USED BRIDGEMILL FOR SALE

[fastlanecafe]

Thanks to Digital for alerting me to this ad-
mailto:sale-ttg9k-1088127089@craigslist.org?subject=Shopmaster%20El%20Dorado%20mill/lathe%20-%20$1000%20(ingleside%20/%20SFSU%20/%20CCSF)
I contacted them, but its unclear whether they will sell all 4 units or just one. Apparently they have some money coming in from the stimulus package to upgrade to bigger machines. According to them, the machines all work fine and are in great shape, so I am hoping its one of those super deals where they have already amortized the cost over the past 6 years and will not be asking a lot of money.

[grandscale]

Thanks Fastlane for checking the ad out. I, too, read the ad and found once again we did not get the whole story. The sale has nothing to do with a machine falling apart or not doing the job. It has to do with a bad decision by the school district to purchase 3 in 1's to teach students who eventually could seek employment in a machine shop. They need to source stand alone equipment (even if it's used). Sure, you can learn the principles of machining with a 3 in 1. But that's it. These 3 in 1 machines are for hobby and very small job work. You do not find them in larger operations.

[digitalmdj]

They will be glad to off load them to you. Go ahead and buy them. There is a fool born every minute. Especially Trolls like you guys. That means John wont be selling new machines when old machines are selling for a cheap price and they had to work a few of the bugs out just to use them. . There is a method to my madness. He has to sell machines if they buy old machines from someone else he doesn't make money and I win. So go ahead buy all you want.

[sharpshooter90]

There is a method to my madness. He has to sell machines if they buy old machines from someone else he doesn't make money and I win.

What do you win?

[instructor37]

Thanks Fastlane for checking the ad out. I, too, read the ad and found once again we did not get the whole story. The sale has nothing to do with a machine falling apart or not doing the job. It has to do with a decision by the school district to purchase 3 in 1's to teach students who eventually could seek employment in a machine shop.

I can speak with some authority on this subject, as we have old school manual machines and some high end CNC machines along with the Patriots.
In the ad, they say the machines have " too many knobs and levers". its a funny comment, but leads me to believe that they were expecting something like those little desktop units that have no mechanical functions. I'm not familiar with the Bridgemill model, but the Patriot is fairly complex with power gearboxes on all 3 axes and the hi-low spindle brake mechanism. For those not used to the old school methods, it could be a little intimidating. The 3 in 1 machines serve a very important function in the tech ed system. They are low cost and offer lathe and mill function in one, allowing more hands-on student time. The real advantage is in the " weeding out" process. Only about 1 in 10 students who sign up for machinist training will eventually graduate. We find that if they have trouble grasping basic concepts on the 3 in 1 machines, we can get a pretty good idea if they have the right stuff to be a machinist. It is a lot better than turning them loose on a 100K machine.

[digitalmdj]

What kind of excuse will you guys come up with next. You still seem to amaze me on how far out of touch you are with reality. Leave the analyzing up to the buyer. He will know why they sold the machine as soon as he starts it and tries to use it. But I have to say none of us really knew what we were buying until after we bought the machine did we. LOL

[smallblock]

I can speak with some authority on this subject, as we have old school manual machines and some high end CNC machines along with the Patriots.
In the ad, they say the machines have " too many knobs and levers". its a funny comment, but leads me to believe that they were expecting something like those little desktop units that have no mechanical functions. I'm not familiar with the Bridgemill model, but the Patriot is fairly complex with power gearboxes on all 3 axes and the hi-low spindle brake mechanism. For those not used to the old school methods, it could be a little intimidating. The 3 in 1 machines serve a very important function in the tech ed system. They are low cost and offer lathe and mill function in one, allowing more hands-on student time. The real advantage is in the " weeding out" process. Only about 1 in 10 students who sign up for machinist training will eventually graduate. We find that if they have trouble grasping basic concepts on the 3 in 1 machines, we can get a pretty good idea if they have the right stuff to be a machinist. It is a lot better than turning them loose on a 100K machine.

Its the same story in the street rod business. When I bought my 17-20 over 10 years ago, I took a lot of gaff from guys who said it was too small, made in china etc.etc. I can't count the number of heads I did on it and sets of pistons, cranks, brackets and so on. I've moved up to the patriot and am very happy. A lot of those guys from 10 years back are still talking about the street rod they are going to build " someday".

[JoeRobot]

Does anyone know if this Bridgemill is still available for sale? The posting is not on Craigslist anymore and the Craigslist email reply-to doesn't work anymore since the post has expired, so I don't know how to contact the seller. Thanks.

[digitalmdj]

They pulled it last week. Maybe it will post again soon.

[instructor37]

Does anyone know if this Bridgemill is still available for sale? The posting is not on Craigslist anymore and the Craigslist email reply-to doesn't work anymore since the post has expired, so I don't know how to contact the seller. Thanks.

I spoke to them about the machines and how we were using our Patriots in our program. I was thinking that they might be a good buy for us, as we have some expansion coming up. I think it may have been a situation where they had an instructor with " shopping fever" wanting to buy some very fancy equipment. Once the bean counters got involved, they decided to hang on to what they have.

[digitalmdj]

These machines are not a good idea for a teaching tool. Separate machines are the way to go. That way more kids can actually have hands on. The shoptask limits the amount of people you can have operating a machine at one time. There are so many good deals out there right now the small machines don't make much sense.

[instructor37]

Once the bean counters got involved, they decided to hang on to what they have.

We were in a similar situation, and frankly, I was tending toward some more expensive seperates myself. However when we began putting the numbers together, the Patriot came out on top for our entry level students. In today's education, CNC training is a must. With seperates we would have had to buy twice as many CNC systems, DRO's, benches etc. It would have killed our budget and left us with far fewer machines for the students to get hands on experience.