# I am going to look at a bridgeport"HELP"



## rafe (Aug 25, 2014)

I am going to look at a BP tomorrow and to be honest I don't know what I am looking at! It appears to be very old and in very used shape,and I don't think it's going to go cheap, soooo please tell me what i am looking at and and looking for as far as trouble goes ...I think there will be some tooling with it ....what is the model? I was looking at a burke #4 but that didn't pan out....any idea of the value (face value) from photo? Looks kind of rough to me ,but it was in the hands of a talented machinist who passed away ...so it could be a diamond in the rough, I'm looking tomorrow Thanks in advance for the help and insight ...a model and approx. year will help me research it .
Well I can't post photos again ???I'll try later !!


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## rafe (Aug 25, 2014)

*Re: I am going to look at a bridgeport&quot;HELP&quot;*

Can't post photos , It's (BP) has a M 23xx serial number It appears to be an early one to me , however I know very little about them....I am hoping it's got power so I can run it
The top cap with the bridgeport logo is not flat (vertical) where the script is like most I see it kants back at a 35 degree or so angle . I reported not being able to post pics so maybe it can be resolved ...Any info will help me tomorrow thanks

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Can't post photos , It's (BP) has a M 23xx serial number It appears to be an early one to me , however I know very little about them....I am hoping it's got power so I can run it
The top cap with the bridgeport logo is not flat (vertical) where the script is like most I see it kants back at a 35 degree or so angle . I reported not being able to post pics so maybe it can be resolved ...Any info will help me tomorrow thanks


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## rafe (Aug 25, 2014)

had to use Chrome


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## chuckorlando (Aug 25, 2014)

She looks rough. But that means absolutely nothing. You need to check the gibs for adjustment and the ways for slop and sag.You should have a gib adjuster under the alum cover plates that hold in wipers.  Run the table to one side and yank on it and see how much slop it has via a indicator. Run it through all the gears and back gears front and back. Note the backlash.

How much any of it matters to you is dependant on what your buying it for and the price. Hell you cant buy a drill press half as useful as a clapped out knee mill for even close to what they should go for. I assume it's round ram and the loos alone would keep it at 1000 or so no matter how great it really is under the ugly


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## pineyfolks (Aug 25, 2014)

It's a M-head so check what spindle taper it is. It may not be a r-8 and some are hard to find tooling for.


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## chips&more (Aug 25, 2014)

That’s a M head and a short table. I would NOT buy it at any price. The M head does not take R8 collets. But what is that big and heavy fly wheel. A drop hammer maybe? Now that’s worth buying!


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## d4xycrq (Aug 25, 2014)

Rafe,

A round ram Bridgeport in that shape is less than $500.

Ray


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## sd624 (Aug 25, 2014)

With the availability of J heads out their cheap I would stay away of any M head in that kind of shape.


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## rafe (Aug 25, 2014)

Well like I said in the first post , I was going to get a Burke#4 with a vert. Head, this will likely do all the Burke could and more, If I can get it at a real low price I'll take it. I am hoping there is a lot of tooling with it collets and the like. He thought it was worth $3500 I told him I thought that was really high and with a  good bit of tooling and accesories it it might be worth $1500 max in pristine shape. I'd like to get it for $500but that is quite a jump down from his expectations,but I don't think I'll go higher, I'll let you all know thanks ...oh and yes there are lots of other interesting machines


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## billdeme (Aug 25, 2014)

Mack sure you check the spindle bearings. Alot of the time they are pushed too far and just rattle like crazy. Also look at the scrapings on the slides, if they are wore off that will tell you that its been used to death


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## bobby light (Aug 26, 2014)

Seriously listen to the advice other members have already posted. Even for CHEAP don't buy it. Keep looking and spend a little more money for a nice J-head with R-8.
That's quite a bit of work to move that Mill and at the end of the day as you tear it apart to fix one problem you will just probably continue to find other items to fix and by the time you are done you could have had a far superior J head.


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## fastback (Aug 26, 2014)

It is my understanding that parts for an M series mill are a little on the hard side to find.  I also have to agree that a Series 1 would be a better buy.  I bought my Series 1 for $1,200, which I thought was a good buy and then found that I needed new bearings through out the upper end as well as spindle bearings.  That was an added cost of $400.  So if you buy too high and need to do repairs it starts to become a money pit.  I really don't think that there is a real high demand for the M, just my opinion.

So to get to the point I think you should keep looking.

Paul


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## rafe (Aug 26, 2014)

I do appreciate the replies , I have put off looking at it for a while, I will still look at it though, just out of curiosity. Thanks for the input.


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## billdeme (Aug 26, 2014)

Back in the late 90`s I picked up a very nice series 1 cnc Bridgeport. The slides all still had deep scrapings. And EVERYTHING was tight for 5000.00. You can get a strip down model 2014 for 9000. So you do the math.


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## amuller (Aug 31, 2014)

I bought an M-head with a short table and a broken head casting for $300.  Basically scrap price.  If you get one in running order, with a vise and some tooling, $500 might be reasonable.  It will not have an R-8 taper as the spindle is too small.  Most are Morse #2, some are Brown and Sharp #7, a few are a proprietary B'Port taper that looks like a miniature R-8.  They are all limited to a  1/2" shank.  No back gears.  No power downfeed.  Quill travel is only about 3 inches.

I would probably compare it more to a small Rockwell mill, or the smaller Asian mills, than to a J-head B'Port.  Useful within it's capabilities.  M-head parts tend to require some scrounging.  The spindle bearing setup is a bit odd.  But there is far less mechanism to go wrong than in a J-head.

Make sure to read up on how the spindle bearing lubrication system is supposed to work.  That drip oiler feeds oil to the front pulley bearings and from there down into the upper and lower spindle bearings, and then slung off the spindle nose into your face.

am


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## rafe (Dec 30, 2014)

Well I have commited to a 1963 J-head from a friend ....it needs a major clean-up other than that I am taking him at his word that all is well....It hasn't been run in ages and I am hoping I can run it off my lathes static converter without too much difficulty. Don't know if there is a vice or any tooling, it could be buried somewhere in his shop , he is not sure at this point he hasn't done much in there for quite a long timeso it is possible ......I dread moving it but move it I must


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## 18w (Dec 30, 2014)

Regardless of the condition of the J head you will be much happier. You may need to invest some labor or parts at worst but you will have a waaaaay better machine than that M head. Congrats on a wiser choice.

Cheers
Darrell


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## rafe (Dec 30, 2014)

Thanks Darrell, That's why sites like this and the internet in general are so awesome , I get the information I need in a timely manner.I've already got the manual and the year it was made. I can't wait to get into it and throw some chips, another ton of funI'll need to get some r8 collets I have cutters. I'll post some pics later this week hopefully


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## comstock-friend (Jan 7, 2015)

You don't want machines that are being used as benches. The table has to be trashed with all that crap stored on it. The mill looks pretty crap anyway.

Scrap value machine...

John


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## JimDawson (Jan 7, 2015)

+1 what comstock-friend said.

If you can get that one for about 10 cents a pound, then you can probably make some money on it by dropping it at the scrap yard on your way back home.  Looks like cast is going for about 75 cents/lb right now.


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## Wreck™Wreck (Jan 9, 2015)

chips&more said:


> That’s a M head and a short table. I would NOT buy it at any price. The M head does not take R8 collets. But what is that big and heavy fly wheel. A drop hammer maybe? Now that’s worth buying!



Punch Press


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