How big is a Bridgeport mill

[JimM]

Hi all

I'm still looking for a milling machine but rather than a small benchtop model I'm now considering moving up to a more indsutrial model.
There are quite a few Bridgeport's around but I'm not sure how big these machine actually are. I realise that the width is going to be dictated by the table size and I can work round this but I'm trying to establish if one will fit in the depth of space I have available. Could someone who owns one confirm the front to back measurement and also give me an idea of the minimum amount of room they suggest you would need to allow for a machine of this size.

Thanks

Jim

 

[rake60]

They haven't changed much is the past 60 Years.
This might answer some of your questions.

http://www.kneemills.com/index.asp?html=Specs

Rick

 

[Peter Neill]

They always look too big for the space you have until you get them in, and then you think “that wasn’t so bad after all” ;D

I've got a Bridgy (42" table), a Colchester Lathe, and a J&S surface grinder all in a space of around 8' x 8.5',
in the front half of a single-car garage. The only thing I have to move is the 4"x6" bandsaw when I use the grinder.
Oh, and there's a door on the right hand wall as well.

Peter

 

[shred]

I found the depth on one I looked at (some sort of BP clone, I forget which) to be just a little too much for my space. I know others have put them in corners to good effect but I had none available.

 

[bearcar1]

Jim, I know that the base footprint of my 1947 vintage round ram is 24" X 36" and has a height of 60". The knee protrudes out a few inches from that. (overhang) The width would depend on the table that you acquire.

BC1

 

[kvom]

The front-to-back dimension is somewhat dependent on where you set the ram. The machine is more rigid with the ram towards the back, which can then overhand the rear of the base somewhat.

 

[JimM]

Hi all

Thanks for the replies, unfortunately I think the machine is going to be a bit big to fit in the space. I only have a single garage one wall is already full and at over 5' front to back if I put the machine on the opposite wall I just wouldn't be able to get past

Have to look out for something a bit smaller - anyone know of an Elliot 00, CVA 79 or similar for sale (in the UK)

Cheers

Jim

 

[Mainer]

I'm not sure if it would be available in the U.K., but the mill sold as the JET JVM-836 is pretty nice and about 2/3 the size of a Bridgeport.

 

[shred]

I'm not sure if it would be available in the U.K., but the mill sold as the JET JVM-836 is pretty nice and about 2/3 the size of a Bridgeport.

IIRC that's about what Bogs got last year, so they're in the UK.. I like my 8x36 mill.

 

[Blogwitch]

http://www.chesteruk.net/store/836_turret_mill.htm

If you can install them into a corner, they take up very little space.

It is installed at 45 degrees into the corner. The far wall with the clamps on it is 4ft wide, and with the table extended fully, it uses about 3ft 6" of it, and even then doesn't encroach anywhere near the doorway. That is with the top ram as fully far back as I will ever use it, and even then it has a few inches further to go.
If it was a full sized Bridgeport type, the motor top would have been up towards the flo tube.

If you can't instal into a corner, they are really too large for a small garage workshop, in which case, you might find the 626 more acceptable, but nowhere as near as rigid.

http://www.chesteruk.net/store/626_turret_mill.htm


Blogs.

 

[44-henry]

A few years back I purchased (3) 9x42 mills from Grizzly for our university lab. I found a neat tool on their website called, I believe, the virtual workshop planner (or some such name) where you could define a space and than place blocks of the different machine tools that they sell in the space to see if you have proper room for the equipment. We have an existing Bridgeport that is vintage 1963 in our lab and it is pretty much spot on to the grizzlys for physical size.