Base Feet for a Bridgeport

Gaffer -
The use of an overhead tilt limiter was brilliant! I didn't have that option in my shop (14 foot ceiling, probably just 2x4 rafters, nothing capable of bearing a load). So after I fabricated the leg bars I pulled the mill back outside with a pallet jack and asked a neighbor with a back hoe to lift it off the pallet for me.

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Mr.Miz said:
I know nobody is really talking bout this anymore but if anybody is out there....can somebody explain to me why everyone is trying to put things under the foot? My mill is pretty much to heavy to lift with anything I have (It's a Kent and the manual says it's around 2500lbs). I got it in place by unloading it with a loader at the door and setting it on 4 of those car dolly casters (yes it was sketchy but worked) I was thinking of just putting some thick square tube (or the like) on top of the foot and then extending it out past the base there by increasing the footprint and making it more stable. Then at the extensions putting some leveling casters (I'm really not decided if it's in its final home or not). As far as getting the bolts to go up instead of down I was planning on just pulling the bolts through with a magnet wand, a magnet on a string, or even just drilling a hold in the end of the bolt and passing string through it. So I don't have to fiddle around too much under the base again since I can't lift it I'm not sure how I would place it on top of something. Am I making any sense?
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The thing with mounting the cross bars on top of the base, is that all the load is now concentrated on the heads of those four bolt heads, that the mill is now hanging from. IMO, having the weight resting on a pair of 1"x2" solid bars, is a mo better arrangement. JMO.
 
I hope your going to install a power draw bar. Looks like it's pretty high to reach with a wrench.
I don't want ruin your idea but I'd be leery of the 1x2 flat bar taking the weight without bowing over time. I suggest replacing the flat bar with 2" square tube 1/4 thick walls. and keep everything as low to the floor as possible. JMO
 
aliva said:
I hope your going to install a power draw bar. Looks like it's pretty high to reach with a wrench.
I don't want ruin your idea but I'd be leery of the 1x2 flat bar taking the weight without bowing over time. I suggest replacing the flat bar with 2" square tube 1/4 thick walls. and keep everything as low to the floor as possible. JMO
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Wasn't sure who you were replying to, so I'll only speak for myself, and my application. I don't mind the additional height. I'm 6'3" with long arms, so the drawbar reach is no problem, and I generally use ER32 collets anyway, so the brake lever is all I need to reach most of the time. Also, my lower back will welcome the higher table. Stooping kills my back! As to the strength of the 1x2 solid bar. I can't imagine it failing with a load of around 2400 pounds split four ways. Especially with the mounting bolt into the tapped hole helping to prevent the bar from bowing in the middle. As I said earlier, this is a system that is in place on no doubt hundreds, if not thousands of Bridgeport sized machines. Pretty sure it will be OK. Besides, I don't see how using a 2" deep tube is going to keep things as low as possible vs a 1" thick bar? Lots of ways to skin a cat, and I suspect this one will skin just fine.
 
Ditto what @akjeff said ... not sure to whom you were talking.

As for my own mill, YES! It's way taller than I'd anticipated!!! First time I put a wrench on the drawbar, it was several inches above my extended fingertips (as is the spindle brake knob). So I did add a power drawbar (from PM). I'm also in the process of building a platform to stand on when operating the mill. The durn table is at about throat level on me when the knee is all the way up.

I do understand your concern about 1x2 steel - at least for my ~1600lb mill. That's one reason I went with 3 ½" and 4" wide bars. I'd decided against 2" square tube because (1) reiterating what @akjeff said, it would have added another inch to the already absurd height of the mill, and (2) even thick wall tube would not allow enough of the threads (⅝-11) on the foot stems to give me a warm-and-fuzzy feeling.

Your mileage may vary.
 
hman said:
Ditto what @akjeff said ... not sure to whom you were talking.

As for my own mill, YES! It's way taller than I'd anticipated!!! First time I put a wrench on the drawbar, it was several inches above my extended fingertips (as is the spindle brake knob). So I did add a power drawbar (from PM). I'm also in the process of building a platform to stand on when operating the mill. The durn table is at about throat level on me when the knee is all the way up.

I do understand your concern about 1x2 steel - at least for my ~1600lb mill. That's one reason I went with 3 ½" and 4" wide bars. I'd decided against 2" square tube because (1) reiterating what @akjeff said, it would have added another inch to the already absurd height of the mill, and (2) even thick wall tube would not allow enough of the threads (⅝-11) on the foot stems to give me a warm-and-fuzzy feeling.

Your mileage may vary.
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Agree on the lack of thread engagement with the tubing. I think that it would require either welding a flange nut on the bottom of the tube, or weld in a "top hat" type ferrule/bung with internal threads. Bottom line is whatever system is best for your needs, and makes your mill as comfortable for you to use as possible.
 
hman said:
I do understand your concern about 1x2 steel - at least for my ~1600lb mill. That's one reason I went with 3 ½" and 4" wide bars. I'd decided against 2" square tube because (1) reiterating what @akjeff said, it would have added another inch to the already absurd height of the mill, and (2) even thick wall tube would not allow enough of the threads (⅝-11) on the foot stems to give me a warm-and-fuzzy feeling.

Your mileage may vary.
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Just calculated deflection for a 4" lever arm on a 2"x1" flat bar loaded to 750 lbs (for a 3,000 lb full-size mill). About 3 thousandths. Nothing to see here.
 
Thanks for doing the calculation. Guess I went for overkill (again)!
 
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