighten collets or tool holders, it just need a table. 

It have it in a minute, were it offered.


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## cederholm

Thanks for the input everyone. The machine was purchases in the late '80 for a Raytheon auction and I assumed it used for something special. 

Thanks for the info about the cross feed table, any brand recommendations?   

Currently I use my Maximat Compact (see pic below) for light duty milling/learning to mill. Do you think this Bridgeport would be capable of heavier duty milling? Heavier than then the Maximat that is. 



	

		
			
		

		
	
  ...borrowed this pic off the internet but it's the same as mine.


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## GA Gyro

I do not remember where I saw it, however I think I saw an add for a table that had both X and Y axis, screw driven, something like a foot square or so, and was around $400 give/take.  Not very big, and I would not think it was 'that' accurate... however to do things like slots, facing, etc... probably would work fine.

Do a Google on it.. I suspect there are lots of offerings.


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## cederholm

That pivot always did look odd to me, now this makes sense!



T Bredehoft said:


> I'm with Billh50, its a marriage. Its pure Bridgeport until you get to the  pivot at the back.  the unit on the column with the pivot in it is shop made to fit the two together.


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## mzayd3

I am thinking that might be too much like adding a table to a drill press.  Milling requires rigidity and mass.  I think you might be disappointed, just as I was when I added a table to my drill press.


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## mattthemuppet2

you're not going to shower yourself with chips using it, but a nice X-Y table from Grizzly or Enco would let you do some light milling. It'll certainly be better than no mill 

My only worry would be how much height you'll have between spindle and table once you've put a table and perhaps a vise on the table?

Another way to look at it - this might work just fine until that cheap unappreciated small horizontal mill pops up on CL near you. Quick bit of fabrication later and you'll have a cool vertical/ horizontal mill


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## thomas s

That is one cool machine. If you don't get a table for it I would use it as a drill press. thomas s


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## cjtoombs

If that Bridgeport head is in good shape, you may be able to sell it for enough to get something that will work better as a mill than anything you can do with that.  The suggestion to get a small horizontal mill and add that as a vertical head is also a good one.  Someone else could probably look on ebay and find a Bridgeport in great shape missing a head for scrap metal price, but I don't have that kind of luck.


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## LEEQ

I would look for a mill with no head or crapped out head for scrap money and marry your head to it. I believe it came off a m head Bridgeport so that would be the easiest match up. I saw a nice solid x/y table 17" x  10" with dovetail ways and lead screw for the low low price of 8oo bucks. That would be the most advisable style of table for what you have in mind, not cheap flimsy drill press x/y tables.  Two options, for my money I would want a mill put together for less than the good x/y table if I already owned the head.  ) I like the horizontal mill idea! That would lend itself to fixing up a very versatile machine. A lot folks wind up selling horizontal machines for less than vertical ones.


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## Eddyde

I concur, it's a shop made hybrid, bourn of Bridgeport head and unknown drill press base. While not a mill yet,
the X-Y table will work and should give you as good results as any similarly sized mill/drill would. However, as mentioned above, your Z axis clearance looks like it will be very limited. To fix that, you could replace the column with a longer one, it should be a fairly standard size.


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## cederholm

Fantastic help everyone! I like the horizontal mill idea and the Bridgeport base idea. I need to start researching. Do you all agree that I have an M head?


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## Holescreek

Yep, an M head.  I'm surprised it's not too top heavy the way it's set up. By the time you put an XY table under it there wouldn't be any room for anything else.  I used to see headless Bridgeports on Ebay once and awhile, If that falls through, that head is worth around $200 by itself.


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## chips&more

Yes as stated, it’s a Bridgeport M head stuck on a little drill press base…interesting. If you are looking for just one milling machine. The “M” style head is not really the best choice. And if you want a Bridgeport, then probably a Series I with a J head would be the one. Maybe sell what you have and use that $ to help fund a real mill…Good Luck, Dave.


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## CluelessNewB

I'm about 99% sure the base and table are Walker Turner drill press parts.  I believe they are probably from a WT 900 15".


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## Dave Smith

I would save it and if you find an atlas horizontal mill or other small horizontal mill you could use it for vertical convenience ----there also are good XY tables that could be mounted to the base----I saw a M head last year I offered $200 for but the owned wanted $450 and declined.---I have an atlas hor mill that I am converting to vertical ---hang onto it at least till you get a benchtop mill----use it for what it is---it is unique---Dave


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## cederholm

Lots of great advice everyone, I appreciate all the input.

Dave mentions that the M style head might not be the best - can you guys enlighten me about the M style and some of the other Bridgeport heads?






chips&more said:


> Yes as stated, it’s a Bridgeport M head stuck on a little drill press base…interesting. If you are looking for just one milling machine. The “M” style head is not really the best choice. And if you want a Bridgeport, then probably a Series I with a J head would be the one. Maybe sell what you have and use that $ to help fund a real mill…Good Luck, Dave.


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## cederholm

Dave, any perticuar reason that I should consider Atlas? 

Thanks a bunch,
Carl




Dave Smith said:


> I would save it and if you find an atlas horizontal mill or other small horizontal mill you could use it for vertical convenience ----there also are good XY tables that could be mounted to the base----I saw a M head last year I offered $200 for but the owned wanted $450 and declined.---I have an atlas hor mill that I am converting to vertical ---hang onto it at least till you get a benchtop mill----use it for what it is---it is unique---Dave


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## Dave Smith

cederholm said:


> Lots of great advice everyone, I appreciate all the input.
> 
> Dave mentions that the M style head might not be the best - can you guys enlighten me about the M style and some of the other Bridgeport heads?




one thing the J head has better is it takes r8 collets and probably larger ---I'm not sure what the M head spindle takes---you could use yours with a crossslide rotary table and it would be very useful----search ebay for them --there are always some under $150


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## Dave Smith

cederholm said:


> Dave, any perticuar reason that I should consider Atlas?
> 
> Thanks a bunch,
> Carl



Carl---I just thought I could have mounted it on my Atlas on the 1 1/2" support arm is why I made an offer on one--I think you could find a good cross-slide rotary table and just mount it on the lower base of your unit--usually with a rotary table you don't have to have much XY travel----Dave


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## cederholm

Thanks Dave, very helpful.


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## Eddyde

Carl, What kinds work do you intend to mill? If its relatively small hobby stuff than that mill drill set up with an XY table will do just fine. at least to start. For years the only milling capacity I had was just a drill press with a shop made XY table, it certainly wasn't the most capable setup but it could do a lot.


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## cederholm

Hi Eddyde,

Yes small hobby stuff. ...and to learn on. I have a lot to learn about machining. 




Eddyde said:


> Carl, What kinds work do you intend to mill? If its relatively small hobby stuff than that mill drill set up with an XY table will do just fine. at least to start. For years the only milling capacity I had was just a drill press with a shop made XY table, it certainly wasn't the most capable setup but it could do a lot.


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## Holescreek

The "M" or "Master Milling " head was the first head Bridgeport made. It is a great little milling head provided you don't want power feed for boring (it has a manual downfeed handwheel) and don't want to use a collet over 1/2" in diameter. M heads were made in 3 collet sizes with B&S#7 taper and M2 taper being the most common. Collets are sometimes hard to find and can be had in sizes up to 1/2".  I used an M head exclusively for a few years and made my own end mill holders to accept up to 3/4" shanked end mills.  The motor HP being limited at 1/2HP (or was it 3/4?) meant you had to be careful on deep cuts.  My machine did amazing work but because I did a lot of boring I wanted the power downfeed spindle of a J head.  I bought a J-head assembly and made an adapter to mount it to my M-head mill.  I sold the M-head later on to someone that wanted to mount it on a horizontal mill.


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## cederholm

Great overview on the M head, thank you for that. And thank you all for the wealth of information. 

I think my current plan is to clean up the machine, buy a power inverter to get it running and go from there. If it runs well and is mostly complete a table will be in the near future and I'll keep on eye out for a Bridgeport base or a horizontal mill.  

On that note!!! Can anyone share a photo of a vertical/horizontal hybrid? Preferably a home-built unit.

Thanks all! 
Carl



Holescreek said:


> The "M" or "Master Milling " head was the first head Bridgeport made. It is a great little milling head provided you don't want power feed for boring (it has a manual downfeed handwheel) and don't want to use a collet over 1/2" in diameter. M heads were made in 3 collet sizes with B&S#7 taper and M2 taper being the most common. Collets are sometimes hard to find and can be had in sizes up to 1/2".  I used an M head exclusively for a few years and made my own end mill holders to accept up to 3/4" shanked end mills.  The motor HP being limited at 1/2HP (or was it 3/4?) meant you had to be careful on deep cuts.  My machine did amazing work but because I did a lot of boring I wanted the power downfeed spindle of a J head.  I bought a J-head assembly and made an adapter to mount it to my M-head mill.  I sold the M-head later on to someone that wanted to mount it on a horizontal mill.


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## franklynb

cederholm said:


> Thanks for the input everyone. The machine was purchases in the late '80 for a Raytheon auction and I assumed it used for something special.
> 
> Currently I use my Maximat Compact (see pic below) for light duty milling/learning to mill. Do you think this Bridgeport would be capable of heavier duty milling? Heavier than then the Maximat that is.



Hate to be the "contrarian" :whiteflag: but _someone should say it_. And you asked: "what would I do?"....

If you have a maximat I'd expect the table and post for the M head to UNDERPERFORM what you already have!

*There is no way* you're going to transfer the ~1? HP of that head into that tiny table -- too little clamping; too little
stiffness in the 2-1/2"? post; and you take a chance of flipping that *tiny* *split clamp* table right around the post every time
you hit some hard spot in the material -- or mis-gauge your initial depth of cut guess!

It makes a nice quill for making counterbores/sinks. *That's about it.* Not enough post height to hold a standard drill and chuck.
My Van Norman #12 frequently drives me a little crazy hunting for Z room and it has almost 7 inches between spindle and table!
A 4" drill and ~2" chuck and adapter chew that up pretty quickly.

What good is a drill press where you have to dismount the part to get the drill out? Think about it!

So; trade it for a _real drill press --_ like a Delta 14" or 17" floor model -- making a nice combo with your Maximat. And _"google
is your friend"_. A brief image search of 'cincinatti mill and bridgeport head' yields a fair amount of eye candy and info.
No need to copy those images here! And the linked pages hold lots of beginner info and places to start your search.

You will quickly come to the conclusion that _there is a reason_ these heads are mounted to a beefy table; reasonably spaced
real "ways" and a stout column! This setup is of _extremely _limited use without these features. This is why people mash them
up with old universal mills -- cheap _real iron_ tables of stout design premise to match the HP of the head.

You wouldn't enjoy a 350hp V-8 stuffed into an MG Midget. Same deal here. The basis is too flimsy to make the package 
enjoyable. And if you're not doing this for the pure enjoyment .... nuff said.

I have two of that same drill press base and they cannot handle *any* side load to speak of. They're *extremely useful* with 
the 1/4hp belt drive motor and ~2" stroke quill that came with. Don't waste your money on 
an X-Y table -- only to discover its a dangerous idea as the part comes flying off* with* the table. Or the entire table cracks
off the post at the clamp!

--frankb


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## cederholm

Frank, 

Thank you for your input! Certainly food for thought. I think in the end I would certainly want a heavy duty base for it as you make some great points. 

Regarding the drill press, I have a decent one. (see below) 




franklynb said:


> You wouldn't enjoy a 350hp V-8 stuffed into an MG Midget.
> --frankb



I LOVE this quote - I own two MGBs and many of my MG friends dream about an MG V8. ...I however do not. 

Thanks for your candor - I value it.

~ Carl


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## franklynb

cederholm said:


> Frank,
> Regarding the drill press, I have a decent one. (see below)



Carl

That seals the deal. ) You live in New York City! Put an ad on C/L for an
"M Head looking for a Cinci Mill to Marry" in the tools section  for $500. Someone will be all over it.
Its just a matter of time. My bet? _Less than 24 hours._

That head is _only worth $200_ in the trunk of a guy in Bridgeport CT. Here in LA
its a thousand dollar piece of unobtanium. The New Britain sales types never made it
that far west I guess.

--frankb


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## yendor

You could possibly bolt one of these to the base - Not the Moveable Table but the base itself.

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INPDFF?PMPAGE=434&PARTPG=INLMK3&PMITEM=201-2524


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## mattthemuppet2

yeah, bolting the XY table to the base (and the base to a bench) would be the best option. To be honest though, you're going to spend a fair chunk of change tooling this up (collets, drill chuck, table, vise etc) with stuff that's fairly specific to this machine - probably $2-300 in total. And you would still end up with a not very rigid benchtop mill with a small work envelope. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but for similar money plus the value of the head (or trade + cash) you might be able to end up with a small but decent import benchtop mill or a horizontal to add the head to.

It's certainly something that would be worth exploring (how much do those M-heads go for, especially around you? are there many small mills around?) before you start putting money into it. Either way you'll end up with something that can mill, which is totally awesome (this coming from someone with a drill press, collet chuck and import XY table), but you could end up with something really capable that you'll take a lot longer to grow out of. I know for sure that I can't wait for the day that I get a proper mill, even an X2 or X3 would be a step up!


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## Eddyde

franklynb said:


> you take a chance of flipping that *tiny* *split clamp* table right around the post every time
> you hit some hard spot in the material -- or mis-gauge your initial depth of cut guess!
> 
> Don't waste your money on
> an X-Y table -- only to discover its a dangerous idea as the part comes flying off* with* the table. Or the entire table cracks
> off the post at the clamp!
> 
> --frankb



With all due respect, I think you are being a bit overly dramatic there. For about 8 years I would occasionally mill on a drill press with a shop made XY table and an end mill in a chuck. Was it very accurate, no, but if i took my time, i could do one off work to a few of thousandths. Was it powerful, no, light passes & slow feeds. did it leave a great finish, no, but it got the job done. Sure it wasn't a real mill or an ideal set up but at no time did it exhibit any of those nightmare scenarios you predict, not even close. Some of the things I did with that set-up: Mill keyways & flats on shafts, cut slots in plates for adjusting bolts and cutting openings in electronics enclosures etc. I would bet that Bridgeport head and a quality XY table would do much better than what I had.


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## cederholm

Lots of great feedback everyone. Certainly lots to think about. If I decide to keep it the ultimate goal would be to find a proper base. In the mean time I need to practice and the small mill that I already have. As stated before I have a lot to learn. 

~ Carl


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## Billh50

I have been using a drill press with a cross table for milling for a couple years now. I have had no trouble holding a couple thousands. I can't take more than .030 to .040 off at a time in aluminum. and less in steel. But then I have all kinds of time to get things done. The only thing I have to watch for is if I move the head up or down I have to make sure it is real tight on the column or the head can swing while cutting. It did happen to me once. I got the drill press for nothing and the cross slide was just under $200 in ebay. Considering this drill press is over 50yrs old and the bearings are just now starting to show wear I think it did very well. But even with the bearings starting to go I can get things to within .002 of what I need and closer if I take the time to make multiple passes.
When someone can't afford the proper tools they make do with what they have or can afford.


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## mattthemuppet2

Same here Bill - it's not great and something I hope to remedy in the future, but it's better than not having anything to mill with!


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## markm63

if you decide to try it, you can get a 12x5 1/2 compound cross slide
table off ebay for a little over $150
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SHARS-12-x-...035?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4611534303


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## Quatroclick

If i were you, I would fit the head to an old full sized drill press base, or add a longer column, and get a good chuck.  You would then have, if not the best, certainly one of the coolest drill presses in existence.


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## Alittlerusty

See this is thread is getting old but definitely will be a light light duty setup. First project should be to fab up a stiffer base setup,nthe table clamp under neath  and on the riser will twist veerrrrry easily while milling.


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## scwhite

cederholm said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I am a novice machine hobbyist with a with benchtop Bridgeport mill that I would love to use. My father bought it at an auction and never hooked it up. When he passed I inherited it. The problem is that it doesn't have a cross feed bed. Can they be purchased? Is it worth messing around with this?
> 
> My hope is to use it for small projects.
> 
> Would love any advice/thoughts. Pictures below.
> ~ Carl
> 
> 
> View attachment 180324
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 180325
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 180328


I like it 
 It is a Bridgeport M - head 
  Mounted on a drill press .
     Clausing sold the 8540  horizontal milling 
Machine equiped with this head for a year or two 
 You have a great piece there .
       I would buy a X- Y mill table at Grizzly 
And mount under it .


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## itsme_Bernie

Totally cool little M head machine!  X Y table and you are all set.  Looks, and functions pretty much like a Rusnok that way!  
You may do as well (as mentioned above) to sell the M head and buy something else, as the column on that drill press isn't too stout.  
 Let us know what you do!


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## Silverbullet

If it were mine , id shop around till I found a small horizontal mill , rockford, standard, Hardinage, kent, even atlas . They would have sturdy tables to use and are usually fair priced. I just saw a few under $500. In working condition. Yupp if I wait and watch id find one.
When I wanted a plasma cutter it took over a year to get what I wanted at my price. Esab 875 as new few dents but no damage. Way less then half price of new.
Mills are out there save some money get the horizontal and then youll have both in one.


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