Got my Bridgeport home

[Bernd]

Thanks BR,

Actually I was testing the stair build, I wanted to see how much weight they could hold. :big: :big: :big:

Bernd

 

[Bernd]

It's been a while since I've posted anything on the Bridgeport. Putting the pieces back together again is a slow process, but it's getting done when I can find some time for that project. I'm not going to bore you with the details. Hopefully the following pics are of interest as I assemble the Bridgeport.

The last pic showed all the parts were in one area after I'd moved everything down to the basement. Here I'm getting the base into position using the pipe rollers.

Notice how they are at an angle. This facilitates in turning the base to the proper orientation.

Now for a bit of clean up. There were lots of stuck on chips.

This is the damaged area I was talking about earlier in the thread that will need fixing. Apparently sometime in this machines life when it got moved something or someone got the adjustment handle of the knee hung up on something. They managed to break the handle, which is aluminum, the gear shaft clutch, and bend the end of the shaft.

Here's a better pic of the bent shaft.

I did finally get it all apart. That will be another thread all by itself when I get to the fix.

Now comes the fun part of getting the ram back up on the base. The big question is, will the chain fall lift it high enough to get it on top of the base. And the answer is……….

Well I did have to get it up as far as I could first. Right?

Oh, did I mention I had to make a lifting hook since I had no eye hook. I made one from 2" X 4" X .25" Angle iron. Drill a hole for the bolt and an elongated hole for the hook. Then raised her a few inches to test my setup. Ok looks good. Go for the top.

Dam, won't fit. Looks like I'll have to remove the 4 X 4's it's sitting on.

Ah, much better. Now the fun part of trying to get the long bolts that hold the ram on to the base without dropping the spider inside.

Ok, swing the head back up and see what she looks like. Good, got enough head room from the joists to the top of the motor. I just need to swing the head a few degrees to get it under the "I" beam.

I've also have the knee mounted to the base. I didn't take any pics of that since it was a straight forward process of using the chain fall and installing it.

Before any other parts get put on, meaning cross slide and table and the rest to finish the machine I need to fix the shaft that moves the knee up and down. This could be a while yet. Other projects are taking priority at the moment.

Regards,
Bernd

 

[wareagle]

Bernd, I was wondering about your progress. Glad to see the machine is getting itself back together! Keep us posted!!!

 

[CrewCab]

Bernd, from the looks of it, if you weigh in the chips you could probably recoup 25% of the cost of the machine

Good to hear things are progressing, good luck and keep us posted 8)

CC

 

[kvom]

Unless you are going to make something really tall, leaving the riser off would make the ceiling clearance a lot better.

 

[Bernd]

Unless you are going to make something really tall, leaving the riser off would make the ceiling clearance a lot better.

Since I'm not going any higher with the motor, plus I already have the ram on I think I'll leave the riser on for now. Besides it would be harder to remove once I have the machine in it's proper place.

Bernd

 

[Bernd]

Ok, this will be the last installment of my Bridgeport adventure. The machine is ready to be used. A few minor items need to be finished but that's about it. I still need to move it into it's permanent position.

Here the cross slide has be installed, the gib put in place and now I'm installing the lead screw. Not much to it.

Next is the table. Everything looks tipped to the left, that's the camera angle. Held the camera a bit crooked. Although the table is up in the air at one end.

Ok, the table is on and the gib is in place. It's ready for the lead screw and power feed.

And there we have it. The table is complete and the power feed works.

The DRO is installed, hooked up and working. Now I'm ready for a bit of serious tool building. The models are going to have to wait a while.

Other than a few odds and ends that need cleaning up I'm ready to use the machine. It was a lot of fun seeing if I could move a machine of this size from the place I purchased it to the basement. I did it without any injury to myself. No animals were hurt either. :big:

Bernd

 

[dsquire]

Bernd

Very impressive. It just goes to show that with a bit of thought, some ingenuous uses of equipment and materials and a large amount of patience, jobs such as this can be accomplished with satisfactory results.

You now have a piece of equipment that should serve you well for a long time. We will watching for future posts as you build tooling and projects with this mill.

Job well done. :bow:

cheers

Don

 

[Maryak]

Bernd,

Congratulations on a huge project well completed in a home environment.

I hope you enjoy your new machine, you certainly deserve it.

Best Regards
Bob

 

[Metal Mickey]

Well done, you must have been an Egyptian in a previous life! That's a fairly substantial lump of metal. Moving soon? ;D

Great post.

Mike

 

[wareagle]

Bernd,

Job well done!! Congrats on your move, and new machine. I have no doubt that you will get years of enjoyment out of it!

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[Bernd]

Thanks guys.

Egyptian, huh. ??? Maybe that's why I "walk like an Egyptian". ;D ( reference to the song "Walk like an Egyptian)

Bernd