Bridgeport Vise Repair Advice?

GarageGuy

GarageGuy

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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? :confused:

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. o_O 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
 
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
 
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
Click to expand...
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
 
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
Buy a $5.00 part ? When you could make one for $20.00 plus your time.:laughing: What a novelty idea.
 
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