Need help identifying Bridgeport Milling machine for resale.

I have been tasked with reselling a bridgeport milling machine, a couple lathes, a press/brake, and a band saw. I have absolutely zero knowledge in the machine world. It's my wish to correctly describe what this machine is so the next potential buyer doesn't drive half way across the county and get pissed because I marketed it incorrectly. Would anybody be willing to help describe what this is:

This is what I think I know:
1974 Bridgeport Mill with a 110V power feed, 1.5hp J head.

Is this true? is it a 2J? Is it variable speed? What else do I need to know?

Thank you in advance

Main power is 230V 3 phase, it is a variable speed head, not familiar enough with types of heads. It has a riser block for the head.

You should probably use Craigslist. It's mainly for local machines that a person won't be driving forever for. This machine might bring $2,000. Cheap enough for a lot of people.

that was very helpful. Thank you.

Thank you for your advice!

good clear photos. Only other advice is look and see if there are any tools that fit and take a picture of the taper that goes up into the machines spindle. Buyers like to know since there are two common tapers and it is worth more to them if it is the taper they already have tools that fit.
I do not think it is worth it to you to remove the drill chuck and determine taper. To much chance of damage.
Bill D.

PS it is worth mentioning it has a power feed on the table. The gearbox on the right hand side. I do not recognize the make.

The X axis power feed appears to be an original Bridgeport.

I do not think it is worth it to you to remove the drill chuck and determine taper. To much chance of damage.

? Looks to be a standard R-8 spindle in that machine. Loosen drawbar and wack end of drawbar to pop out.

Machine came out of a big corporation originally, they are the only ones that paid for the custom paint, wasn't a cheap option. Where ever it came from, EVERY machine in that plant was painted that color. Very monotonous walking through a plant like that.

Mr Bridgeport

I did not see a drawbar to point out to the op. Too many light hits can be worse for the bearings instead of one heavy blow. I do not think the op has an education on how hard to hit a precision spindle.
Bil lD

The reason you do not see a draw bar is because the spindle is down. I believe it is a standard R8.

Do not turn the crank to change the speed unless the motor is running. I believe it also says this on a sticker on the face of that dial.
Not a huge problem if you turn it a little.

Can you show pics and more info of your other machines?

Thank for the information related to the R8 spindle. I will be out at this location all day today organizing and taking pictures. I can certainly add some pictures of the rest of the equipment. My original thought was to make a thread pertaining to each piece of equipment rather than one thread with all the equipment. that strategy would be helpful to me because quite frankly if a few people said it has an "R8 spindle" i'm so ignorant I wouldn't even know what machine they were talking about! This community is great thank you for all your help!

4curtscorral said:

I can certainly add some pictures of the rest of the equipment. My original thought was to make a thread pertaining to each piece of equipment rather than one thread with all the equipment. that strategy would be helpful to me because quite frankly if a few people said it has an "R8 spindle" i'm so ignorant I wouldn't even know what machine they were talking about! This community is great thank you for all your help!

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Separate threads for each machine is great. Easy to keep track of info on each, as you mentioned.

Mr Bridgeport said:

I do not think it is worth it to you to remove the drill chuck and determine taper. To much chance of damage.

? Looks to be a standard R-8 spindle in that machine. Loosen drawbar and wack end of drawbar to pop out.

Machine came out of a big corporation originally, they are the only ones that paid for the custom paint, wasn't a cheap option. Where ever it came from, EVERY machine in that plant was painted that color. Very monotonous walking through a plant like that.

Mr Bridgeport

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Former coworker worked in the Tech Pubs dept of Bridgeport Machine. Said the funniest was when Revlon ordered a batch of mills for their tool room and each one came down the line painted in Hot Pink!

What makes you think that is factory paint?

I would say to the OP better photos of the table and ways where the table rises may help as I see a lot of surface rust but how bad is it?

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To remove the chuck, just pull the quill up, put the spindle either in high gear or low gear (lever on the right hand side of the head) while applying pressure to the hand brake (lever on front left side of head) use a 3/4" wrench to unscrew the drawbar at the very top of the head. Unscrew it about a turn or two, then take your wrench and tap on the end of the drawbar. By tapping on the end of the drawbar, you are vibrating and applying some downward shock to the chuck to pop it out of the taper fit. Make sure the quill isn't locked when you raise it up and down. The quill lock is on the lower right side of the head. It's the little lever about an 1-1/2" long.

Both the chuck and drawbar will drop slightly which will enable you to finish unscrewing the drawbar from the chuck. Make sure you have your hand under the chuck to catch it when you unscrew it. It should be an R8.

A few things to consider when selling this machine. Most people will want a good look at the ways For lack of a better description, it's the "guides" which the saddle rides on and the knee goes up and down on. You might take some pictures of that. If the ways are really good, which is rare, the machine could be worth $3K or more. You'll get the most money if they can run the machine under power.

A common mistake of friends and relatives of machinists, selling stuff like this is the tooling. They don't realize the tooling is many times worth more than the machine. For example, the keyless drill chuck in the spindle could be quite valuable if it's a high quality brand.

Also check the side door of the Bridgeport for any tooling there. Some people (including myself) keep some tooling in there. As an example, I have some good quality collets I keep in there, that I paid about $600 for.

I once happened upon a local Craiglist ad where a Grandson was selling Grandpa's machinery. He took lots of photos and was asking $2500 for a decent looking Bridgeport mill. There was loads of tooling he threw in for "free". I'd estimate from the pictures, it was about $10K in tooling. The ad didn't even last a day. I'm sure the guy's phone was ringing non-stop.

The common figure I have heard for a milling machine or lathe is the tooling and workholding stuff is worth about the same as the machine, This assumes an average amount of good tooling for a Machine used for random jobs, Some will be almost new and some will be worn but still useable. Depending om the seller some may be junk. To the buyer that hundereds of pounds of short offcuts and scrap and new material is worth something as well. If you own a lathe anything round may be useful. If you have milling machine anything flat can be useful for something.

Sorry to hijack thread but I also have a Bridgeport jhead I need to sell and not sure where to turn. Any help would be appreciated to a new poster. Has some collets, chucks, DRO, table feed and 2 vices, original and rotary vice..also have phase converter

Mbouleris917 said:

Sorry to hijack thread but I also have a Bridgeport jhead I need to sell and not sure where to turn. Any help would be appreciated to a new poster. Has some collets, chucks, DRO, table feed and 2 vices, original and rotary vice..also have phase converter

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Craigslist, FB marketplace, work "do you know anyone wanting a milling machine" into every conversation, should not take long to find a home if the price is right.