# My Bridgeport head rebuild...was only top end now both. 2hp variable speed.



## expressline99

Well a few weeks back while attempting to get my Bridgeport table feed to quit letting it's magic smoke out. (There is another thread on that mess.) I decided to start working on the top end. The top end was making a horrible amount of noise that got worse as you increased the speed. My first thoughts were that it was pulley bushings like I see in every rebuild kit. But you can get a couple of different kits. This depends on the color of the bushings you have... either teal or black.

Finding out what you have requires pulling the motor. Being located on the very top of the machine made it look like a horrible job.  Tons of people on various threads seem to be horrified by the weight of the motor. I think around 60 pounds or so. It's not tiny and pulling it off while 6 ft in the air on a ladder by myself wasn't the right way to go about it. About that time I ran into mrpete's video on removing his Bridgeport head using a table mount he made.

So I built a table mount. The mount uses a piece of round stock welded up to some plate with 3 gussets for stability. ...and a large washer to help displace some of the weight of the head sitting on it. The gussets I just cut the corners off of the plate I was using to build the thing with. I think the round stock was 1" and I turned it down to fit in the spindle. The idea is simple. Once you have the table mount in place you carefully raise the table until it's firmly into the spindle. Firmly but not forcefully. If you put pressure on the head removing it will be a bear. Once in place you can remove the 4 nuts holding it in place. Bring the table out towards you... It should come out pretty easily. *******UNLESS you don't realize that the ram is too far forward! I managed to not notice this and once I got to the end of the table travel was baffled as to why mine didn't come off like I had seen others do. I messed with this forever trying to move the head around until it finally came free. Only after that did I see that I could have simply moved the ram backwards allowing the head to come off. The only reason it was so far forward was for delivery using a forklift several months ago.
View media item 95821
I have a better picture of this I'll have to put up later.

Having the table all the way down and looking right at the motor instills much more confidence that it being over your head.

During this rebuild I am/was following The book "A guide to Renovating the Bridgeport "2J" Variable speed milling machine". Wonderful book for most of the steps.  But as with any book they can only fit so many pictures.  I have taken a couple hundred pictures of the assemblies as I went as well as pictures of what it looked like inside...dirty and cleaned. (Rick) wanted lots of pictures. Anyway, the point of so many pictures is to allow people to see the parts from several angles. Like you are holding the part in your hand and trying to figure it out!  Most books and pictures you see avoid this just because of space. Frequently I'm pointing at things in the picture to show where something goes or something to watch for.  So if you are looking at the thumbnail pictures there aren't a bunch of duplicates as it may appear. Just lots of angles.

Trying hard here to give back to this community.
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gallery/albums/bridgeport-series-1-vs-2hp-tear-down.570/

I am still adding lots of pictures.

The motor was not too bad to remove once loose. I did stand on a milk crate and bear hug the thing after I worked it free of the belt. But you have to take pressure off of the lower Vari-disc by compressing a pulley spring using screws from the cap that covers the access to it.. ****NOTE the whole point is to remove this pulley spring together. Do NOT do what I did and unscrew the screws once you remove the snap ring! This spring is under a bunch of pressure and will shoot across the room! I have no idea why I did it but i happened....and the spring went flying after it bounced off the floor. Lucky it didn't hit me.

Once I had the motor off I was able to check out the bushings... mine were black and in good shape! So what in the world was causing the problems? At this point there was no reason to order a kit including bushings.

The first thing I ran into was in the belt housing... Something had gotten into the belt housing and ruined the timing gear. View media item 96011View media item 96010
Wonderful.

Next I found that the "Spindle pulley Hub" had some kind of issue where the Key Way was destroyed. I think this could have been a manufacturing defect as it seemed like the entire thing was too thin. Also, at the same time as I was disassembling the Spindle pulley hub... the Stationary Vari-disc at it's base is supposed to be held in place by a key...that matches the key way above. The key was gone....just gone.
View media item 96013View media item 96012

I continued and made my way down into the gear housing....but before I did that I got to looking at the gear housing plate...
View media item 95805

Huh... Something doesn't seem right... Oh it's this:
View media item 95807That's supposed to be one piece! And the smaller piece was just loose laying on top of the bull gear....

I will continue this as I have done a ton on this thing. I will be making complete picture albums for putting it all back together and I've started that process...just not put any of the pictures up yet.

Again the break down album (not yet complete) : http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gallery/albums/bridgeport-series-1-vs-2hp-tear-down.570/

Paul


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## Dabbler

Well done!  I've just completed an upper rebuild of a J type, which is much simpler.  Glad I got the J instead of the variable speed, now that I see what you went through!  I'll get the same functionality using a VFD on my 3PH motor... (shows visible relief on his face...)


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## expressline99

Dabbler said:


> Well done!  I've just completed an upper rebuild of a J type, which is much simpler.  Glad I got the J instead of the variable speed, now that I see what you went through!  I'll get the same functionality using a VFD on my 3PH motor... (shows visible relief on his face...)



Thanks, 
It would be super fast and probably done by now if I wasn't taking 400 pictures. LOL with lots of time committed and broken down into sections it hasn't been horrible. But as of right now. I've gone through a box of paper towels and a box of gloves....half a gallon of purple power for cleaner.. a can of wd40.  I'll put more detail on the way back up from the bottom of the lower end. I'm most of the way through putting the lower end back together.  For the top end I've got a big pile of new parts waiting.  7 bearings. None for the spindle they appear to be fine. But we will find out. 

Paul


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## RonRock

Wow! That's a lot of parts. 

Nice job documenting the work. I appreciate the time and effort it takes for you to help others.


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## expressline99

I'm still working on this. I went to put the spindle back in and couldn't help but take it apart. Then I could stand the idea of putting it back without new bearings. So I've ordered those and a new dog screw for the collet alignment. I'll have these pictures up soon. Also fitting new bearings on my logan 200 at the moment as well since I got a deal on those....another thread but moving on. I need to post more pictures of things going back on the unit. I'll link them here when I get that far. Not much left on the bottom just the front scale and the spindle rebuild. Maybe by end of week.

Paul


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## EmilioG

The photos documenting this are invaluable!  There really isn't too much detailing all of the possible problems and solutions.
I'm shopping for a used BP mill, but don't want to do a full reconstruction. A good reconditioned BP is very expensive and buying used
is kind of a gamble. A new PM may be a better decision. This is a great project if you have the time and money. All those parts and the labor
add up quickly.  Just like buying a used vintage car. I admire your dedication.  Nice work. Keep us updated.


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## expressline99

Last night I finished the spindle rebuild and will be posting those pictures soon.  I was able to get "super precision" bearings for the lower end of the spindle and a double sealed top bearing.  

As well, I've received the rest of the repair parts for my top end so I'll get that going as quickly as possible. 

Paul


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## expressline99

I've got the lower end rebuilt and sitting on the table stand waiting for the rest of it to get done.
Almost done listing and explaining all the pictures for the lower end.  I pointed out everything I could think of and any issues I had. 
They can be seen here: http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gall...s-2hp-lower-end-putting-it-back-together.589/
I'll put up a separate album for the spindle rebuild. I've completed  installing the new bearings just haven't put it all up on the site yet. 

The gear housing I've put back together with new bearings and the new to me back gear cover. (replacing the one that was randomly in two pieces floating around in there.

Also, I was looking at the belts and even though they look "OK" there are a few spots and I couldn't leave it alone so I ordered those today. While I was looking at the vari-disc pulleys I noticed it was missing a shaft key. Since I do not have any dimensions or anything to reference on the bushings I've decided to replace them even though they might pass. They aren't wallowed out but if they are new I know for sure they are in tip top shape.  

Paul


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## expressline99

I have uploaded and completed the full tear down and rebuild for the spindle bearings. Full description details with each picture.
86 pictures total. If you are familiar there are lots you can skip but it's detailed.

Spindle bearings tear down and rebuild album: http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gall...eries-1-vs-2hp-spindle-rebuild-tear-down.590/
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gall...eries-1-vs-2hp-spindle-rebuild-tear-down.590/
Also the lower end rebuild album is also completed link above in the previous message.

Paul


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## expressline99

I've finished uploading and notating the gear housing rebuild and installation onto the quill housing.

Gear housing rebuild: http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gall...ies-1-vs-2hp-rebuilding-the-gear-housing.593/
99 photos
Next up an album on bushing replacement. I've completed doing the work just need to upload the pictures etc.

Onward I go.

Paul


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## expressline99

I've finished uploading and notating the bushing removal and new kit install. 

Vari-disc bushing replacement: http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gall...2hp-variable-speed-bushings-being-redone.595/
18 photos

Belt housing next.

Paul


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## expressline99

I'm not done with this. I will still finish my huge photo collection. At the moment I am making a new "sleeve shaft" for the variable speed control.. I had to cut mine off with a dremel and on top of that I was forced to cut the worm gear off of it. Then the new shafts that are available for some reason are different than my old one.  The one I removed is exactly like the one in the renovating guide pictures... Apparently the one I have doesn't seem to be available. But it's a simple shaft just a little bit of time. Some turning/grinding and drill one hole. Then I can post those pictures. 

So I am down to just a few parts before finishing the upper belt housing. Then the motor and remount of the head.  I will get more pictures up this week.  

After that I'll start a album for doing the new lead screws/nuts and taking the table apart...and the bjur oiler. 

Paul


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## expressline99

Update:
I've finished uploading all the pictures for the lower belt housing. It's 106 pictures.
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gall...s-2hp-belt-housing-tear-down-and-rebuild.596/

The upper part has been rebuilt. I just have to upload the photos and describe.

Paul


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## expressline99

Last update for today:

I uploaded and did the descriptions for the upper belt housing. 84 pictures
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gall...upper-belt-housing-tear-down-and-rebuild.604/

Only things not included are the reassembly on to the head, installing the bearing cap, and installing the speed dial face plate. This is coming next with a separate album.

Paul


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## expressline99

Just checking in here. After disassembling the motor to clean everything up I decided to change the bearings while I was in there. Also, the motor "fan" had gotten smashed at some point. So several fins where missing and the top motor cover was dented thoroughly. I ordered bearings..and they are cheap for the motor. The book said 6210 for the larger bearing. It wasn't the right size. Ordered it...checked when it arrived... way too large. The bearing is a 6206 for the larger one and 6203 for the smaller end of the shaft. These are double sealed not double shielded. So buy the bearings with rubber seals on both sides. Be sure to check the numbers on yours if you plan on replacing them. The motor itself is really simple to take apart and when I get the rest of the parts this week. I'll put it all together and get the pictures posted.

Paul


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## expressline99

One more thing. Just for current reference of cost on new series 1 units: http://www.kneemills.com/index.asp?html=prods&catID=1


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## expressline99

The motor tear down and bearing replacement are done. All pictures can be found in this album. http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gall...-motor-tear-down-and-bearing-replacement.614/ 
73 pictures.

I'll get the rest of the belt housing reinstall uploaded soon. Then that's the end aside from mounting the head back on the unit.  

Then of course I can start the table rebuild along with new screws and nuts. 

Paul


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## expressline99

Apparently I had uploaded almost all of the belt housing install pictures. So they are done also. 
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gall...ing-lower-upper-belt-housing-on-the-head.605/

29 pictures

Paul


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## Alittlerusty

Someday in the distant future (I hope) I'll be looking for this post.  Thx for taking the time to share.


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## Alittlerusty

Paul or anyone can u tell me what this screw and locknut do? My j-head varispeed is older but has it as well


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## Alittlerusty

It's located on the top housing of the head between the motor and the draw bar


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## expressline99

Alittlerusty said:


> It's located on the top housing of the head between the motor and the draw bar



That is the speed change plate adjustment screw. 

This is the other side of that: http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gall...o-the-end-of-the-plate-adjusting-screw.96703/

Paul


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## Alittlerusty

Ok thx mines just kinda half unthread and loose and I didn't want to mess with it till I knew what it did lol


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## Alittlerusty

Perfect thx again


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## expressline99

This project didn't die. I'm cleaning up here and there a few minutes at a time before I put the head back on. I sorta got side tracked with the surface plate stand build...etc....etc. There will be pictures. Plus there are a couple of parts I will need to put on. Brake lever and the knurled fine feed knob.

Still planing on doing saddle and table rebuild with new screws and the rebuilt electronic feed that is waiting patiently in its shipping box.  Table will get new screws and
nuts. During which I have to rebuild and clean the bjur oilier that is on the unit. So that will be in there also. After that the 3 way DRO install...Hope to use this machine this winter! I think it's getting close to a year having it...of course it took me a year and a half to get to use the little lathe...and I've got lots to do on that machine as well. It's in constant discussion with others on that...

Paul


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## expressline99

OK got the head reinstalled. The only thing I needed to adjust was the speed change plate. It just needed to be raised up a bit. 
Head reinstall photos: http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gallery/albums/bridgeport-series-1-vs-2-hp-reinstall-head.632/

Also installed a new brake handle as mine was missing:













Spindle brake handle with pin and set screw.



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There is where the set screw holds the pin in place...this faces out. Seems obvious but anyway. :)



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The dowel pin for the handle.



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This is how the handle should be oriented when installed.



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Insert the dowel pin... this was fun you have to fiddle with it to get it in place...



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Tighten the set screw down and the new brake handle is installed!



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And the incoming wiring for the reverse switch :













Time to wire the reversing switch.



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4 incoming wires.



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The upper wires are the motor wires. The lower are the "line" wires coming in from the power source.  Center screw to left is ground.



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Install the cover with the single screw...and that's it. You should be able to test at this point. Fingers crossed!



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I have the knurled knob for the fine feed handle to put on and take pictures still.  But at this point the head rebuild is 99.9% complete. 

Paul


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## expressline99

OK things have moved on to the table and saddle removal and tear down.  I've posted the pictures. With these you can remove your table and saddle... and the feed screws and the yoke and feed nuts. 

82 more pictures...enjoy!: http://www.hobby-machinist.com/gall...vs-2hp-tear-down-of-the-table-and-saddle.634/

Paul


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## RandyM

Kinda fun, isn't it Paul?

You are going to have a really nice machine when all finished up.

Thank you for taking the time to post your progress. It is greatly appreciated.


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## expressline99

RandyM said:


> Kinda fun, isn't it Paul?
> 
> You are going to have a really nice machine when all finished up.
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to post your progress. It is greatly appreciated.



It's great fun! Hopefully if I can get some resolution on the table play...saddle play I can continue past the clean up I'm doing. 
If it's too worn I'll have to get some grinding done I suppose? But I'm working on figuring that out.

You're welcome! It really helps when I get an atta boy! Kinda wonder sometimes if all I can hear are crickets on this post.  
The plan is to index the entire thing down to assemblies so people can jump straight to them once I'm done. 

Paul


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## RandyM

expressline99 said:


> It's great fun! Hopefully if I can get some resolution on the table play...saddle play I can continue past the clean up I'm doing.
> If it's too worn I'll have to get some grinding done I suppose? But I'm working on figuring that out.
> 
> You're welcome! It really helps when I get an atta boy! *Kinda wonder sometimes if all I can hear are crickets on this post*.
> The plan is to index the entire thing down to assemblies so people can jump straight to them once I'm done.
> 
> Paul



Well, this thread has 1700 views. They may not be joining in, but we are keeping an eye on ya.


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## expressline99

Hi just jumping back in here. I've got some pictures of the Bridgeport power feed I need to post soon. While I can still find them! I also have since made a set of outrigger levelers for the machine. Which also raised up the machine about 3 inches and that puts it at a nice working height. My machine sits on a split in the concrete slabs so this was needed to keep it from rocking around. 

Paul


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## Canus

Just joined this group and found your thread.  Great job on documenting your build.  I'm just into a teardown, cleaning, repair and reassembly of a 1972 Bridgeport J head mill.  Your photos will be very helpful.


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## expressline99

I ended up buying a set of lead screws and a set of feed nuts. I hope to be installing in the next couple of days. 

Paul


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## expressline99

Canus said:


> Just joined this group and found your thread.  Great job on documenting your build.  I'm just into a teardown, cleaning, repair and reassembly of a 1972 Bridgeport J head mill.  Your photos will be very helpful.



Great, I'm glad it's helping a few people here and there.

Paul


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