Bridgeport mill advice, about to pull the trigger

Most clamp sets ARE slant-eyed LOL. That is one place you can buy Chinese OK . Try Enco ,MSC,Rutland etc. they usually have sets on special. Buy a boring head also 2 or3" and again the inports work just fine unless you are doing aerospace. If you can get a Bridgeport #2 head [ebay] they are very nice. I have 4 heads 2 to 4" and my BP is the one I use the most. By the way my heads ranged from $ 80 to over $1000 new.

 

noboD has some good adivice but of course I'd like to add mine,I ought one almost 15yrs ago & never looked back,I giot a static converter,lost so much power it just wouldn't work like I wanted & read on the net how to make a convertor out of an old 220 3ph motor,did it it's so simple,we could never get it to start on it's own so we put a 110v starting motor to get the converter motor spinning then turn the juice on to the conv motor & shut the 110v off,we have them bellted together & it's worked for years.
We also had to get a vicedrill chuck & found a roatry table which can be used as a lathe.
We also have a 9"Southbend & the mill fills in sometimes when it won't fit the SB.

 

Here is a good link for all types of machining info. There are threads for Bridgeport mills and threads for making your phase converter.
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/index.php

 

Good Machines they take a beatin and keep on tickin.Use to repair tool room machines at Ford Motor.Only things we ever had to do to change belts and pullies adjust the nut on the table screw and sometimes replace it.These are real machines not crap

 

I bought a B'port clone years ago with 3ph motor...I got a face mount 115v motor and some alum plate to mount it and then I had to make/adapt pulley..In short and retrospect get a phase convertor as I did for my CNC mill motor [the controls work on 115v] as the one posted on previous post from ebay; simple hook up and I haven't noticed any power shortage...If the machine has ball screws [because it was being converted to cnc] you will not like feeding x/y axis by hand as there is no resistance to the cutter self feeding and you have to hold it back..Hopfully the motors on the x/y axis are feed units..

 

http://www.cdcotools.com/

Lots of stuff, various price ranges..

 

way to cheap, i would look for a problem or a changed head or maybe a model missing some features.

 

Ah, your just jealous..

 

Not at all.

If the ways aren't banana shaped and loose, and if the vari-speed head doesn't sound like a steel bucket full of wrenches rolling down a hill, I think he landed in just about the right price range.

If it's tight (and maybe has chrome ways) and the head is quiet, he bought it worth the money.

If it growls and rumbles and the table is loose, he got taken.

However, even a poorly bought Bridgeport is better than no Bridgeport at all.

Get ready though. That grand will turn into five or six by the time you get all your tooling and cutters bought. Best bet is to not keep track.

Remember that the spindle bearings (and pretty much all the head bearings and gears) use a total loss oiling system. You put oil in their cups, and it slowly works its way through the head to drip out onto the table. Nothing is retained in the head.

This means you have to put some oil in the cups every day that you're going to use it. If it sets for more than a few hours, consider it dry and refill the oil cups. Use Mobile Vactra Light Spindle Oil. Do not use automotive engine oil or any kind of hydraulic oil, that is all too thick or has too many wonky additives for the bearings.

If the table has a one-shot oiler on it, use only Mobile Vactra #2 Way Oil, and give it a stroke every day before you start working.

If the table has zerk fittings on it instead of a one-shot system, DO NOT USE GREASE. You still need to use Vactra #2, you just have to inject it using an oil gun (or a grease gun turned upside down with the bottom off it).

If the table has ball screws, watch and make sure that you lock the axis you are not working on, every time. Ball screws are so low friction that they will move if you push on the table, so you have to use the locks religiously. Some folks let the lock lightly drag on the axis they're moving as well.

Also, make sure you run the vari-speed mechanism through the entire speed range every week or so, to keep the motor end free (it's spring loaded, so only belt tension will move it). Just run the speed all the way up and all the way back down once a week or so, and it'll be fine.

And finally, just as a tip, tighten the knee lock down until you can barely still freely move it, and then leave that lock alone. You will find that if those ways have any wear at all in them, the knee lock will rock the table toward or away from the column as you tighten or loosen it, and screw up your setup. Best to set it at a lock tension that won't let it creep while you're working, and then leave it alone. That way the knee will always remain the same place relative to the column.

 

Every mill I ever ran had its own growl not real loud though most of that is the belts and pullies.Set up some indicators check for looseness.It will probably be fine for what you will need it for.You can probably lock the table a little and turn the table back and forth and tell how much slop is in the screw.As far as the ways a good operator knows his machine and Knows what he has to do make up for it.If the table has an acme screw which it most likely does it has a bronze nut that you can tighten or replace.I see cutters at the flea market quite often from retired toolmakers tool chest.Sounds like a good deal to me

 

I know you have a lot to digest, but I want to add one more bit of advice. Check out a VFD (variable frequency drive) for the 3 phase conversion. Price is around $160-180 and you'll get the benefit of variable speed. It's true that you'll lose some power but you can offset that with the belts or vari-speed head. Oh and you can't power reverse, only a problem if you'll be power tapping holes. I've got mine setup to be easily movable from my Bridgeport to a CNC mill or a lathe if needed.

J. Clear

 

You should check out equipment auctions. Things like tooling, clamps, vises, angle plates, etc. are dirt cheap at auction.

 

well we got it off the trailer and into the garage today. still under the pallet jack. my boss couldnt off load it with his tractor until tomorrow and I didnt want it to stay under the cover outside again because there is a chance of rain tomorrow. So.... my dad and neighbor helped me out and we were able to safely unload it using a series of ramps, a pallet jack, and our brains. Still no pics yet(slacker). I did order a phase converter today though!!!

 

Chance of rain...Here its a guaranteed snow day!!..1" pvc makes good rollers, cheap and easy to cut to length...

 

[Also, make sure you run the vari-speed mechanism through the entire speed range every week or so, to keep the motor end free (it's spring loaded, so only belt tension will move it). Just run the speed all the way up and all the way back down once a week or so, and it'll be fine.]
This is very good advice but I think he has the older step pulley....

 

Ah, I thought he said it was a 2J head.

Sorry for the confusion.

The fixed belt J head doesn't really need any belt maintenance, aside from replacement every so often.

I've never owned a J though, so I don't know all the little idiosyncrasies.