This would be a good TOTM.
Let's talk Bridgeport mills, clones and overgrown drill presses.

I've been looking for a Bridgeport for a few months for home use. I've got $1000-$1500 to drop on a decent used mill.
Most of us occasional or professional machinists know how handy a Bridgeport is and also know the clones are not worth the money.
Last week I had the opportunity to drop $900 on a well used old Bridgeport, 1.5hp, R8, power feed and stepper pulley. The machine had an easy .05" of lash in the ways and lots of table abuse (drilling). I passed but I'm also getting tired of looking and somewhat regretting letting it go. Hopefully I'll find something I can work with soon.

I would like to see what prices you Bridgeport owners are paying vs the condition of the machine you bought. Lets include the set up of the machine such as R8 colleting or old ass Morse, stepper pulley or Vari-drive, with or without power feed, chrome or non-chrome ways, DROs, horsepower output and accessories included in your deal, vice, rotory table, colleting, divider heads, etc.
Condition of the machine, eccesive way lash, abused tables, missing components, broken crank handles or a table that just will not tram in.
This does include you folks who bought Bridgeport clones and your observations.
I already know - The price it's worth is the price you or someone else will pay for one. I'm just asking for everyone's experience with finding one weather it was a good deal or a nightmare.
I also thought since we're on this topic people could include what to look for and how to look for common problems. This will help our fellow fabber's future search for a machine.
For those who don't know what a Bridgeport is;
http://www.miertool.com/equipment/Bridgeport_2.JPG

EDIT - Lets also answer some questions for those wondering what some of the periphriels (sp) are like divider heads and rotory tables.......if they ask.

Price varies with location. The cheap prices I see in New England make me jealous. California has better prices than where Ilive too.

I've got a really old Bridgeport, built in 1942, with the round arm and M-head. http://members.tcq.net/jnutter/machineshop/photos/photo2.html It's in decent shape. I paid $1000 for it about 2 years ago. I think it's got only one mark on the table and the vice covers that most of the time. It came with a Bridgeport vice with a swivel base and one collet. There's no slop in the ways, but it does tighten up just a little at the ends of the travel. The screws have .015"Y and .025"X back lash. It's got the small table, 32" long.

The M-head kind of sucks. The MT 2 tooling is not the problem though. MT 2 tooling is easy to find and not expensive. Collets only go to 1/2", but you can get reduce shank end mills if you need to. The problem is the lack of a powered downfeed in the head. Using a boring head without power downfeed sucks. As far as milling goes, it's a little underpowered but fine for me. I was hogging on mild steel with a 1/2" roughing end mill a couple nights ago and it removed metal as fast as I needed it to.

I used belt drive J-heads and vari-speeds when I was taking the class a year ago. I like the belt drive J-heads a lot better than the vari-speeds. I can't put my finger on exactly why, they just seemed to work nicer and seemed more trouble free. Eventually I'll sell this one off and upgrade to one of those. I'd like to get a bigger table too.

Here's my $.02 on the stuff to look for or not.

Don't worry too much about backlash in the table screws. They are Acme thread and there is always some backlash. I've heard they came from the factory with .015" to .025". The only way to get zero back lash in the table screws is to go to ball screws, and then you have the problem of the screw not self braking becuase there is no friction in ball screws. The best way to deal with backlash in the screws is to get a DRO. You can make good parts without a DRO, but you have to be more careful and pay a lot more attention. I've got my DRO box built (check out http://www.shumatech.com/ if you are cheap), I just need to get some scales...

Wear wise, the ways are a big deal. They tend to wear more in the middle, but they are adjustable. If you get a chance, adjust the ways so the table just moves freely in the middle of both the X and Y and then crank it to the extremes of it travel in both directions. It's probably going to get a little bindy towards the ends of it's travel unless there is no wear. You have to decide for yourself as to how much of that you can live with. A person who has a Bridgeport for a hobby can live with a lot more bind than the guy who turns those cranks for a living...

Last but not least, run the head through every speed and make sure the power down feed on the quill works right. It's best if you can take a cut into some mild steel and see how it sounds. It's possible to repair the head, but you should deduct a lot from the price of the machine if there are any problems at all with the head.

Nice things to get with your machine:

1) DRO
2) 1 shot lube
3) Vice
4) tooling and hold down stuff

I picked up 1995 mighty comet 9x42 with dro and power feed off ebay about a year ago for $1180.very tight clean machine.Like you I looked hard for a long time tryin to find the "right" machine for the $.Wasnt really picky on brand as for comet bridgeport enco etccc....seen all them in shop use over the years.I really wanted a varispeed cause you can deal with speeds and feeds faster and more precise(speed ratios).Everything Ive wanted to do can be done on a step pully set up.As for tooling hunted down a 16'' vertical horizontal rotary table along with a bunch of collets,tilt table,clamp sets,some misc. end mills, cutters,kurt vise and some other stuff for $650 from a guy retiring.Bought about another $1000 worth of new end mills, inicol, indicator, chuck, mister etc.... definitly worth spending extra $ for quality tools.Also had to get a 3 hp rotary convertor which was $350 new from anderson convertors.It took more $ to get it rollin than I planned but I use it all the time now and it sure is nice,good luck on your search.

A new Enco clone will outperform a worn out 'bridgeport' a thousand times over. Some things the operator cannot compensate for. I do not see the reasoning behind ruling out the fullsize bridgeport clones. hell we have a cincinnati here, same as a bridgeport, old as hell. Why not look at some of those brands, still old american iron. Or are you one of those guys that think if its not a bridgeport it is junk?

First, know that I have worked in a tool room and have done some R&D work for a major hydrualics firm and I know about tooling... Just so you don't think that I am totally off the wall.. How I miss the days of unlimited tooling (not just mills, but CNC stuff - surface and tool grinders, etc.). :(

With that being said, I'm one of the guys that can't swing any mill (unless maybe one of the HF mini mills) and I have a couple of questions...

So, here is my question. I have a floor mount 16 speed 5/8's chuck drill press and I want to know if I can do some VERY basic milling with that if I replace the chuck with a mill holder (use the same taper as the chuck) and add a cheapy slide vise or table.

All I really need for most stuff is the ability to cut a slot for adjustment, or sometimes clean up an area (especially on angle iron) so that it is flat with the other side.

Can I get away with this, with say up to a 1/2" end mill? I don't want to order the end mills, a holder, and a table or vise if it isn't going to work at all... But I have the new Enco flyer open on my desk and I can get all the stuff for under $50 righ now...

glfredrick -- in a nutshell "can a drill press be used for light duty milling" -- No. :(

When you do any milling you impose quite a bit of side loads on the bearings. Most drill presses are just not rigid enough to hold that side pressure.

For the "mind blower"... you want to mill something, don't overlook that router! For light duty milling, make up a wood pattern (so the router always travels the same distance every time). Bolt that wood pattern over your aluminum work piece. Fire up the router and route just 0.010" on every pass. Oh very time consuming, but amazing what can be done with time and patience.

Tom :usa:

There are lots of older USA machines that are decent Mills for the home shop. Do not limit yourself to "bridgeport".

Most of the old "oil boom days" machine shops in Texas have dried up and blown away with the wind. Occasionaly you still find deals in DFW or Houston, but majority of the shops are all CNC stuff.

Found this web site listing various machines.... "millers" in the UK is milling machine in USA. Nice List! (http://www.lathes.co.uk/page21.html)

I have a Index 555 Milling machine. It was fitted with a DRO, power feeds (X & Y -- nice option), and had a power feed Z (quill) which is nice for smooth boring (i.e. feed rate of 0.0015" per revolution). Thankfully it was retrofitted for R8 tooling before I bought it (originally BS #9).

Paid $2000 for it 10 years ago. Still would give the same price today (DRO then was about $2K in value, about $800 today). With power feeds, DRO, and R8 tooling it has paid for itself over the years.

Index is still alive and kicking as "Wells-Index" today (nice machines).

I've got to uncrate the Mill today (been sitting outside for TWO YEARS) to move it around the shop to get the doors up. Will post up a photo later. Just hope it isn't a pile of rust!!! :eek:

Tom :usa:

there are other options for a verticle milling machine- tree,gorton,cincinatti,wells-index,milwaukee etc and they are all good machines and well made. there is also a lot of taiwan offerings you could consider purchasing depending upon your budget and the type of work you intend to do with it. i personally prefer a bridgeport mill because there was more than 250,000 of these machines mfg. since the late 30's. bridgeport closed their doors and sold off the equipment to the factory last year i believe and hardinge took over the name and continues to sell them. the parts you need to keep your machine running are avaliable from several companies and are reasonably priced.this is a important thing you should remember when you purchase a machine tool. i spent $20.00 for a feed trip lever to repair the powerfeed on our bridgeport in our maint. shop. i was expecting to pay 50-75.00 for it because it is a "machine tool part". 14 years ago i had a job in maintenance at a mfg. plant. the tool and die dept. had a older cincinatti 12x42'' lathe- the operator complained about the backlash on the cross feed screw-approx1/2 turn. i called the factory with a model and serial number to purchase a new screw and cross-feed nut. we were quoted $1700.00 . that was about what the entire lathe was worth. the cross feed screw was approx. 12'' long with a single start 5/8'' left hand acme thread with some bearing seats,snap ring grooves,woodruff key seats and a thread on the end where the handle goes.i went ahead and made a replacement crossfeed screw and alum.bronze nut for it- it was a p.i.t.a. to singlepoint thread the small internal acme thread. when assembled the new screw assembly had approx. .004'' backlash and was consistent through it's length of travel. the toolmakers were impressed and allowed me to enter the shop anytime and use any machine i wanted after that. i would hate to guess what that screw and nut would cost today. a good used bridgeport also holds its value and is easier to sell if you are forced into that situation. also tooling for them is easy to find for sale on ebay- right angle heads,shaping heads,cherrying heads,quill master variable angle head for milling in tight places etc. as well as the normal tooling that is generic to a verticle turrent milling machine- rotary tables,5c indexers,dividing heads,boring heads etc. i'm not trying to say that you should only buy a bridgeport-in my case it would be my 1st pick but having any milling machine in your shop is always better than not having any machine at all to work with. when you guys are out shopping for a mill and inspecting it broken/damaged/missing parts don't forget to inspect the inside of the spindle- make sure the drive key has not been damaged/missing from spinning a collet inside it,that the internal taper that locates the collets is not damaged/scored and indicate the inside of the spindle to make sure it isn't bent.

I have a 1981 Enco mill drill at the shop. Bought it a few years ago for $500. It came with parallels, vice, cross slide table, rotary table, complete collet set, stand, tons of clamping, and t-nut suff, tilting table, a couple of boxes of mills, cutters, countersinks, drills. I was bugging my machinest to find my a good deal on a mill. One of the older guys at his shop was down sizing his home shop and had the mill/drill. I had never made chips, let alone parts before. I now have a good understanding of tooling, measuring, and how not to break stuff. With my mill-drill I have learned what I would want out of a true mill, with no prior knowlage.
In the 1-2k range there are tons of good buys out there. I am partial to the bridgeport Jhead knee mills from the 60's? They are very good looking, well made machines, not that looks make for good machines, but they are nice to look at, and feel good to use. For the stuff I make, a 9x42 that is in good shape will do it all. A good machinest can do alot more than I can, but I am learning.
My drill press is now permantly setup with my holesaw notcher, I use the mill-drill for everything else.

the cross feed screw was approx. 12'' long with a single start 5/8'' left hand acme thread with some bearing seats,snap ring grooves,woodruff key seats and a thread on the end where the handle goes.i went ahead and made a replacement crossfeed screw and alum.bronze nut for it- it was a p.i.t.a. to singlepoint thread the small internal acme thread. when assembled the new screw assembly had approx. .004'' backlash and was consistent through it's length of travel.
What, you once machined something other than stainless? :p

Little to add, here, other than to bring out something Dave said for easier searchability: Bridgeport is a manufacturer/brand of vertical turret milling machine, much as Kleenex makes tissue. You may find better deals looking for vertical turret mills, when everyone else seeks Bridgeport.

Randii (who has neither at home, but has access to a modest machine shop at work)

What, you once machined something other than stainless? :p

Little to add, here, other than to bring out something Dave said for easier searchability: Bridgeport is a manufacturer/brand of vertical turret milling machine, much as Kleenex makes tissue. You may find better deals looking for vertical turret mills, when everyone else seeks Bridgeport.

Randii (who has neither at home, but has access to a modest machine shop at work)

Guys,
what is the deal with Gorton mills?

A few years ago, I ended up buying the tool-rom from a customer I was packing up to move to Asia, and ended up with a Gorton mill along with the Mori-seiko 850 lathe I wanted (not to mention all the other tools) I have yet to be able to run the equip, due to divorce, no room and moving, and puttin all in deeep storage, but am interested in info on Gorton mills? it had Dro on it and I am forgetting what model it is, besides being three phase(I picked up a couple phase converters for the two, but hadn't had aplace to use them yet sadly as with unemployment there is no way to buy a place here...

anyway, anyone use Gorton mills" know if spares are redily available and all that? I will be planning on using it soon, and am curious as everyone tells me I got a major steel on it( the company sold a damaged gorton for $1500. aqnd mine is perfect and was much much less...go figure! pre-bids are a bitch for auctions sometimes!
it has r-8's and I have managed to pick up a few dozen pounds of mills from 1/8? to 2" or so and am jazzzed abut finally getting to play.

paul

What, you once machined something other than stainless? :p

Little to add, here, other than to bring out something Dave said for easier searchability: Bridgeport is a manufacturer/brand of vertical turret milling machine, much as Kleenex makes tissue. You may find better deals looking for vertical turret mills, when everyone else seeks Bridgeport.

Randii (who has neither at home, but has access to a modest machine shop at work)
that is a good point you brought up randi- it depends on what you need to machine/ type of projects you intend to do. basic milling machine work can be accomplished with a vice and the usual generic tooling for a milling machine.-if you need to do more-there are lot's of stuff avaliable for bridgeports that allow you to expand the machine's capabilities. i bought a shaping attachment for one of my bridgeports so i can do internal splining.not the fastest way to do the job but i have more time than money. can you say 40 spline dana 60 front? i'm building the tooling to accomplish this so i have something to do when i retire this year.b.t.w.- i tried to p.m. you but your box is full.

Guys,
what is the deal with Gorton mills?


Sounds like you got a good deal. I've never used a Gorton, but my understanding is that they are good solid American iron. Sounds like you got a good lathe too.

Here's a thread on Gortons from one of the machinist boards link (http://www.chaski.com/ubb/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=gendiscussion&Number=56724&page=5&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1)
Thereare a couple good links in that post.

I purchased a Kent (bridgeport knockoff) at an auction for $4k about 2 years ago. The machine was 4 years old and had been certified 2 months prior (basically a sheet that tells you it's accuracy). Variable speed, power feed, R8, 3hp 3ph, etc

Some background: Prior to owning a mill I had the biggest Craftsman drillpress you could get.

Having had the mill for a couple of years now I'll say that I'm not sure I could ever use a drill press again. Having a DRO and the horsepower of a true mill makes drilling any size hole a dream. Boring, facing, etc are awesome to be able to do in the shop. Compared to my friends Enco Mill Drill there's no comparison. His mill-drill is already slopy just from slotting 3/16" plate for a couple of months yet I'm able to run a 3/4" roughing endmill .400 deep and go all day long...quite the difference.

$4k was a heafty price tag for me but looking back it was one of my best purchases to date.

I have recently decided to convert this mill to CNC to increase my capabilities and I'm waiting on the conversion kit to arrive any day now. I'm not so sure that a Bridgeport is necessary to professionally make parts and you can get away with running an import (accuracy depends on the machines state not the name on the plate). I will stand behind the statement that a mill drill shouldn't be purchased for milling...it's really a drill that can do very light duty milling. Equiped with a DRO a mill drill would be cool if you needed to drill percise holes...

my $.02

I have recently decided to convert this mill to CNC to increase my capabilities and I'm waiting on the conversion kit to arrive any day now.

Details? Stepper or Servo motors?

Tom :usa:

A new Enco clone will outperform a worn out 'bridgeport' a thousand times over

for the first 10 days...sorry for the thread hi-jack

Details? Stepper or Servo motors?

Tom :usa:

Only Servo's...

I had to choose between ordering a complete bolt-on solution and building it myself. Obviously with building it myself I'd save some cash and gain a good experience but I decided that in the time it would save me to buy a bolt-on setup, I could likely make the money back to pay the difference and those that do it professionally will do a much better job than me on my first go-around (though not first CNC project).

After looking I chose to go with Duane's setup at elrod machine (http://www.elrodmachine.com). With the setup I purchased I can import a cad file in dxf format, post, and basically run that part very quickly with almost no learning curve. The centroid controller has all kinds of functions that allows me to do just about anything you can think of and the hardware allows me to run the machine in fully manual mode, xy CNC with manual z, full CNC, and pause CNC to use the machine in manual only to go right back and pick up where I left off. As far as bang for the buck goes...a smokin' deal. Given I have some CAD experience I should be able to make parts right out of the box.

I'll let you know how it goes in a month when it's all together.

About my Enco mill-drill. I would not buy another one, but for what I paid everything that came with it was wort the purchase price, but I am now looking for a real mill. My drillpress kicks the Enco's ass. I have a very old Fosdick drillpress, at the shop it is know as the "big unit". I would not trade it for any new import drillpress. The mills I have used fall in the same catagory, I would not trade a good older US made large cast mill for a new import stamped/weldment mill.
If I did not have my drill press I would buy a mill-drill before a cheap import drillpress. For what a mill-drill is, it is a very handy tool, and far more usefull than a cheap drill press. It comes down to space in your shop, how, and how much you use it, and the amount of money you want to spend. I Have 5 wirefeed welders, so I see no problem with a drillpress, mill-drill, and mill. They all serve a different purpose, and I am building a new 6000sqft shop, just for me. Space will not be a problem for a while :D :D
Comming form a nonmachinest I will upgade whatever mill I get to DRO, it is not going to make me a better machinest, but it does make life easier. For my use, cnc would be a waste, a good manual machine would do well.

i bouught my Bridgeport at auction from a furniture manufacture. I paid $1200 and it includes a DRO, bridgeport 15" rotary table, bridgeport vice and a whole tool box full of end mills (aprox 400 end mills ). it has a variable speed motor and over all it is in great shape. a machinist friend of mine shecked it out and he said it is ready to work condition. i have been looking for a deal on the X,Y and Z power feeds.

i spent about 3 years looking for a deal like i got and finally found it at auction at www.dovebids.com it was back east and it cost me $900 for loading and shipping from a friend of mine in the transport biz.

oh ya, i painted it red myself ( PITA )

Great thread timing...


Ive got a Line on a Really nice looking Bridgeport, unknown Model, I only have the serial numbers, It was used privatly for gunsmithing. The guy also has a Clausing 1300 Lathe also in very good condition.


No vise on the Mill and no tooling.
The lathe only has a facing tool. Thats it, no chuck key or anything.

Can anyone help me out with what I should offer this guy ? I can get pics tomorrow !


Thanks
Jerod

How the "F" do I start a post and get unsubscribed from it without doing so?

I didn't add the fact that I've been machining for over 20 years have experience with most machines, both hand and CNC.

I do agree that some of the clones are very good machines, Cincinati, Sharp and Kennametal looks good too. Clones like SuperMax, Enco and Kent are somewhat cheazie though, sometimes you could just tell by turning a crank. Alot of cheazie clones usually have the small parts that break, quill feed lever or quill spring and be a real bitch to repair. I've seen graduation collars crack from poor quality.
Machinist.......Have you had bad experiences with Kurt anglock vices like me? When the moving jaw grabs the work piece and you snug it up, the moving jaw kicks up changing the flatness of your piece. Bridgeport vices are more reliable than a $800 vice. I've fixed them by pinning them like a die fixture but that shouldn't be needed for an expensive vice.

I just found an old South Bend (Bridgeport clone), funny, I thought South Bend was older than Bridgeport. A very clean machine but kind of pricey still at $2K with vice, collets and standard 220v (not 3 phase).

Now that I found this thread getting some action I'm gonna go back and read some more.

BTW, Camo, you have have issues and I like it, a red Bridgeport, along with everything else.

My boss just recently purchased a new Sharp Vert. mill for me to run.Besides the fact that the motor burned up and the quill feed stopped working it is a nice machine to run.It has a lower end Sargon DRO which I dont care for,and by the way the DRO also had to be replaced after a week!Give me back the Sony Millman!We have three other Chevalier vert. mills in the shop.Most of the problems with these are the belts and bearings going bad,but considering we do a lot of stainless(440,410,17-4 etc.)the machines put up with a lot abuse.I'm sure they would last longer If they only saw Alum. and plastic.For garage work I would take a clone anyday.

I have a newer model Kurt vise on the mill at work and don't have problems getting mat'l square.

If there is a lot of back-lash, the lead screw or lead nut could be worn out. On some models there is an adjustment on the lead nut to adjust the back - lash.

It's not to difficult to replace the bearings( except spindle bearings) and belt on these varible speed heads.Another thing that wears out are keys and bushings on the varible speed pulleys.

The Lagun machines are very nice and their models that are larger than your std bridgeport are superior to the bridgeport.



Camo so your the one with the red brigeport...I like it

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=166160&stc=1

Update on my findings.

South Bend Vertical Ram-Style Milling Machine
Table Dim - 9"x42"
Built in rotary converter.
Hydraulic quill feed (down feed).
Geared table X feed.
Automatic table stops.
Full circuit protection w/ overload heaters.
Runs off standard 220V.
Newly repainted and clean.
7 thousanths backlash on X axis.
Table and ways all in excellant condition.
Gross weight is approx. 2000 lbs.
Comes w/ used vise and some tooling.
81" tall.
30" table travel.
18" vertical feed of knee.
20" spindle to table.
20" spindle to column.
15" ram travel.
360 degree head rotation.
4" quill travel.
3/4" collet capacity.
#30MM spindle taper.
Spindle speeds: 135, 220, 350, 560,
900, 1450, 2330, 3750 rpm.

http://b.im.craigslist.org/JF/7E/qBefkwMXUc0FjkzKw6TqDQ80wlKc.jpg http://b.im.craigslist.org/bC/NF/rhp4KLdWdTEV2vWdiWVVHCVKVWel.jpg
I could get this thing for $1500. It looks clean as h3ll.
I have two problems;
1.) $1500 is the top of my machine budget which doesn't leave any room for having a mover haul it 50 miles for me. I have a cherry picker, 18' steel deck trailer and a few friends but no fork lift. I don't know if this will be enough to move this 2000 lb hunk.
2.) It uses 30mm collets which I have no idea if they are available anymore. I did a quick search and found that alot of wood tooling seems to use this type taper or even South Bend Lathes.
Any thoughts?
I really like the fact that it's 220v and not 3 phase. I also like the head's pivot beam.

Do you know anyone with a skid loader? I have a small skid loader, but I think I could pick that by first pulling the turret off and then moving the base. That's what I did with my Bridgeport anyways http://members.tcq.net/jnutter/bridgeport/ It worked great.

I'd probably start searching for the collets at the south bend parts dept http://www.southbendlathe.com/parts.htm that's probably not the cheapest place to get collets, but at least you can find out if they still exist.

moveing them is a bitch and you aint gonna do it unless you have the real deal on equipment.

when i unloaded mine we used a huge off road fork lift that was delivered on a semi truck.

when i woved it to my new shop i hired a crane.

trying to move one without the proper setup will probally lead to damageing it our yourself or others. think it through and hire the proper equipment.

trying to move one without the proper setup will probally lead to damageing it our yourself or others. think it through and hire the proper equipment.
That's what I'm thinking, I think I'm gonna put it off a couple more years and just use the one at the shop. Moving something that big and heavy makes me really nervous.

My BP was on a wood pallet when I bought it. I rented a hydraulic drop bed trailer and a pallet jack ($100). The entire bed of the trailer drops to the ground and you just roll the mill on and leave the pallet jack under the mill. I moved mine by myself and it was a pain, bit it can be done. FWIW, my BP is still bolted down to the pallet so if I ever need to move it again, I can do it easily. I did have to rotate the head to get it in the garage. Get rid of the rotary converter and buy a VFD so you can fine tune the spindle speed between what the pulleys give you. I can't stand the noise of the rotary converters. The 4" quill travel kind of sucks, but you can always crank the knee.....I wish I had a power knee on mine. Overall, it looks like a great machine for the hobbiest.....besides, you can always use the machines at work if you need something more (unless they don't allow that).

You saw my mill when you came over. It was about $3400 with for a 1984 J head step pulley, 2 axis DRO, power x-feed, 10" or 12" rotary table, 90* gear head, indexer, lots of 3/4" and 1" end mills, two t-slot kits, Kurt anglock vice, ding free table, collet set, boring bar, slitting saws, R8 drill chucks, and a bunch of other things.

Movin them isn't really that hard if youve got a low trailer and concrete to work with.Moved mine twice in the last couple months(first purchase then moved)used 1'' pipe,a come along and a strap.Just takes a while movin inches at a time,faimly was in the estate movin' buisness for years...........moved lots of stuff.

Bought a bigger vertical mill today.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3865618775

Since the original question was about price and condition - here goes.

The price I paid is right there on the auction. Figure another 6.5% for Mn sales tax and a $50 loading fee and I'm at about $700 with the mill sitting on my trailer.

The condition is "used but not abused". No marks on the table. Ways are OK, no bind at the extremes of X and Y travel and no slop. I didn't get to run it, but the spindle turned very smoothly by hand and had no slop.

Positives of this mill: Big and rigid. Has power feed on X. Has a step pulley head (I like step pulleys better). 2 hp motor. Built in coolant pump. Comes with a drill chuck (better than no tooling at all). Table has anti-backlash built in for climb milling. Built in one shot lube. Famco bought Gorton and the parts are still readily available. This mill was local, less than 20 miles away. The seller was alright, I'll probably do business with him again.

Big positive: There's a Gorton Mill group on yahoo groups. It made researching this mill a lot easier. I found out where to get tooling for cheap from this group. They also had the manuals for this particular model in PDF form in the files section. Knowledge is good. I would have stayed away from this mill if I hadn' t been able to learn about it before I bid.

Neutral: Brown and Sharp 9 taper on the spindle. This is basically the same size and capacity as R8, but a different shape. The guys on the Gorton mill group say that Wells Index will grind the spindle to an R8 taper for around $250 plus shipping each way. I probably won't bother getting the spindle ground becuase H&H industrial products sells the B&S 9 collets for about $10. Stuff like boring head shanks, drill shanks and shell mill arbors are also available in B&S 9. I can also get tooling with a 3/4" straight shank and run that in a 3/4" collet. All in all B&S 9 is not the worst taper you could get. I can live with paying $10 a piece for new B&S9 collets instead of $8 for new R8 collets.

Negatives: Missing knee crank. Can you guess what the next project for my Bridgeport will be? This mill also did not come with the optional power downfeed for the spindle. The factory power downfeed had a motor to run it. There's no reasn I can't adapt a stepper motor to do this job. It's just one more thing to do.

I'm not going to pick it up until it gets about 0 dgrees F. Probably Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.

Bought a bigger vertical mill today.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3865618775

I'm not going to pick it up until it gets about 0 dgrees F. Probably Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.

nice!
now add the dro and that looks like what I have in storage waiting for a shop to put it in....anyone else hae one of these?

Nice buy!! Those are fun little mills

Bridgeports are a rare find around here. I got sick of looking and then found this Tree 2UVR that came from a local trade school. Table is perfect, plus it came with a phase-o-matic converter , Anilam DRO, and a bunch of tooling for $850. I could'nt find a junk Bridgeport for less than $1100 with no extras.

Moving it isn't as bad as you'd think. We put some 2x4's on the table and folded the head down onto them to lower the COG. A pry bar and a bunch of pipe to roll it around on. I've moved it around the garage by myself. I hired a local towing company to move it from the sellers home to mine. Because I pre-scheduled it they only charged me $65. When we moved about a year ago it cost me about $70 to get it to the new house. They used a tilting flatbed and placed a strap on the column to slide it up the bed. Pretty easy.

All in all a great tool to have around. I do alot more with it than I thought I would. I have purchased the controllers and servo motors and will be converting it to CNC shortly!

I just started my third machining course at the local tech school and last night we got to start to work on the mills. I still have not had any luck finding machines here in Oklahoma.