New to me tool

[fearofpavement]

Well, while I was up in Michigan for Christmas I picked up a new to me tool. A Bridgeport mill. I am riding in the back seat of the van now while my wife drives (I did my 650 miles) and we have the vices, rotary table, collets, assorted cutters, taps and other misc accessories under the seats. The mill itself is still north and I will have to mount an expedition to fetch it. It can stay where it is for a while so I may wait until spring as I don't want to pull a trailer on icy roads. I am not a machinist by any measure but i can usually figure out how to make what I need. Looking forward to getting this installed in my shop.

 

[Bigrod]

Congrats on the Mill. Always wanted one to but the prices around here have been to high. I went to school to be a machinist but when I got out everyone wanted 3-5 years experience. I'm sure you will get some good use out of it.

 

[procarbine2k1]

Good deal! I have been on the hunt for a Bridgeport as well. Very well built mills, and sometimes can be picked up for a song too...

 

[J.Walker]

Sounds like a great road trip!

 

[RES]

Too bad the Bridgeports are not made in Bridgeport any more. I go by the old plant a couple times a week. They just finished tearing down the buildings.

 

[fearofpavement]

She has a few other items I would like to drag home too, but....

surface grinder
20" walker turner drill press
tool sharpener
small cut off saw

Also there is a very large lathe (too big to move)
a very large bandsaw (too big to move)

Someone else is going to look at what she has. If they don't buy it up I may get some of the above list.

It is all three phase stuff. I am also interested in the phase converter and wiring boxes and switches. We'll see.

 

[3000 FPS]

The Bridgeport vertical mills are nice. I guess you already know that if your taking it home you will need one of those phase converters to run it on a 220vac line.

 

[Frank Boyer]

Nice score! The tooling in very important and very expensive. I got an old 8 speed 25 years ago and used it mostly for drilling 13/16" holes in 2 1/2" thick steel for auger extensions. The phase converter is simple and you loose around 25% power. It sure beats a file and a drill to make/repair things.

 

[fearofpavement]

Yeah, I'm familiar with the phase converters. We have one at the hangar that we run a ginormous LeBlonde lathe with and a bandsaw. I will either acquire the converter that she has or buy one off eBay. They aren't all that expensive considering...

The mill is very old. Probably goes back to the 50's. When I get it here I'll probably run down the serial number and get an age. Plenty of parts are available for these. This one has nice tight ways on it. Also, its all manual. No power feeds or DRO's. I'm sure I'll find a need for it once it arrives. It sort of rounds out my line up.

Next on the wish list is a better mig welder.

 

[3000 FPS]

Yeah, I'm familiar with the phase converters. We have one at the hangar that we run a ginormous LeBlonde lathe with and a bandsaw. I will either acquire the converter that she has or buy one off eBay. They aren't all that expensive considering...

The mill is very old. Probably goes back to the 50's. When I get it here I'll probably run down the serial number and get an age. Plenty of parts are available for these. This one has nice tight ways on it. Also, its all manual. No power feeds or DRO's. I'm sure I'll find a need for it once it arrives. It sort of rounds out my line up.

Next on the wish list is a better mig welder.

Now the Mig I have. A 220v miller, and a 120v hobart. I also have a Miller tig and a hobart plasma. Boys and their toys.