What did I do? Bridgeport purchase

[Charles scozzari]

I suggest you be patient with the pinion replacement. My ram was "locked up when I first got it. It seems that these heads are rarely moved, but always heavily oiled. The oil dries up over time, and with such a large surface area, locks the ram in place.

I wiped the ram ways down with tiki torch oil (kerosene, but not quite as smelly). That got the ram to barely move. Wiped it down again. In a few days, I could move it several inches. Wiped it down again. In a few days, I had full travel. Went back a forth a couple times, then applied fresh oil.

Mine was the same.

 

[Defender92]

I suggest you be patient with the pinion replacement. My ram was "locked up when I first got it. It seems that these heads are rarely moved, but always heavily oiled. The oil dries up over time, and with such a large surface area, locks the ram in place.

I wiped the ram ways down with tiki torch oil (kerosene, but not quite as smelly). That got the ram to barely move. Wiped it down again. In a few days, I could move it several inches. Wiped it down again. In a few days, I had full travel. Went back a forth a couple times, then applied fresh oil.

Good to know. I like the tiki torch oil idea.

 

[Provincial]

I suggest you be patient with the pinion replacement. My ram was "locked up when I first got it. It seems that these heads are rarely moved, but always heavily oiled. The oil dries up over time, and with such a large surface area, locks the ram in place.

I wiped the ram ways down with tiki torch oil (kerosene, but not quite as smelly). That got the ram to barely move. Wiped it down again. In a few days, I could move it several inches. Wiped it down again. In a few days, I had full travel. Went back a forth a couple times, then applied fresh oil.

I used a big bar clamp to apply pressure to get my stuck ram moving. I soaked the locks and the mating line between the ram and the column with Kroil and let it work it's way in. After an overnight soak, the bar clamp was able to make the ram move. Once it moved, it was pretty easy to get it freed up. Just apply lots of penetrating oil and move the ram back and forth as much as it is willing to go without too much resistance. The oil works it's way into the contact surface as you work it back and forth, and pretty soon it moves full travel like it should.

You can buy or make a handle for your old pinion. If you make one, use a Grade 8 bolt, or at least a Grade 5. You can get even more strength by using piece of tubing that the bolt slip-fits in, cutting it square on both ends (or custom-fitted on the pinion end) so the tube bears solidly against the pinion. That will have the effect of using a larger diameter handle.

Once you get the ram moving as it should, you will find that the original pinion works just fine. You can set up the pinion to put the handle in a preferred position by backing off the retaining screw, pulling out the pinion enough to clear the gear teeth in the ram, turning it to the desired position, wiggling it back into engagement, and tightening the lock screw enough to keep the handle from moving in or out, but not enough to jam it in place.

 

[Defender92]

I used a big bar clamp to apply pressure to get my stuck ram moving. I soaked the locks and the mating line between the ram and the column with Kroil and let it work it's way in. After an overnight soak, the bar clamp was able to make the ram move. Once it moved, it was pretty easy to get it freed up. Just apply lots of penetrating oil and move the ram back and forth as much as it is willing to go without too much resistance. The oil works it's way into the contact surface as you work it back and forth, and pretty soon it moves full travel like it should.

You can buy or make a handle for your old pinion. If you make one, use a Grade 8 bolt, or at least a Grade 5. You can get even more strength by using piece of tubing that the bolt slip-fits in, cutting it square on both ends (or custom-fitted on the pinion end) so the tube bears solidly against the pinion. That will have the effect of using a larger diameter handle.

Once you get the ram moving as it should, you will find that the original pinion works just fine. You can set up the pinion to put the handle in a preferred position by backing off the retaining screw, pulling out the pinion enough to clear the gear teeth in the ram, turning it to the desired position, wiggling it back into engagement, and tightening the lock screw enough to keep the handle from moving in or out, but not enough to jam it in place.

I like your idea. Just curious, did you clamp it in these spots on an angle?

 

[Charles scozzari]

I used a big bar clamp to apply pressure to get my stuck ram moving. I soaked the locks and the mating line between the ram and the column with Kroil and let it work it's way in. After an overnight soak, the bar clamp was able to make the ram move. Once it moved, it was pretty easy to get it freed up. Just apply lots of penetrating oil and move the ram back and forth as much as it is willing to go without too much resistance. The oil works it's way into the contact surface as you work it back and forth, and pretty soon it moves full travel like it should.

You can buy or make a handle for your old pinion. If you make one, use a Grade 8 bolt, or at least a Grade 5. You can get even more strength by using piece of tubing that the bolt slip-fits in, cutting it square on both ends (or custom-fitted on the pinion end) so the tube bears solidly against the pinion. That will have the effect of using a larger diameter handle.

Once you get the ram moving as it should, you will find that the original pinion works just fine. You can set up the pinion to put the handle in a preferred position by backing off the retaining screw, pulling out the pinion enough to clear the gear teeth in the ram, turning it to the desired position, wiggling it back into engagement, and tightening the lock screw enough to keep the handle from moving in or out, but not enough to jam it in place.

I mentioned I had the same problem with the ram on my Bridgeport and also was able to free it. My ram was frozen back from the table and having a small area I had to free it in order to gain floor space. Sliding the ram forward allowed me to push the whole mill closer to the wall, giving me more room to get around it. I also do move the ram to reach out to the table when swinging the ram from left to right as needed. It really is a great option to have available to the user.

 

[Provincial]

I like your idea. Just curious, did you clamp it in these spots on an angle?

View attachment 443939

Yes. It worked well.

Edit to add photos:

 

[Firstram]

Nice clamp!

 

[markba633csi]

Great score on that thing- I think you got more than your money's worth
I noticed the little door also but that just means it's newer I think
I predict both the dro and power feed can be resurrected

-Mark

 

[Provincial]

Nice clamp!

Thanks.

I have two larger ones that are marked "heavy duty shipyard clamp."

 

[Defender92]

Yes. It worked well.

Edit to add photos:
View attachment 443986

View attachment 443987

Perfect! Thank you

Great score on that thing- I think you got more than your money's worth
I noticed the little door also but that just means it's newer I think
I predict both the dro and power feed can be resurrected

-Mark

Thank you. I think I got the power feed figured out. I’m not sure about the DRO. I’m really tempted on this cheap Amazon DRO. The display is a fraction of the size and it looks like it has more features I’d use.