Thread: Advice should i buy this bridgport.

I have been looking for a mill for some time now. And a buddy of mine just told me about this mill. The two photos are all i have at the moment. It looks to be a series 1 J head from the very limited knowledge I have of them. He is asking 1000$ and it comes with tooling(how much and what i do not know he said he has boxes of tooling and does not know what goes with what machine). The guy used to own a business and had a machine shop but was not a machinist, when he closed the business he put it in storage for 10 years and does not know anything about it. He just sent me the two picture and its 4 hours away so I want get a chance to look at it for a few weeks.

Aside from the surface rust (its in Mississippi) and lack of paint it is supposed to be tight and in good shape when it was parked. Can anyone tell me more about it and if 1k is a good price?

I would plan to strip it down and restore it and paint it.

$1000 dont sound terrible depending what "tooling" it comes with. If the tooling looks as good as the machine it may still be a little much. FWIW, I bought pretty mucch the same machine 8 months ago in Middle TN in good working order with an old DRO on it for $800 no other tooling. if the machine is that rusty on the surface it could be disasterous for the rest of the machine, If the maachined surfaces are rusted I would stay away from it just for the head aches you will have in the near future. ....Unless he wants to deeply dicount it and you just enjoy projects like that?

I would not buy this. It looks like it has been stored outside *for a long time*. By the time you get done messing around, you could drive 600 miles and get an operable mill for ~$1500. Just rent a U-haul trailer and a pallet jack and bring it home.

See here: Bridgeport Milling Machine x 2, M-head in Cleveland, $750 Bridgeport in Attica, NY


Respectfully submitted,
Mark W. Ingalls

Originally Posted by Mark W. Ingalls

I would not buy this. It looks like it has been stored outside *for a long time*.. By the time you get done messing around, you could drive 600 miles and get an operable mill for ~$1500. Just rent a U-haul and a pallet jack and bring it home.

See here: Bridgeport Milling Machine x 2, M-head in Cleveland

Mark W. Ingalls

I would concur after rebuilding my Bridgeport. It wasn't that rusty but all the bearings were noisy. After I get done I will have more than the $1000 in parts, but it did come with a power feed, and Enco vise and some tooling.

My Bridgeport has a round extension but has a J head on it. Can you tell me about the M?

i hate hate hate changing belts for rpm changes, it just wastes my time. No DRO thats a deal breaker too. $500 max

That machine has sat outside. Even the aluminum pullys are pitted. Most of the time, the "tooling" that comes with it is nothing more than junk. That's what you have to figure. That's at least a 70's vintage machine or older. It's sure not worth $1K and I'm not sure I'd even give $500 if it was next door. The motors even rusty. IMO, you'll put another $1K in parts into that machine if the quill isn't pitted. It isn't a deal.
JR

Not even for free.

You should be asking the owner, "How much will you pay me to haul that piece of scrap out of there"?

The problems with rust, pitting and corrosion may well be not worth the effort. If you can't freely move any of the major componenets, how can you judge the machine for wear problems? Best add another $1,000 to your budget and go find a running machine.

I am sure that machine is "tight" it looks rusted solid. I would concur it has been outside a long while. The motor is probably junk as well. I know machines can be scarce in the south, but here in Cincinnati that would be scrap or free if you will haul it away for me.

I just purchased a 1979 48" Bridgeport it was 4K, which is on the high side, but I bought it from a friend I have known for 20 years, it included power feed, top of the line late model acu-rite DRO (they call it a VRO), 12" K&T rotab (heavy), boring and facing head, and a kurt vise. It has visible wear on the ways but the flaking was still there and it passed all the machine rebuilding tests in the connelly text book, a very quiet 2J head, oiler, no drill marks on the table, less than .008 backlash on x & y. I sold my old millrite for $1000 as down payment. The millrite was pristine compared to the machine you’re looking at, and I even delivered to the guy and helped him unload.

Around here you can find good machines with moderate wear for around $2500 without a problem, and older machines still very usable for $1000 to $1500. Finding machines in very good condition or recently re-built will still set you back to 4K -6K.

Take a pass on this one, and good luck!

Mississippi? It looks like it has been in a flood. I think I would pass this one up.

Big B

The "M" head you asked about is just a smaller version of the "J" head. It is 3/4 hp and mine has a 3/4 straight bore collet. Although I lost the auction for the MT arbor for the M head, at the same time I was bidding on the machine... Mine had some surface rust, but not near that bad, and the table and horizontal surfaces were all oiled and rust free. I never put mine through the "test", but will likely look for the book and put it through it, just to see where I stand. The ways are all crisp and tight, but there is some lash in my screws. I would offer the guy 500 and call it a day. For 500, you can clean it up and check it out, and scrap it if it is in bad condition. I think it looks pretty sound in spite of some surface rust....that rust does not appear to be deep seated, and is consistant with long term storage in an unheated metal building. You may want to look at the tooling first though, if it is all HSS and rusted, you are getting no tooling to speak of.


The M head info is directed to modela, and the rest is for the OP...

There is no way that machine is worth $1000. I bought my second BP last year for $68.75. It was in a lot better shape than that one. I put in about $300 in parts and have a like new machine. You can definately do better, you can't do any worse.

Josh

To put into perspective. I sold the same moderately worn machine for $2200 last year. And my machine had a vintage DRO, powerfeed, about 25 collets, boring bar/head, new motor, and a bunch of other knick knacks. And the machine looked like you would be proud to own it. I was happy with the price and so was the buyer. This machine might get $250 at the scrap yard, but wouldn't even be worth the effort to get it there.

I just got some more info on it. It was moved 8 years ago and was up and running. It sat in an 18 wheeler trailer for 2 years and was moved to a metal building for the last 6 years. The guy that owns it is a buddies father. My buddy said it looked a lot better in person and it was just a light dusting of surface rust from what he remembers.

This is what i am thinking, I have no problems at all stripping it down and restoring it as i would probably do to any mill i would buy anyway. IF there is little wear or pitting on the ways and everything looks like it can be cleaned up and minimal part replacement. I'm assuming it will need bearings maybe a new motor and a few other things. I would buy it for $500. IF the ways are worn and\or pitted then I and just going to forget about it. I do have plenty of tools and equipment to rebuild her.
Does the sound like a plan. Or if anyone knows of a good mill in northern Mississippi or west Alabama that is for sale for a good price.

I know you JUST WANT IT in the WORST WAY. you will invent any amount of justification to convince yourself why it is not so bad really. and you just will not listen to these experienced people telling you it's scrap... but GET A TRAILER AND DRIVE NORTH!!!!!

really

wish I had come here before buying scrap myself 10 years ago.

No. No you should not buy that mill.

Here is a much better option - sure, it's not a BP, but is better than that ever will be:
Bridgeport Type Mill


Familiarise yourself with SearchTempest craigslist Search - All of craigslist. One Search. and buy something closer that is worth a crap.

Originally Posted by bugman53

I just got some more info on it. It was moved 8 years ago and was up and running. It sat in an 18 wheeler trailer for 2 years and was moved to a metal building for the last 6 years. The guy that owns it is a buddies father. My buddy said it looked a lot better in person and it was just a light dusting of surface rust from what he remembers.

This is what i am thinking, I have no problems at all stripping it down and restoring it as i would probably do to any mill i would buy anyway. IF there is little wear or pitting on the ways and everything looks like it can be cleaned up and minimal part replacement. I'm assuming it will need bearings maybe a new motor and a few other things. I would buy it for $500. IF the ways are worn and\or pitted then I and just going to forget about it. I do have plenty of tools and equipment to rebuild her.
Does the sound like a plan. Or if anyone knows of a good mill in northern Mississippi or west Alabama that is for sale for a good price.

...you were certainly, clearly warned...

i looked around NC for you. make some offers
BRIDGEPORT MILLING MACHINE
****** Bridgeport Mill Power feed *******
Bridgeport Milling Machine x 2
atl - Bridgeport drill press
Milling Machine

Tool Room Lathe and Milling Machine Hardinge and Bridgeport

I don't care if gas prices are dropping, this would be an 8 hour round trip drive. Your time would be better spent watching grass grow. Save your money. The seller ought to pay you to haul it away.

Originally Posted by bugman53

Aside from the surface rust (its in Mississippi) and lack of paint it is supposed to be tight and in good shape when it was parked. Can anyone tell me more about it and if 1k is a good price?

I will say you are right about it being tight, rusted tight that is. Buy it if you like a cleanig rust and looking at
pitted metal all over the place after cleaning it up. I have never seen such badly oxidized aluminum on a BP.