# Just bought a ABC Bridgeport style mill.



## zamboni2354 (Oct 15, 2019)

Hey guys,

I've been using a little Rockwell horizontal vertical combo Mill in my home shop for years. I went out to look at a metal lathe and ended up swinging a deal on this machine.

The lathe that I bought is Webb Takisawa. I know on that machine it was made by takisawa and imported under various names, Webb being one of them. Is that the case with this Mill? And if so, what should i Google to find more info and a manual? The person I purchased it from said that they bought the machines new and they would have the original paperwork. I'm hoping that they find the original Manuel before I go to pick it up this weekend.

Thanks

Jeff
	

	
	
		
		

		
			











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## markba633csi (Oct 22, 2019)

Hi Jeff, Bridgeport clones were given a multitude of different names- the factory that built yours may be out of business but you may still be able to find some compatible parts from HW machines:  www.machinerypartsdepot.com
mark


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## zamboni2354 (Oct 22, 2019)

markba633csi said:


> Hi Jeff, Bridgeport clones were given a multitude of different names- the factory that built yours may be out of business but you may still be able to find some compatible parts from HW machines:  www.machinerypartsdepot.com
> mark


Thanks for the info!! Picked it up on Sunday! What a day..whew im still tired!


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## pontiac428 (Oct 22, 2019)

ABC is made by Index.  Index is still in business.  Parts likely fit similar models from Sharp, Acer, and the other BP clones from the last 30 years.


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## plunger (Oct 22, 2019)

Fancy trailer.


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## Cadillac (Oct 22, 2019)

Drop trailers make a difference with moving heavy equipment. Looks like half a shop on her, nice haul.


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## zamboni2354 (Oct 22, 2019)

pontiac428 said:


> ABC is made by Index.  Index is still in business.  Parts likely fit similar models from Sharp, Acer, and the other BP clones from the last 30 years.


Thanks for that info!

Jeff


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## NCjeeper (Oct 22, 2019)

Yeah nice trailer load of machines there.


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## markba633csi (Oct 24, 2019)

Pontiac: interesting factoid about Index and ABC- were they actually made here or offshore and assembled here? I'm guessing probably the latter or they would have the Index name on them
M


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## pontiac428 (Oct 25, 2019)

markba633csi said:


> Pontiac: interesting factoid about Index and ABC- were they actually made here or offshore and assembled here? I'm guessing probably the latter or they would have the Index name on them
> M



That's my conclusion exactly.  My gut says Taiwan, but if the machine's old enough it could also have been from Japan.  Makes more sense that it's an offshore product line from Wells-Index rather than an acquisition.  Of course, who's to say if the Index CNC company of today is even the same as Index of the 1980s.  The nice part is that Index has a part locator service on their web site...


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## brino (Oct 25, 2019)

Jeff,

Did you get the manuals too?

Some Wells-Index ones are available here: http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgIndex/detail.aspx?id=2280&tab=3
...but I don't know enough about your mill to say if it's one of them.....

-brino


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## pontiac428 (Oct 25, 2019)

How much of this matches you ABC?


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## zamboni2354 (Oct 25, 2019)

brino said:


> Jeff,
> 
> Did you get the manuals too?
> 
> ...



I didn't get the manuals. They took my info in case they find it. They said their dad didn't throw anything away. They found paperwork for the Carolina bandsaw but not the mill, lathe, or surface grinder yet.

Jeff


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## zamboni2354 (Oct 25, 2019)

pontiac428 said:


> How much of this matches you ABC?



Thanks. It's similar but mine has more stuff on the left size of the head and the colimn is shaped different.

On a side note, i wiped down the ways and they are looking good so far.

Jeff


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## Stonebriar (Oct 25, 2019)

Good job on the machine purchases.  It looks like you hit the jackpot.


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## zamboni2354 (Nov 4, 2019)

Had a little helper yesterday. Working on cleaning the mill. The outside looks pretty good, the inside well, that's going to take a lot more work.


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## pontiac428 (Nov 5, 2019)

You really got the outside clean, what's in the squirt bottle?


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## zamboni2354 (Nov 5, 2019)

pontiac428 said:


> You really got the outside clean, what's in the squirt bottle?


Total Clean. It's like purple power. Got it at Wal-Mart. 

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## zamboni2354 (Nov 8, 2019)

Got the gunk out of the head for the most part. It's good enough for who it's for lol. Now to get the innards all spiffy and put back before i forget where they go!


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## zamboni2354 (Nov 9, 2019)

The lower part of the head is all back together and looking spiffy. Now on to the upper part to finish the job.


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## pontiac428 (Nov 12, 2019)

Looking very clean!  Nice work!


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## zamboni2354 (Nov 12, 2019)

pontiac428 said:


> Looking very clean! Nice work!


Thanks! I appreciate that. I'm waiting on some bearing for the head so i can finish it. Since i was waiting, I went ahead and cleaned the left side and cleaned some of the ways...which look pretty good btw. 

Jeff
	

	
	
		
		

		
			








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## pontiac428 (Nov 12, 2019)

Not much visible wear on the ways, looks like you got a real gem.  Have you gone after the surface rust on the table yet?  What are you planning to use?  I let mine sit in a new building with concrete that was still letting a lot of water vapor off, and I got some surface rust .  I was going to try steel wool and light oil, what's your plan?


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## zamboni2354 (Nov 12, 2019)

pontiac428 said:


> Not much visible wear on the ways, looks like you got a real gem. Have you gone after the surface rust on the table yet? What are you planning to use? I let mine sit in a new building with concrete that was still letting a lot of water vapor off, and I got some surface rust . I was going to try steel wool and light oil, what's your plan?


Yes, i hope so!

Im just going to scrape it with a razor blade, then I'll go over it with 0000 steel wool and wd-40. Here's a test section. Im just trying to clean it up. I don't need to remove the patina. 

Jeff
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




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## Janderso (Nov 12, 2019)

It\s looking really good.


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## zamboni2354 (Nov 13, 2019)

Finished with the head and put it on. Cleaned a little more on it. Getting closer to cutting chips on it!


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## pontiac428 (Nov 13, 2019)

That is a fantastic result for your cleaning efforts.  Gives me hope for the job I have ahead on mine.  The table came out looking nice!


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## rjs44032 (Nov 13, 2019)

That machine looks beautiful. Nice find. Good for you. 

Best Regards,
Bob


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## zamboni2354 (Nov 14, 2019)

pontiac428 said:


> That is a fantastic result for your cleaning efforts. Gives me hope for the job I have ahead on mine. The table came out looking nice!


Thanks! It's been a fun project and im looking forward to seeing how it performs!

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## zamboni2354 (Nov 14, 2019)

rjs44032 said:


> That machine looks beautiful. Nice find. Good for you.
> 
> Best Regards,
> Bob


Thanks Bob!

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## zamboni2354 (Nov 16, 2019)

Cleaned my nuts and laid some pipe. Lol ..yep, both x and y axis nuts and new tubing for the one shot oiler.


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## zamboni2354 (Nov 20, 2019)

It rained today and was like 60 degrees and hard to get in the garage because crap I normally keep outside was put in the garage so they didn't get wet. I was able to squeeze thru and do a 8 buck improvement to the servo powerfeed 

The rain is supposed to stop tomorrow, then it's back to normal...

Jeff in long Beach


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## mmcmdl (Nov 21, 2019)

zamboni2354 said:


> Cleaned my nuts and laid some pipe.



Hm ………………………..there you go a bragging again . The mill is looking nice !


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## pontiac428 (Nov 21, 2019)

Where did you find the black cap to replace the rubber and hose clamp?!


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## zamboni2354 (Nov 21, 2019)

pontiac428 said:


> Where did you find the black cap to replace the rubber and hose clamp?!


I found several places online, but about the cheapest I found once I included shipping was H&W Machinery Repair. They have a bunch of videos online where Barry does repairs and disassembly of Bridgeport.






						Servo 140 Parts
					

Servo 140 Parts




					www.machinerypartsdepot.com
				





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## pontiac428 (Nov 21, 2019)

That is a very helpful resource for parts and videos, thank you for sharing.


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## zamboni2354 (Nov 28, 2019)

Not a lot of progress on the mill this week. Got it mounted on leveling feet and mounted the DRO display...oh, and most importantly, i refilled the shop mini fridge...
	

	
	
		
		

		
			














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## oliverarn (Dec 1, 2019)

Nice job on the cleanup and repipe. 
Looks a lot better than it did when purchased.


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## Cheeseking (Dec 1, 2019)

Just saw this thread. Congrats sir thats one good looking mill. Almost as nice as mine haha ! ! Ok Ok - I’ll go with equally as nice. Very rare to come across these manual BP knee mills that aren’t completely thrashed and abused, or repainted junk. 
I like your leveling feet also. I did the same thing with the cross bars but used 2”sq tube only because it was on hand at the time. I like yours with the flat bars better since they don’t raise it as much.


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## bobdog (Dec 9, 2019)

Fluid film to keep it from rusting again...


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## Dabbler (Dec 9, 2019)

nice score!  great work in restoring it!


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## zamboni2354 (Dec 10, 2019)

bobdog said:


> Fluid film to keep it from rusting again...


Love that stuff....well maybe not the smell..haha. 

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## zamboni2354 (Dec 10, 2019)

Dabbler said:


> nice score! great work in restoring it!


Thanks! I picked up a kurt vise a while back and am still waiting for it to arrive but I'll use the vise that is on it. I think it's going to be a great mill for me!

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## finsruskw (Jan 4, 2020)

If I didn't know better...…..

Jet JTM-2 from the '80.s

Really curious as to what you placed in the gear boxes in the way of grease?
Jet told me (on the phone) to pack mine with plain gun grease.


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## zamboni2354 (Jan 6, 2020)

finsruskw said:


> If I didn't know better...…..
> 
> Jet JTM-2 from the '80.s
> 
> ...


Looks just like it!  I downloaded a jet manual. It has the one piece x-y nut casting kind of like the bridgeport. That's the inly off thing I've found with this one, that they're separate. 

I had some mobil ep2 grease so i just used it. Hopefully it's fine. Lol

Jeff


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## Dabbler (Jan 6, 2020)

@zamboni2354 , Please check that the EP grease has no sulfur additives in it...  The sulfur leaches the copper from bras/bronze and leaves the surface to crumble. Otherwise non-sulfur EP greases are just fine.


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## zamboni2354 (Jan 12, 2020)

Got the y axis scale mounted. The x axis scale i have is for a 46 overall length with 36 inch read. I need a 30 in read, 40 inch OAL, so the x axis will have to wait until i find someone to trade with or sell this one and buy the one I need.

Unfortunately the casting wasn't straight so i wasn't able to put the guard flush against it. It'll work but im sure ill be getting metal stuck in the gaps. I might fill it....


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## Dabbler (Jan 12, 2020)

This happens on a lot of installations.  What I did on my machines was to run a bead of silicone calk along the topside, to prevent chip buidup and make cleaning easier.


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## zamboni2354 (Jan 12, 2020)

Dabbler said:


> This happens on a lot of installations.  What I did on my machines was to run a bead of silicone calk along the topside, to prevent chip buidup and make cleaning easier.



Thanks, that sounds like the way to go. 

Jeff


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## zamboni2354 (Jan 12, 2020)

Dabbler said:


> This happens on a lot of installations. What I did on my machines was to run a bead of silicone calk along the topside, to prevent chip buidup and make cleaning easier.


I also picked up some way covers. I just noticed the front one is wide enough to cover the area. I'll check the rear one when i get home. If that's the case then i should be good to go! 

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## zamboni2354 (Jan 13, 2020)

Dabbler said:


> This happens on a lot of installations.  What I did on my machines was to run a bead of silicone calk along the topside, to prevent chip buidup and make cleaning easier.




Front way cover installed. It covers the scale nicely.


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## finsruskw (Jan 13, 2020)

Gosh, I don't remember taking those pictures  

Will soon be starting the DRO installation on my Jet
Went with DRP Pro's on the advise of a friend that has one on his lathe.


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## macardoso (Jan 13, 2020)

What a beautiful machine! Great cleaning job!


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## zamboni2354 (Feb 1, 2020)

macardoso said:


> What a beautiful machine! Great cleaning job!


Thanks! Im really happy wirh this machine!

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## zamboni2354 (Feb 1, 2020)

finsruskw said:


> Gosh, I don't remember taking those pictures
> 
> Will soon be starting the DRO installation on my Jet
> Went with DRP Pro's on the advise of a friend that has one on his lathe.


Lol. More pics you don't remember taking....
Installing a and y axis power feeds. Working on the limit switches now. 
Jeff in long beach.
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





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