Value of Bridgeport Round Ram Please

Hello All,

I am looking at this Bridgeport round ram with I think a J head on it in New Jersey. I think it is a little overpriced but not sure. I believe this pre-dates the series 1 which makes me think its over priced. Does the fact that the bench grinder is right next to it concern anyone? Its over 2 hours away, so if I go look at it I would like to believe i'm not wasting my time.

$1600
Bridgeport milling machine for sale in perfect conditions.






Matt

Do you know what type of spindle it has - Morse Taper, R8? I wouldn't bother to look at one with a taper. R8 isn't perfect, but tapers can be annoying and they are limited in size.

If it had an R8 spindle and I wanted it, I'd offer about $1,000. That's really all the money for a round ram, IMHO.

mvernon said:

$1600
Bridgeport milling machine for sale in perfect conditions.

Click to expand...

If that is called perfect conditions then I must have missed something at the Wieger re-education camp.

J head so 'should' be R8

round ram not super desirable

but value is so much related to location and who is buying.

I'm trying to decide between this bridgeport round ram and a Millrite. They both seem to be of similar size. Did they make a bridgeport with dovetail ram in this smaller size. The Millrite is an auction. https://www.practicalmachinist.com/...ved-364054/?highlight=millrite+cutter+removed

That mill is an in-between model of sorts. The round rams were more commonly supplied with a lighter M-type head, and the later dovetail rams had the J-type head. Both have their uses, but the dovetail and J-head combination gives you comfortable cutting ability up to 7/8" shank size tools an 1HP, while the round ram machines were limited to 1/2" shank tools and 1/2HP.

Having a J-head helps it out, but in general the round ram machines tend to get knocked because they are not as rigid as later dovetail models. IMO it all depends on what you plan on doing with it. If you're gonna try to hog some metal, be prepared for the round ram to slip and lose tram. The shorter table means there's less usable area BUT there's a better chance that the wear in the table ways is more evenly distributed and therefore is easier to compensate for with the gibs. The round ram base is slightly lighter too which makes it easier to shoe-horn into small garage shops. I've got one in my garage at home with the lighter M-head and like it, but it just depends on what kind of jobs you expect to do on it.

I have both the MILLRITE and the M-Head Bridgeport. The Millrite has R-8 collets where as my M-Head has #7 B&S collets. The R-8s are more available and more options found then the #7s. The Millrite is a bit more beefier then the M and over all more stable but harder to find spare parts for it. While the M-Head is smaller it does meet my needs for small projects and will remain in my shop, more likely as primarily a drill press. On the other hand as soon as my Bridgeport Varispeed 2J is repaired I will likely sell the Millrite to recoup the space. .

Notice that the MILLRITE does not have a speed handle.

You're gonna want one....