Subject: Re: Help with Bridgeport mill price

From: [email-masked] (Randy Lee)
Date: Mon, 10 Oct 94 21:26:05 GMT

In Article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Mark
Sitarik) wrote:
>
>I have the opportunity to bid on a used Bridgeport mill and need help to 
>determine a fair bid price.  It appears to be about 20 years old (my guess).
>It is 1 1/2 hp 230v 3-phase.  It is not a CNC machine but does have a
>power feed table. the Model # is 139255.
>
>I can't ask the local dealers for advice since I am bidding against them.
>Any help would be very much appreciated.  Please respond to this newsgroup
>or to my E-mail address below.

Mark, To be of much help we would need to know a lot more about the machine.
a call to bridgeport will tell you when it was made and to who it was sold.

next is it a J head (speed changed via belts) or a 2J head with speed
changed via little hand wheels on the front of the head.

if it is a J head is it a round rame or a dovetail ram machine (I think most
all Series one IIJ heads are dovetail ram as built by bridgeport but as
Bridgeport will do almost anything to order this is not a given)

What is the length to the table, 32 in, 42in etc. what type of power table feed.
 lock the movements and note the back lash in the center of the table and at
the ends... ( for example at the center you get .085 and at the end .035
about .050 of this can be adjusted out on a newer machine ) this will tell
you how badly the lead screw is worn(in this there is about .050 more in the
center) but older bridge ports do not have the adjustable nut to take this out.

what is the depth of the knee? 

does it have a riser block on the col.

how does the head sound when it is run in normal and in back gear.
What is the ammount of play in the cluch on the spindle with a bright light
and mirror inspect the R-8 taper socket in the quill. check the top and
bottom of the spindle drawbar... signs of abuse here can be a warning sign

what is the condition of the Table has it ever been welded... or does it
have pox or breakouts in the t-slots is it tight in the  ends of its travel
when set for good gib tension at the center: are orignal scrape marks still
seen on the mateing surfaces.

a 20 year old series one Bridgeport can be worth between $1000 and $6000
depending on how these questions are ans.

in general a used series one (J head) in good condition will bring between
2000 and 3000. if it makes grinding noises in back gear and is a problem
shifting in a out of same; if the table looks like swiss cheese and the ways
are hour glass shaped dont dispair  as even a 'scapper' can be made to be
like new for less than $4,000. try to locate an old retired tool rebuilder
to look at it for you to give yoy an idea of what it will cost to fix...
offer to pay him  for his trouble and you may make a good friend.

~R
________________________________________________________
Randolph Lee    [email-masked]  [email-masked]
Tag space For rent!.... Inquire Above for atractive rates!

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From: [email-masked] (Mark Sitarik)
Date: Sun, 9 Oct 1994 15:54:56 GMT

Thanks in advance.

Mark Sitarik                       |   E-mail address is [email-masked]    
1155 Alpine Ave., Suite 360        |
Boulder, CO  80304                 |   "The only reason for time is so
Phone # (303) 449-9500             |    everything doesn't happen at once."
Fax # (303) 444-1839               |
                                   |                -Buckaroo Banzai

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From: [email-masked] (Bruce Holder)
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 20:57:08 GMT

Mark Sitarik ([email-masked]) wrote:
: I have the opportunity to bid on a used Bridgeport mill and need help to 

: I can't ask the local dealers for advice since I am bidding against them.
: Any help would be very much appreciated.  Please respond to this newsgroup
: or to my E-mail address below.

Please respond to this newsgroup, as I also have the opportunity to bid
against Mark :) and the local dealers (assuming that this is the Solbourne
liquidation that Mark is talking about).

--
Bruce Holder		[email-masked]
			(303)530-8739

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From: [email-masked] (Randy Lee)
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 94 16:05:10 GMT

I find that the Bridgeport vice that was 'tossed in for free' with my
Bridgport mill is not up to what I need to do... not only does the first 2
in of the slide face look like swiss cheese (guess the last owner did not
believe in packing!) but there is a lot of lift at the moveing jaw when I
sock it up.. I use a bit of bar stock between the jaw and the work so I can
tap the work down but I realy need a good vice...

roaming the catalogs it looks like there are about 4 levels of Kurt and kurt
like 6" swivel base vices...

1. super cheap $ 80 to $100 up to $130 (seen as sale leader items and from
places like enco... I would expect these to be like the 2 ton Arbor press I
got from Enco... ie a kit of parts needing much work before fair performance
can be expected)

2. Cheap $189 to 230 (these seem to be the ones with the own brand lables
like SPI and Precise... I am a touch tempted by these)

3. Mid price $299 to $400 (these seem to include 'select' versions of #2 as
well as the british vice imported by MSC/ROmax... the british vice however
seems not to have the Kurt 'no lift design' ie it seems a lot like my old
Bridgeport vice.)

4. the real thing at 390 to 410 for the vice and 175 to 190 for the base or
around $565 to $600... ouch! I know you get what you pay for but what
exactly do you get over say a $230 SPI or Precise clone for the extra $300?

I don't have easy access right now to a surface grinder to true up a vise;
so I am not considering a vice from #1 but one from #2 or #3 is a bit
attractive as with a real Kurt I would need to get the just the vice now and
add the base later... I do note that the new Kurt opens a bit more than the
clones for now... I sound like I am trying to talk myself into the Kurt
don't I... well In a way I guess I am... for the time I spent getting that
enco arbor press up to spec I could have bought a Dake and had it right from
the start...
________________________________________________________
Randolph Lee    [email-masked]  [email-masked]
Tag space For rent!.... Inquire Above for atractive rates!

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From: [email-masked] (Ken Moonitz)
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 1994 18:24:18 GMT

>Tag space For rent!.... Inquire Above for atractive rates!

I got the 6" Kurt myself but not the swivel base, and have not had
the need for it.  On my small mill I had a ERON vise and would suggest  
checking out their line of vises.