bridgeport buying help

[Winterwatchers]

Hi, I have been lurking around here but never posted before, but now I would like to get into the game by buying a used bridgeport or similar mill.

I live in NJ and I saw a 1980s bridgeport that is in great shape /w excellent ways and table for about 4500. The dealer told me that it had only one previous owner who took real good care of it. It is a thousand more than I wanted to spend. however the dealer said he would thrown in some collets, used cutter, and a divider.

My long term plan is build a cnc and lathe and use it to build hobby working engines and other high accuracy parts. My machining experience is sadly almost nonexistant. I am watching instructional videos right now. hopefully that will make me an expert . This will be my first machine tool purchase, Should I go for it? or are there better options?

edit: forgot to mention, there are no dro or powerfeed

[sbi1406]

you can buy a nice basic "NEW" one for 4500, or keep looking, there are quite a few nice used on the east coast for 1500 to 2200 with DRO and feed
have you browsed in E-bay? TYPE IN KNEE MILL OR BRIDGEPORT this will show you where to go and look
I have been looking also, but as a almost retired master machinist, I know what I want, just setting up a hobby shop in my garage to keep my self busy in my greyer years

[Winterwatchers]

sbi1406
Thank you for the response. I have been looking at ebay for the past few weeks. I seen a few in the 2000 range, but they are in terrible condition, most of the time the ways are worn and the tables has pot holes in them. I tried to keep my search within 2 to 3 hrs drive, so i can inspect in person.

Also I have been expanding my search to other mills such as enco, jet, grizzly, etc. How is the abene vhf horizontal/vertical mill btw? I saw the ebay posting for it. Abene Horizontal/Vertical Mill Model VHF-3 - eBay (item 250306279199 end time Feb-26-11 05:31:18 PST)

It looks really worn, but I heard good things about it.

[sj owen]

Winterwatchers,

I've been down this road before. I suppose this may raise the hackles of Chinese mill owners (BTW my CNC bed mill has Chinese iron), but a moderately worn BP mill is twice as good as any new Chinese mill.

We have two Grizzlys here that we bought (against my advise) for the student shop, one lathe and one vertical mill. Both have been very disappointing. Both in breakage,backlash,parts wearing or falling apart, the ability to take a decent cut and have a good finish, & ect.

We have several BP mills some dating back from the '60's (moderately worn)that are far better in fit & function and quality of results.

Hold out for a good used BP, I believe you'll be glad you did! Take care of it and it will last you a life time.

[Winterwatchers]

I wonder how does bridgeport compare to other american mills such as cincinatti, Birmingham and Lagun. I ask because it seems that all the bridgeport I looked at cost a bit more than other mills of similar condition. I heard that taiwan made mills are pretty good as well.

[sbi1406]

BP from the J head on are great, and due to the shim's adjustment ,it can be worn but still due good work if you know how to set one up. The Laguns come from Spain and are heavy and tough, most of my tool and die freinds swear by them, Cinn. are the monsters, I have a 2mi I would like to sell, full power with rappid and coolant, only weighs a mere 6500 lbs, 69 x 10 table, a little big for the home shop, but it may end up ther yet.
But for just job work and small parts the Knee mill design is the best universal mill you can invest in, like a farmer customer said many decades ago, while i was drilling hole with the shops J head " that's a mighty neat drill press you have there!"

[Winterwatchers]

I saw a cinci for about 3500, it is big indeed, though not as big as the one you had. The dealer said the cinci is build better than the bridgeport, is that true?

[TarHeelTom]

Originally Posted by Winterwatchers I saw a cinci for about 3500, it is big indeed, though not as big as the one you had. The dealer said the cinci is build better than the bridgeport, is that true?

I can't speak for the Cinci, but most of the big mills out there are known as "Bridgeport clones".

If you can stumble across a cnc Bridgeport, latch onto it. You'll most likely have to junk the computer, but a PC fits in there with lots and lots of room to spare, and works as good or better than the Bp computer.

Tom Wade -- Machinist Section -- New CNC Mill

Tom

[pliedblad]

Cant go wrong with a Bridgeport - Best Reproduction is a Sharp. Stay away of the cheaper ones if you need to make precision parts.
DRO is an add on but don't skimp - Buy a good one.

Make an offer to the Dealer but $4000 is good if it is in Excellent condition - If you take care of it it will be worth $4000 years from now when you sell it.

[nate]

I have owned a bunch of non Bridgeport mills over the past few years. Once I bought my BP I will never look back. The beauty of having an actual BP is that parts and accessories are avaiable and affordable. For this reason alone, I advise sticking with a BP.

for 4G's, that machine at the machinery dealer had better be in top notch shape.

I bought my 1988 series II with 2hp varispeed head for 250.00 not 2500.00 but 250.00 deals can be had, though not often as good as the one I got.

Buy a BP! a real one, and never regret it.

[cheetahcnc]

I have run several Bridgeports over the years, and settled on a Lagun for myself a few years ago. The 16" Y axis travel, 3hp, and 3000 pounds sold me on it. There is plenty more iron dampening the milling. One thing to keep in mind, most used mills I've purchased needed the variable pulley system repaired, which gets real pricey with the Bridgeport. The motor has to be disassembled to get the pulley off. My Lagun was simple, but parts on both machines are expensive. Another thing is check for all the handles being there, as they have a way of being absent on most machines, and cost lots to acquire separately.

Jim

[Winterwatchers]

nate
you gotta tell me how to got a 1988 one for 250!! That is insane. Is the seller an idiot or just desperate for cash? For that matter is he still selling them?

I think the handles needs a little fixing. They don't have the spring back, so you had to push them in to rotate. The dealer said he will fix that. The Quill when manually pushing down seems a little tight, but I don't know if that means anything. From what I can tell, the table looks like new, except for one small round notch. The ways looks like new. It's just a beautiful machine.