My Bridgeport refresh

[8mpg]

Well I decided to refresh the mill. Not going to be a rebuild per say. There are some broken things, its rusty, its worn but it should be a decent machine for a hobby. I bought this mill from a guy in Carrollton who was moving. Paid $300 for it. Im completely new to machining. This is a 1966 Bridgeport 1HP Series 1 mill.

Anyways, after lots of research, videos, etc... I took the plunge. Im not going to open the head as I checked the spindle runout was less than .001" in my indicator. I dont have a tenths indicator. The backlash on the x axis was something like .022", y was .027". There was quite a bit of play in the table with the y axis gib bottomed out. Im going to try and shim it. Here are a few pics from the breakdown.



The entire quill downfeed system was trouble. The clutch lever is broken, the other lever to engage is was broken. The pins and thread stop is all stuck. I tore it all apart yesterday and put it back together for now. Looks like someone tried to fix it before. Ordered parts



Started cleaning up all the rusty table end holder things and the knobs, dials, etc. Just using a fine wire brush on the drill press:

The knee handle and left table end were the worst but cleaned up well. I may polish them



Mill table is going in a bath or vinegar to try and clean it up. I was thinking evaporust...but at $90/5 gallons and the box I built to soak it in is 15 gallons... Im going cheap:

The saddle will be next:


Dirty but very smooth: Im not going to mess with the mill knee.


And for the end of today... I decided to cut my nuts in half

 

[markba633csi]

For 300$ that's a deal- not much territory between that and: FREE!
mark

 

[Cadillac]

Nice job looks like you have a handle on things. Yeah your quill engagement looks like ?? How does that happen?? You’ll be impressed with the vinegar it’ll look good. To bad you didn’t use vinegar for the table end caps and crank. Nice purchase.

 

[Janderso]

That is a free machine
I have a worn out bp, 1971. it works great!
Nice score

 

[petertha]

Nice score.
Somewhat unrelated but I've seen a few pics like this. Why is it that these well established machines don't have some kind of simple cover plate to prevent the nasty bits from collecting in the gears? Is there a way to check & clean without somewhat significant table removal?

 

[petertha]

Just out of interest, is this base contemplating the use of a pallet jack to move it arouns?

 

[Janderso]

Nice score.
Somewhat unrelated but I've seen a few pics like this. Why is it that these well established machines don't have some kind of simple cover plate to prevent the nasty bits from collecting in the gears? Is there a way to check & clean without somewhat significant table removal?

I have wondered the same thing. I guess if you have a guard at the crack between the knee and base this would be mitigated.
On top of the exposed gear set, they are greased!

 

[Cadillac]

When I went through Mine I had noticed the same thing. A lot of chips and stuff in the elevation gears. After cleaning and greasing I made a cover that sits on top of the crank lever rod casting. It’s the full width of the knee. Would have thought Bridgeport would have seen this happening. Recommended

 

[8mpg]

Just out of interest, is this base contemplating the use of a pallet jack to move it arouns?

Yes. I have had it on a home made pallet since I got it because. My shop wasnt done building and it has had to move around the shop many times. Heck, I just moved it towards the welding table to have a table to slide the table off on to . It will probably stay on its pallet.

I may make a small cover. I dont know why there isnt one other than maybe they think the stock cover was enough?

 

[8mpg]

Few more pictures from todays work. Started stripping the machine of its paint. Wishing I didnt go down this path. Using Citristrip to get the majority of the paint off. Theres at least 5 layers of paint/primer






Im really liking the bare metal. Trying to research about just clear coating it.