Old round ram Bridgeport

[tlmotorsport]

Hello there,

Recently one of the machinists offered to sell me his old Bridgeport that he doesnt use anymore. Its a round ram with a J-head on it. He's asking for 1200 which includes the vice, vice rotational base, clamp set, collet set, boring bar set, something that uses carbide inserts + inserts (not sure on what it is, he showed me the inserts and said they would go with it). The ways all felt pretty smooth except for 1 gouge in the y axis. Since it was a cold day the oil was pretty thick and didnt want to rub off well to get a close look at the surfaces. Forgot to check the adjustment life left in the gibs when I stopped by to take the pics, but motion felt fairly even across the travel.

I'm fairly new to machining, did a little bit before I started welding for a school project (FSAE), once I started welding I didnt get any more time on the machines really, Wanting to get back into doing a bit more metal working and fab work now that I have a garage to work in. Havent seen any BP's on the local CL or Ebay with a quick search for less than 2 grand for the dovetail rams, no round rams. What would peoples thoughts be on this?

Thanks!

 

[chuckorlando]

I would buy it right now. 1200 seems to be the very bottom here. 2500 is about avg here as far as the lower end goes. 1200 is few and far between and dont last long and dont have tooling most cases

 

[LEEQ]

I would want to have the shop heated up and then check it out. A round ram is for sure no spring chicken. How wallowed out are the ways? Can you tighten the gibs enough to pull out the slack and still get full travel out of the table? Or is it well worn in the center making it very tight at the ends? Are the pricey spindle bearings shot or in good shape? I would want to be very sure of these things before deciding if the price is right. Mechanical problems are easier for a novice to repair, but the precision of the spindle and ways are a deeper matter all together. Good ways and bearings would make that machine worth that to me. I could get over some table damage and replacing some parts, buying a vfd and all that. Don't be a fool like me and jump in buying clapped out, mismatched old crap not understanding what you are getting into. Don't get to starry eyed over a vice and some collets either. I got 2 6" Bport vices on swivels for $50 each from a machine dealer, one in real nice shape. A set of collets won't hurt you too bad either. Good luck!

 

[rafe]

I don't see how you could get hurt on that one !~

 

[LEEQ]

If a clapped out round ram isworth that in Fla, I need to drive down there with my dovetail ram. Just how cheap is it to have a machine ground and scraped? New bearings? A worn out machine is not a bargain until it is repaired and still a good or at least a decent deal. A fellow needs the time/budget to get these things done. I suggest asking sidecar580 what it would cost to grind and scrape it. That knowledge would serve you well. You might also take some mineral spirits to the top of the knee. Is that grease, or grooving? I hope there is still life left in the old girl before a good going through. Before I dropped that kind of money again, though, I would know that for a fact. I would feel a dovetail ram step pulley with not a ton of wear would be worth $2000 to $3000. The nicer the condition and the more the goodies, the higher the value. Just remember all the goodies in the world cannot reverse wear.

 

[chuckorlando]

Frankly I would expect a guy to inspect the machine. You would be a fool to throw 1200 at someone for a machine simply because it "looks" good from 2ft away. He runs the same risk on a 1200 dollar machine as he runs on a 5000 dollar machine. I have been watching mills for a long time here and I have never seen any knee mill for under 1000 short of being rusted up and sitting under a oak tree. And then it's 800. I aint saying buy a turd. But down here, if you only got 1200 to spend, your gonna buy what is out there. No different then buying a 800 dollar car. You look at whats in your budget and buy the best of the bunch. Or buy nothing at all if nothing is good enough to buy.

 

[tlmotorsport]

Thanks for the extra input,

LEEQ, unfortunately it cant be powered up at the moment due to him getting rid of his phase converter when he got rid of his CNC Tree (he's been looking to spend more of his time and money on traveling instead of working in the shop all day then going home to work in a shop there doing the same thing, just reread part of what I wrote, forgot to finish a thought, the guy selling it is a machinist/shop foreman and friend from the place I work as an engineer). I did move the table through all the axis while I was there and the motion felt nice and smooth in the center and slightly stiffer at the ends but didnt feel like it was binding up. I did take a finger (sans spirits) to each of the ways and most of what you are seeing is oil, but there was one gouge on the Y-Axis, just to the inside of the left most screw thats holding the wiper in place. Definitely dont want to get stuck with a clunker by any means, hence why I'm asking around and taking my time to do some research before I hand over a bunch of cash.

Rafe, is that sarcasm?

Many thanks again,
Terec

 

[LEEQ]

Sounds like some careful filing and stoning would get rid of a ridge or two. It also sounds like you know them well enough to take their word on the spindle bearings. I would count myself lucky to actually know the seller. I would say if you feel there is a reasonable compromise to gib tightness and range of motion that $1200 with some tooling isn't bad. It would probably serve a hobbiest till they are out of their machining years. Also a thought for putting it under power is keeping the 3 phase motor and getting a 220v single to three phase vfd. I found mine at a surplus place for the price everyone else was selling the vfd and it was paired with a brand new 1hp 3 phase motor. I'm enjoying the variable speed my Teco allows me without changing belt position. If you were closer to KC than St Louis I would have a guy that does very nice rigging at a reasonable rate. I sure felt lucky to know him when I needed that kind of help. He's a long time safe man. Some of the old safes remind me a lot of a Bridgeport. A round safe on a column all of cast iron can't be a whole lot different than moving a mill. Anywho, keep us up on it.

 

[george]

In My area that would be a great price. With the vice and tooling I think it is a great deal. Don't be afraid of the round ram. I used one for years in the shop never moved the only thing is keep the clamp bolts tight and don't try and cut to much at a time. Also remember avoid climb milling on these machines. Clean it up oil it good and let the chips fly.

 

[rafe]

Thanks for the extra input,


Rafe, is that sarcasm?

Many thanks again,
Terec

Hi Terec, No,I meant it sounds like a solid deal! !! When i read your first post , It seemed to me that you knew the machinist and trusted him, I was going to ask how well you knew the guy,but didn't, glad you posted that . When I purchased my lathe the guy, after talking to me awhile, said he was glad it was me getting it. I think your machinist want's you to have it, sometimes the money is just a formality, I'd grab it personally if it turns out bad ,which I doubt, repair it ! Now I didn't say have it repaired, I said repair it !!