# Need help identifying Bridgeport



## Mgdoug3 (Jan 17, 2021)

I went and looked at this mill and a 17" Leblond lathe. Both looked in good condition and has all the tooling with them.  I got a good deal so I took a gamble on the mill since I know nothing about mills.  First question, does anyone know what model this is and where to find a manual?  Serial number is MD5135.

I turned the mill on and it would stall easily trying to cut.  I noticed it was hooked to a static phase converter so I'm not sure if it was a dumb operator, motor going south or the static converter cutting the 1 HP motor.  

I'm planning to pick up the mill, lathe, tooling and machinist tool box next weekend.  It was a friend who bought a farm who needs to get rid of it.  I think I paid him a fair price.  He was happy to get it out of the shed and I paid less than mills I've seen on Craigslist.


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## markba633csi (Jan 17, 2021)

I believe that is an M head, round ram with a shorter table like 32" or 36" which are nice hobby size machines. Original power feed which may need some work.  Looks like a swiveling vice too. Nice.
The static converter only gives 2/3 power at best but the capacitors inside may be old and weak.  At least it ran well enough to test it. 
You can get a VFD for it for little money and get full power. 
How about the lathe?  Got any pics?  
-Mark


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## Technical Ted (Jan 18, 2021)

That's a M head. The "M" in the serial number confirms. Go here and you'll most likely find a manual. 



			Bridgeport Machines Inc. - Publication Reprints | VintageMachinery.org
		


You'll have to take measurements and see what the spindle taper is. They came a couple of ways; with a Morse taper #2 (which mine has) and B&S taper IIRC. Definitely not R8. I doubt you'll really need a full HP for the work of a hobbyist. I mounted a 1/2 HP motor on mine when it was mounted on my horizontal B&S mill and used a jack shaft to slow down the spindle RPMs because they are quite fast for a lot of work that I do.

Ted


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## machPete99 (Jan 18, 2021)

Be sure to check what taper it uses as I think the M-Head used something odd (not r-8, maybe MT2?).


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## Ulma Doctor (Jan 18, 2021)

as far as i know, M heads came in 2 flavors, B&S9 and MT2
i spent a lot of time in front of an M head


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## Mgdoug3 (Jan 18, 2021)

I think it's MT2 but can't confirm until I go pick it up.  I remember the bits were tapered and had a flat spot for a set screw to hold it in.  I'm looking forward to getting it home and going over it.


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## Mgdoug3 (Jan 18, 2021)

Here's a picture of the lathe.  It's a 17x54. Has the taper attachment, steady rest, 3 and 4 jaw chuck and dog plate.


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## NCjeeper (Jan 18, 2021)

The Leblond is sexy Old iron.


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## Mgdoug3 (Jan 18, 2021)

I think before the owner passed away, he was getting ready to polish the crankshaft.  The old quick change tool holder is off and laying at the end of the lathe.  I'm assuming polishing since the 3 jaw chuck is on. If he was turning it, I'd assume he would use the 4 jaw.  

I currently have a nice Clausing 4913 but I can use the Leblond for bigger projects.


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## Weldingrod1 (Jan 18, 2021)

That is a jaw dropping collection of lathe dogs! You've got to wonder -why-???

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk


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## hwelecrepair (Jan 19, 2021)

Definitely an M head.  If you were able to stall out the motor, my guess would be closer to a bad motor than phase converter.  I run a 1/2 HP motor on my M head on a phase converter and cant stall it out.  

That looks like one of the hi speed M heads, I wonder if it the original high speed motor. 

I have basically this exact mill at the shop next to an EZ Path and TC30.

Jon


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## Mgdoug3 (Jan 19, 2021)

This might sound like a stupid question so bare with me.  To measure the table (like 9x30, 9x42, etc) do you just measure the length and width?


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## NC Rick (Jan 19, 2021)

I owned an M-head for many years.  I had replaced the stock motor with a single phase motor on a custom bracket.  The drive spline was worn on mine so it clattered (made a lot of noise) on certain cuts.  Mine was pretty worn and didn't like to use carbide cutters.  It was a very useful machine with 4,000 rpm spindle speed.  I kinda wish I still had it. I'd try to fix the spline drive.   I think I have a couple collets for the M- Bridgeport laying around.  You would be welcome to them if they would be helpful to you.


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## hwelecrepair (Jan 19, 2021)

Yup, just measure the length of the table from end to end.


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## Mgdoug3 (Jan 19, 2021)

NC Rick said:


> I owned an M-head for many years.  I had replaced the stock motor with a single phase motor on a custom bracket.  The drive spline was worn on mine so it clattered (made a lot of noise) on certain cuts.  Mine was pretty worn and didn't like to use carbide cutters.  It was a very useful machine with 4,000 rpm spindle speed.  I kinda wish I still had it. I'd try to fix the spline drive.   I think I have a couple collets for the M- Bridgeport laying around.  You would be welcome to them if they would be helpful to you.


Thanks for the offer.  Before I say yes I need to get the machine home and see what all tools I have.  I noticed there was also a whole collection of 5c collets but I don't know if they go with the Leblond lathe or the smaller Logan 200.


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## Technical Ted (Jan 19, 2021)

Mgdoug3 said:


> Here's a picture of the lathe.  It's a 17x54. Has the taper attachment, steady rest, 3 and 4 jaw chuck and dog plate.



I'm jealous! That exactly the lathe I've been looking for! I'd love to own that, because that's the vintage of LeBlonds I ran when I first starting learning how to machine.

Ted


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## Mgdoug3 (Jan 20, 2021)

I might have ran the direction switch in reverse on the mill.  In my defense, the shop didn't have the best lighting.  When I turned the machine on, I turned the switch clockwise.  I watched a video earlier today and noticed the operator turned the switch counterclockwise.


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## hman (Jan 20, 2021)

Typical of Bridgeports and clones, the mill head has a "back gear" setup.  This provides a second set of (slower) speeds. Unfortunately, back gear reverses the spindle direction. So when in back gear, you'd turn the directional switch "the other way."


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## Mgdoug3 (Jan 24, 2021)

I got 95% of everything today.  I have everything moved into the shop but I need to make space before I set everything up.  The dog plates ended up not going with the lathe.  It turns out the faceplate was for a much bigger lathe.  The good news is that it did come with a full assortment of 5C collets.  I need to get the machines cleaned up before I post any more pictures. 

Here's the spindle end for the Bridgeport.  My MT2 chuck for my Clausing lathe doesn't fit it. Which type of bit would this one take?


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## Mgdoug3 (Jan 24, 2021)

I also have a phase converter to install. It mentions wires A, B, and C.  The ground wire is easy to figure out, but I have 3 wires coming from the motor.  They're white, black and green. Does anyone know which wires are which?


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## Technical Ted (Jan 24, 2021)

Here's some info on the various Bridgeport heads:





__





						Bridgeport Vertical Heads
					

Bridgeport Series One ram-head Milling machines. The world's most successful and so widely copied milling machine.



					www.lathes.co.uk
				




Ted


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## Mgdoug3 (Jan 24, 2021)

I got the lathe and mill hooked up. The lathe was easy since it was single phase and just had to switch plugs.  The mill was trickier. I had two different static phase converters and neither one liked trying to start the mill.  VFD box is on the way.  Quick question on hooking it up. How do I plug in the power feed motor?  It's working but it is also 3 phase.  Do I hook both motors together?


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## hwelecrepair (Jan 25, 2021)

Were both of the phase converters using the same wall power?  If that is the case, then you should only run one phase converter and wire them both up to that one.  I have seen that using power from the same "breaker" can cause really weird stuff.

Jon


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## Mgdoug3 (Jan 25, 2021)

I installed another breaker and wire it to the static converter.  I messed around with it today and installed the static converter on the small power feed motor and it works fine. Hopefully tomorrow my VFD box comes in and I'll power up the mill again.


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## Mgdoug3 (Jan 27, 2021)

The only thing I could find wrong with the mill after the VFD is that the plastic fine tune handle was cracked.  I found a bar of 5" aluminum and turned it down with my new to me Leblond.  It took longer than I imagined but it's done and I'm happy with the results. Not perfect, but better than it was.  Judging by the pattern on the front, I trammed the mill in just right.


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