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milling machine
- Thread starter irishwoodsman
- Start date
Use www.searchtempest.com and pick the states you are willing to travel to to buy one and then type in Bridgeport or vertical mill and hit search it searches all of craigs list in the areas you pick, great tool
will do thank you, Mac
Hello Mac
Finding a good used Bridgeport mill can be a experiance.
I at one time had the want for a Bridgeport, and I traveled many miles on several occasions. looking at BPs. What I did find was, lots of very worn out machines, and they all seemed to have issues of one description or another. I did find 2 that were in nice shape, but way over priced. I wanted a BP, but wasnt willing to over pay just to have that brand of mill. I looked at so many used BP mills, I thought, what the hell, lets see what these over priced mills looked like.
Now don,t get me wrong here. I like American machinery as much as the next guy, but I have a few tips for you, to keep you from regretting owning a BP. From looking at so many, I can say this. Out of all that I had looked at in the 2000 to 3000 dollar range had very worn ways. I looked at so many in this condition that I was really starting to wonder if all these machines had spent there life machining cast iron, and never getting oiled. I found the X and Y axis ways were all in rough shape. Most had excessive back lash in the screws. And the issues I speak of are small things, but things you would need to repair, none the less. I found many with the quill down feed not working, so much for any boring jobs. J head models with issues getting into back gear, some wouldnt even go into BG. Vari speed head models that made so much racket, it made me wonder , just how long has this machine been run like this,,Yrs?
Seems as though many of these machines come up for sale, but they usually need some work. My best advice I can give you is, First thing to find out, is this machine under power? if not roll the dice, and may gods luck be with you. Look at the ways, look real good at this. That was the worst thing I found , over and over. Makes me wonder if the BP ways were not that great to start with. Run the Xand Y full travel, will it get to full travel with getting tight?
The BP head, J-head or Vari-speed. Check out every function, and dont miss anything. Run at all speeds, check all speeds of the quill down feed too. Listen for odd noises. Make certain it shifts into back gear. Run the thing through all its paces, and then some. After all, its your money. Check the quill for run out, if they claim it has no tooling, bring your own collet and test bar. Bring indicaters to check these things. Beware of freshly painted up machines, they can have a multitude of sins hiding under that fresh paint.
A few other things to check. Make sure the ram moves freely full in and out. Check the tilt and nod as well. I had run into a few that the owns stopped me from checking these things, and addmitted the gear/ or someting was broken, and if I tried to tilt the head, it would just free fall, nice. But if I didnt start to check, nobody was going to confess to anything, again, its your money. I would not even think about a machine that was not under power. I would not concider a machine that you cannot personally inspect. I looked for a used BP for 2 yrs, I couldnt find one that was ready to work, only ready to work on!
I didnt end up with a BP, but thats another story. The advice given here should be all the same, regardless of what brand your looking at.
Good luck in your pursuite of a BridgePort, I hope you find a good one , at the right price.
Paul
Finding a good used Bridgeport mill can be a experiance.
I at one time had the want for a Bridgeport, and I traveled many miles on several occasions. looking at BPs. What I did find was, lots of very worn out machines, and they all seemed to have issues of one description or another. I did find 2 that were in nice shape, but way over priced. I wanted a BP, but wasnt willing to over pay just to have that brand of mill. I looked at so many used BP mills, I thought, what the hell, lets see what these over priced mills looked like.
Now don,t get me wrong here. I like American machinery as much as the next guy, but I have a few tips for you, to keep you from regretting owning a BP. From looking at so many, I can say this. Out of all that I had looked at in the 2000 to 3000 dollar range had very worn ways. I looked at so many in this condition that I was really starting to wonder if all these machines had spent there life machining cast iron, and never getting oiled. I found the X and Y axis ways were all in rough shape. Most had excessive back lash in the screws. And the issues I speak of are small things, but things you would need to repair, none the less. I found many with the quill down feed not working, so much for any boring jobs. J head models with issues getting into back gear, some wouldnt even go into BG. Vari speed head models that made so much racket, it made me wonder , just how long has this machine been run like this,,Yrs?
Seems as though many of these machines come up for sale, but they usually need some work. My best advice I can give you is, First thing to find out, is this machine under power? if not roll the dice, and may gods luck be with you. Look at the ways, look real good at this. That was the worst thing I found , over and over. Makes me wonder if the BP ways were not that great to start with. Run the Xand Y full travel, will it get to full travel with getting tight?
The BP head, J-head or Vari-speed. Check out every function, and dont miss anything. Run at all speeds, check all speeds of the quill down feed too. Listen for odd noises. Make certain it shifts into back gear. Run the thing through all its paces, and then some. After all, its your money. Check the quill for run out, if they claim it has no tooling, bring your own collet and test bar. Bring indicaters to check these things. Beware of freshly painted up machines, they can have a multitude of sins hiding under that fresh paint.
A few other things to check. Make sure the ram moves freely full in and out. Check the tilt and nod as well. I had run into a few that the owns stopped me from checking these things, and addmitted the gear/ or someting was broken, and if I tried to tilt the head, it would just free fall, nice. But if I didnt start to check, nobody was going to confess to anything, again, its your money. I would not even think about a machine that was not under power. I would not concider a machine that you cannot personally inspect. I looked for a used BP for 2 yrs, I couldnt find one that was ready to work, only ready to work on!
I didnt end up with a BP, but thats another story. The advice given here should be all the same, regardless of what brand your looking at.
Good luck in your pursuite of a BridgePort, I hope you find a good one , at the right price.
Paul
That is a great post. And one that anybody looking at any used machinery, (not just a BP mill), should take note and heed.
Cheers Phil
thank you so much for the info, my fathernlaw has a friend thats going with me, he's 76 yrs old and moves like a 30 yr old, he was a machinist for 42 yrs and still has some pull around the machinery houses he is going to make some calls and see what he can find. he's partial to Cincinnati but he also said there is other american made machines that will do the same job and hold up just as good, i knew with the money i have i might have to do a little fixn but did not want extreme, he told me spend my whole 3000.00 on it and he would see it got delivered to my front steps if he had to do it himself[and i bet he would]. i guess the brand is open to us only cause what machines i have are made in usa, and again i'm not putting the other countries machines down its just a american thing for me , it seems our country has lost most of its industrial capabilities any more we rely to much on foreign things and i do understand free trade but it should be a 5050 split, well i hate politics so going to get off that subject, but again thank you paul for the info.:thinking: Mac
thanks mayhem will do:biggrin:
I wish you well , BPs are out there, a 9x42 with tooling J head I think and was single phase 220 all for $1000. Boy did I
want that intil between the phone book online freight quotes. If they have to go on site thats $400 if they have to
deliver on my site, thats $400 and thats not trucking fee yet. Now all of them are charging 23% fuel sur charge. Well
I thought I had one but thats out. Once in a great while they do pop , it just seems good deals are always 3000 mi
away.
want that intil between the phone book online freight quotes. If they have to go on site thats $400 if they have to
deliver on my site, thats $400 and thats not trucking fee yet. Now all of them are charging 23% fuel sur charge. Well
I thought I had one but thats out. Once in a great while they do pop , it just seems good deals are always 3000 mi
away.
I do not know for your area, but I my area with all the auto plants and suppliers chopping jobs and closing shops, we had a flood of equipment to choose from back in '08. This did force the prices down and 1500 for a BP jhead and DRO, ready to run. The shop foreman had many to look at and we just had it shipped to us and wired it up and used it. Likely the supply has dried up some today and the good ones are going to be priced higher.
Not to be a naysayer, but to suggest alternatives. I decided a BP was a little more machine than I needed. All that I looked at had been production machines, and looked it. Besides, everyone and their dog was hunting for one, and paying premium prices.
I ended up with a Millrite, which is essentially an 80% Bridgeport. I got lucky and found one in pristine condition, 8x36 table, no marks, tight all over, for $1200. I would not sell it for double that. It's the perfect home shop machine IMO.
Last week, I bought a slightly smaller mill which turned out to be essentially a Delta/Rockwell 21-100. I am currently tearing this one down to clean up and re-assemble. I am very impressed with the quality of this machine. Table size is 6x28 approx.
Both these machines have big followings, so support is there. More importantly, the size - and original price - of these machines makes them more likely to have gone to a lab, a prototype shop, a school or a hobbyist shop, where it was probably better cared for. When you find a rough example, it's from neglect rather than hard use or abuse. That means that under the accumulated swarf and grease, there is usually a nice accurate machine waiting to be cleaned up. And I enjoy that process.
If you don't need a full-size BP, consider these other two.
I ended up with a Millrite, which is essentially an 80% Bridgeport. I got lucky and found one in pristine condition, 8x36 table, no marks, tight all over, for $1200. I would not sell it for double that. It's the perfect home shop machine IMO.
Last week, I bought a slightly smaller mill which turned out to be essentially a Delta/Rockwell 21-100. I am currently tearing this one down to clean up and re-assemble. I am very impressed with the quality of this machine. Table size is 6x28 approx.
Both these machines have big followings, so support is there. More importantly, the size - and original price - of these machines makes them more likely to have gone to a lab, a prototype shop, a school or a hobbyist shop, where it was probably better cared for. When you find a rough example, it's from neglect rather than hard use or abuse. That means that under the accumulated swarf and grease, there is usually a nice accurate machine waiting to be cleaned up. And I enjoy that process.
If you don't need a full-size BP, consider these other two.