# Bridgeport Vise Repair Advice?



## GarageGuy (Sep 1, 2015)

I have a friend that has an old Bridgeport 6" milling vise, and the brass insert with the threads for the lead screw are completely stripped out.  I thought this would be an easy replacement since there have to be millions of these vises out there, but I've come up empty.  Nothing on eBay, nothing in Google (?!?), nothing on YouTube, and nothing here when I did a search.  Maybe he's the first person on earth to ever have one strip out?  

I could probably make one, but it's hard for me to believe that repair parts don't exist.  Not even an aftermarket or Chinese import.    You would think that being made out of brass/bronze, it would be considered a wear part.

I called a Bridgeport repair company in Ft Wayne, IN.  H&W, I think?  Even he didn't know where to find one. 

If anyone knows a source for something like this, please let me know.

Thanks!

GG


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## projectnut (Sep 1, 2015)

I haven't looked that close at the screw and nut assembly on any of my vices, but I would think they are acme thread.  McMaster Carr sells a variety of acme nuts.  When I had to repair the cross slide on my lathe I purchased a acme precision threaded rod and nut from them.  The nut had to be modified to fit the application, but 5 years later it still working fine.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#general-purpose-acme-nuts/=yr7mx4


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## GarageGuy (Sep 1, 2015)

That looks like it might be the way to go.  Are the inserts press fitted into the Bridgeport vises?  There are no retaining clips, keyways, or screws... so it either has to be a press fit or screwed into the casting.

Thanks!

GG


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## Silverbullet (Sep 2, 2015)

Has to be a parts breakdown somewhere. Or a youtuber has replaced or made one . Gona try and see,  if yes I'll let you know.


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## Billh50 (Sep 2, 2015)

If your talking about the threaded bushing in the movable jaw on an original bridgeport milling vise. Then the bushing is pinned in the jaw. If you look real good you should see the top of the pin about 3/8" from the back of the jaw. As to whether it is a slip fit or press fit I am not sure. But should be easy enough to remove. The cylindrical acme nuts that are in the link given by projectnut should work nicely for a replacement.


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## GarageGuy (Sep 2, 2015)

Silverbullet said:


> Has to be a parts breakdown somewhere. Or a youtuber has replaced or made one . Gona try and see,  if yes I'll let you know.


That's what I thought, but I couldn't find one.  Someone could have made some money, because I would have bet there would be a video or a parts breakdown.  Maybe I just used the wrong search words and missed it?  I searched on: "Bridgeport vise" brass insert, threaded brass insert, threaded bronze insert, lead screw, parts, replacement parts, etc.

Hope you have better luck than I did searching!  Thanks!

GG

Sent using Tapatalk from someplace deep inside the garage


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## Billh50 (Sep 2, 2015)

I forgot to mention. Once the rear jaw is removed from the vise and the pin driven out. There is a through hole behind the hardened jaw to allow for removal of the bushing.


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## GarageGuy (Sep 2, 2015)

Thanks Bill.  We have disassembled the vise and found the through hole in the casting of the moveable jaw.  I will have to look more closely to see if I can find the pin.  After that, it should be fairly straightforward using the round Acme nut from McMaster-Carr.

I won't have a chance to work on it for awhile, but I will post back with the results.

Sent using Tapatalk from someplace deep inside the garage


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## Billh50 (Sep 3, 2015)

The pin  is usually hard to see as it is put in before the jaw is finished and may just look like a ring mark. I have had some in the past that I could not locate. When that happened I just carefully bored out the old bushing and then drilled a new pin hole after installing a new bushing.


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## kd4gij (Sep 4, 2015)

Buy a $5.00 part ? When you could make one for $20.00 plus your time.  What a novelty idea.


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## Bob Korves (Sep 5, 2015)

I have one of those 6" Bridgeport vises and it is really stout!  The nut damage probably happened by hammering on the handle.  Don't do it!  I was able to get my vise nicely fitted so the movable jaw cannot rise more than .0005".  I have used Kurt vises, and they are nice, but I like my rebuilt Bridgeport vise better.  It looked like scrap metal when I got it, but it was really an easy project, uses box ways like a heavy milling machine.


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## GarageGuy (Sep 5, 2015)

OK, good progress made.  I put the jaw in my mill vise and used a 3/4" roughing mill to make an "X" pattern in the bushing so that the walls were thin enough to split with a bushing splitter punch.  Once the bushing was removed in two pieces, the retainer pin was plainly visible, and could be easily driven out from the inside.  It's a blind pin, so there is no other practical way I can think of to remove it.  You couldn't see it at all.  Like Billh50 mentioned, they drove it in before machining the final surface.  

The casting ID for the bushing is 1.250", and the pin is .125".  I've done quite a bit of internal threading, so I thought it would be fun to grind up an Acme thread cutter tool and give it a go, but the biggest piece of brass or bearing bronze I have is 1.000".  I have some ground/polished 1.250" 1018 steel rod, but the old one was brass, so it's probably a good idea to stay with brass for the new one.  

The brass bushing from McMaster-Carr is ~$15 plus shipping.  The OD of the new bushing is listed as 1.253".  Almost sounds like it was made for this project.  I'm thinking I will freeze the bushing and warm up the jaw before pressing the new bushing in.  Then just drill and press in a new retainer pin.

Although the new bushing is not installed yet, it seems like removing the old one would be the more challenging part of the repair.  It will probably be Tuesday or Wednesday before I get my new bushing with the holiday weekend and all.  Wish I had some 1.250 brass round stock to play with in the meantime  

GG


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## 4GSR (Sep 27, 2015)

Bob Korves said:


> I have one of those 6" Bridgeport vises and it is really stout!.............



Dad brought home a broken Bridgeport vise in my younger years, long before Kurt vises came around.  It was broken off at the end where the handle end was.  Buba must have been around when more force was needed to tighten down what was being held because it was moving in the jaws.  Well, I took three 1/2" socket head cap screws and carefully located and placed the screws to give it maximum support to hold the front end of that vise together.  We used that vise for several years thereafter until a Kurt vise was purchased to replace it.  They are rugged and tough!!!


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## GarageGuy (Sep 27, 2015)

Ooops, I forgot to post the update.  Got the new Acme cylinder nut.  I ordered a 7/8"-6 brass RH thread, but it turns out I needed a LH thread instead.  No problem, they are exactly the same price, $13.58.  Turns out that McMaster-Carr is only an hour away from me (I didn't even know!?!), so I drove down for a quick exchange and we're good to go.  

Threaded the nut onto the lead screw from the vise and chucked it up in the lathe.  Turned the OD of the nut down from 1.500" to 1.250".   It was exactly the right length.  I pressed in the nut, and drilled the .125" hole for the retainer pin.  Pressed in the pin, and we're done!  It works great, and replacing the threaded insert isn't a bad job at all.  As I thought, getting the old nut out is the harder part.

Thanks to projectnut for the link to McMaster-Carr.  That was definitely the right choice for this job.  I don't think I could have bought raw brass stock for what the nut cost.  If I had some 1.250"+ brass rod laying around, I would definitely have given it a try, but the biggest piece of brass I own is only 1.000".  Maybe next time.

GG


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## Bob Korves (Sep 28, 2015)

4gsr said:


> Dad brought home a broken Bridgeport vise in my younger years, long before Kurt vises came around.  It was broken off at the end where the handle end was.  Buba must have been around when more force was needed to tighten down what was being held because it was moving in the jaws.  Well, I took three 1/2" socket head cap screws and carefully located and placed the screws to give it maximum support to hold the front end of that vise together.  We used that vise for several years thereafter until a Kurt vise was purchased to replace it.  They are rugged and tough!!!


Too many Bubbas out there.  Any time you get an urge to really gronk down hard on a vise, or hit the handle with a hammer, it is time to reconsider your setup.  Save and preserve your valuable tools, there is always another way to complete the job, especially if you are a hobby machinist and there is no boss looking at his watch nervously.


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