Bridgeport Availability In Your Part Of This Country

There are plenty of them here in the Houston area. Anywhere from $1-5k for the real thing. Clones are about the same.
Randy
 
I'm envious of all you guys down on the east coast of the states.

I live in south western british columbia canada, There wasn't much going on here 60 years ago so I'm guessing that is why there is almost no older machinery here. Maybe one decent BP type mill comes up locally each year for way too much money and sells the same day. I looked for a BP type mill for 1.5 years and ended up having to drive a couple hours into washington state to finally get a mill. Ended up getting a nice Wells-Index for $2000, I'm happy.

I'm guessing I'm in the worst machinery desert in North America here, glad I found a mill at all.
 
dmittz, you have to try Calgary. I bought my mill and my surface grinder in Delta, B.C., because there is *nothing* here worth buying.

Mind you, I paid nearly 3K for my mill, and over 2K for the SG.
 
Ya I bet it is even worse there. I also had to go to seattle to pick up my South bend 13 lathe, although I did mange to find my 9a locally. Sure would be nice to have a selection of old iron nearby. Oh well.
 
I've been keeping my eye out for a used Bridgeport and they seem to be pretty scarce around these parts (Utah). I imagine I will need to take a drive either to California or possible down to Phoenix or over to Denver to find something. Driving that far for something like this is always a crapshoot though, either the machine will be gone by the time you get there or if it is still there, you realize that it is in much worse shape than you thought.
 
teledan said:
I've been keeping my eye out for a used Bridgeport and they seem to be pretty scarce around these parts (Utah). I imagine I will need to take a drive either to California or possible down to Phoenix or over to Denver to find something. Driving that far for something like this is always a crapshoot though, either the machine will be gone by the time you get there or if it is still there, you realize that it is in much worse shape than you thought.
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If you find one in another city chances are someone on this forum could possibly check it out for you. Any seller that would agree to show you a machine after driving a significant distance and then sell it out from under you, while you were coming, isn't someone you wanted to deal with anyway IMHO.

As always, patience is your friend here. Visit your local machine shops and let them know what you're looking for, tell friends and family to keep an eye out and consider placing your own "wanted" ad on Craigslist or FB Marketplace. Be ready with cash, but not in a hurry to part with it, be sure to thoroughly check out whatever comes your way and unless it's under power and you can make chips I wouldn't offer any more than scrap value.

Cheers,

John
 
teledan said:
either the machine will be gone by the time you get there or if it is still there, you realize that it is in much worse shape than you thought
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There are very experienced people all across the country willing to help out new guys. Perhaps someone from the West Coast would help him suss out a decent machine?
 
Dabbler said:
There are very experienced people all across the country willing to help out new guys. Perhaps someone from the West Coast would help him suss out a decent machine?
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Interesting,
I started this thread back in April 2018.
The BP I purchased was lost in the California fires( Paradise) on November 8th, 2018.
Having that mill for just a few months gave me the opportunity to know a bit more of what to look for when I purchased my replacement.
Thanks for taking me down memory lane.IMG_2885.JPGIMG_3295 (2).JPG
 
I got lucky with my mill. Looking at CL and the web, I was sure it would take years to find a gem. I'm in the Seattle area, but there isn't much of a population of machinists here, apparently. Portland had a lot of nice stuff (that's where I see numerous good lathes come up), but I wasn't too jazzed about the idea of driving clear to the Oregon or Idaho border with a trailer just to check out a clapped-out mill. Just the gas would cost me several hundred to do that. Eventually, I started signing up for local auction mailing lists. A school district auction was listed less than 3 miles from my house. The auction preview pics showed a mill in the shadows among a pile of other stuff that I recognized as a Lagun. I called a friend, got a trailer, and went to the auction, where I won an immaculate FTV-3 mill. This thing is bigger than a Series-II at 4500 lbs- a beauty of a machine. I got it for $2700 plus fees. If what's for sale is any representation, I got the nicest mill in the state only a few blocks from my home. There were some people smiling down at me that day, because in a sense, the mill dropped into my lap. I hope my luck continues on my search for a 16" lathe.
 
Janderso said:
Interesting,
I started this thread back in April 2018.
The BP I purchased was lost in the California fires( Paradise) on November 8th, 2018.
Having that mill for just a few months gave me the opportunity to know a bit more of what to look for when I purchased my replacement.
Thanks for taking me down memory lane.View attachment 313220View attachment 313221
Click to expand...

Oh no! That is heartbreaking! Glad you were able to find a replacement.

matthewsx and dabbler, thanks for the replies, I may reach out to the forum if I see something I am interested in that is a long distance from me. I do have some friends that may have some connections into the machining world here locally so I am planning on reaching out to them to put some feelers out for me.
 
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