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New guy with the same old Mill.

Fabsmith

Plastic
Joined
May 26, 2018
Hi folks, Im new to the forum though ive spent a lot of time reading and researching here. Personally ive always been into metal work from welding to blacksmithing and more recently machining. I work as a fabricator/tig welder for baxter. a pharma company that makes 65% of the IV bags in the US. I repair the trays and carts the bags are transported on. all stainless and aluminum.

Now that should be enough about me, on to the scrap pile that brings me here.. Before i post it i want to start by saying NO im not delirious and no i dont expect to or ever plan to make this thing brand new or fully restored. Financially i dont feel like it would make much sense. However i would like to at minimum get it running or usable manually. If i can get it that far for 1200 or less ill be plenty happy with it. I certainly dont want to be a guy who comes in with all these big plans and ideas with a thread that is never completed. If its not salvageable, it still has a plenty of decent looking parts that i could sell off. After all i only paid $350 for it.

The backstory is, local machine/welding shop set it outside the shop when they purchased a larger machine. it sat outside but covered for about half a year before i found it and drug it home.

Heres the info i have gotten from the machine its self

It is a Bridgeport Knee Mill

Knee serial 12/BR 53389
Door Model # 53389
Drive SN 2J 59551
Head J143036
Motor 1.5 HP

Ive dated it myself to 1961 for the main body anyway. the head im not so sure about..

BR-52599 - BR-58552 = 1961

I took a lot of pics of its current state and for a machine made in the early 60s its still very solid. However from the info ive been gathering, im not so sure the head is original to the rest of it. If any one could tell me more info on it based on the pics and numbers id appreciate it greatly.

Uploading pics for post 2
 
First off, welcome to the forum. Second, I had the chance to visit the Baxter plant in NC back in the mid 90's. That is a beautiful part of the country. Factory was impressive too.
 
Thank you! And talk about a small world! You wouldnt recognize the place now, they have had many add ons and upgrades. Its one of the better places to work in this area. And yes it is a very lovely place to live. Baxter is only a couple miles from the Blue ridge Parkway. after you hit that, you're only 20 mins away from the Viaduct which is in my opinion the most beautiful drive in the state.
 
It looks to me like a decent buy. The rustiest part seems to be where a water puddle has accumulated with chips in the base. The table doesn't look rusted up from long sitting outdoors. The contrast between sections where you've been cleaning the table are clear, but the untouched area looks more like superficial rust on the surface. The table has been abuse somewhat with the divots in it, but that won't necessarily affect accuracy. It's metal standing above the surface that will throw off accurate mounting.

I can't tell anything about actual wear on the ways. I'd presume a fair amount just judging from its age but when you've cleaned, oiled and adjusted you'll be able to find out. With expected wear, if you adjust the gibs for minimum slop in the center of travel, the table and saddle will bind up at the extremities. That's just the way wear normally happens. So then you adjust where it doesn't bind and see if the middle is too loose for reasonable work.

Similar wear expected on leadscrews. At the center of travel you can check the backlash - how much the dial turns without moving the table. Again, even with considerable backlash you can still do do accurate work with good work procedures. The backlash demonstrates the combined wear on the leadscrew and nut, but you can't distinguish wear on each without inspecting them.

Clean up, lubricate, adjust gibs and see what you've really bought.
 
the table is a bit worse for wear. looks like a few guys were taught what not to do with this machine. It also looks like the table might have been cleaned up once already. I dont have much history on it but from what i can tell its had a hard life. It seems to be mostly surface rust on it and underneath it, the steel cleans up decent beside the obvious damages.





 
Thats the plan so far. Its going to take a lot of cleaning but i expected that. ive not been able to find one just like mine on the net. If the base looks the same with the side door and SN there then the head is a little different and when i find the same head other parts are different. with a 1961 date im thinking it could have possibly had a newer head or a swap at somepoint in its machine shop life. I was hoping to get an idea of exactly what everything is i have here. the number on the front starts with a J but the one on the side has a 2J ive not seen series one or 2 anywhere and forgive me if i sound like i dont know what im looking at. its partly because thats the truth lol. i have very limited experience with these machines. but for the price, i couldnt pass up the chance to learn about it and mess with it.
 
Good luck with the refurb! Hopefully it will work well for you.
Do you have the X axis right handle and bearing? I'd guess they took a powerfeed off there.

I'm in the same boat. I just bought a machine that needs a lot of cleaning and work and I'm not sure how good it will be, but it's a project for my kids to work on with me and for them to learn about machining.
 
the table is a bit worse for wear. looks like a few guys were taught what not to do with this machine. It also looks like the table might have been cleaned up once already. I dont have much history on it but from what i can tell its had a hard life. It seems to be mostly surface rust on it and underneath it, the steel cleans up decent beside the obvious damages.






If we're still talking about the table the " steel " is " cast iron ".

Regards Tyrone.
 
If we're still talking about the table the " steel " is " cast iron ".

Regards Tyrone.

Aye, and also in better than average nic for its age on a rather common machine.

OP need not make a problem out of a solution by over thinking that.
A BirdPort is not a lunar lander, nor Nelson's statue.

It just mills stuff, some doing that more accurately than others, but none of them "perfectly", even brand-new.

BFD.

Clean it, lube it, try it. See where the shortcomings really are.

Fix wotever needs that, not what does not need fixed.
 
Hello, You may want to ask the moderator to move this over to the Bridgeport forum as we are suppose to just talk about reconditioning and scraping in this forum. If they decide to keep it here I would recommend you take the machine apart and clean it up. If the machine has been sitting outside even if tarped there is a good chance rust has penetrated the important parts and if you look on You Tube you can see how take it apart. It's easy.
One more thing is not to take anything Thermite who also uses the name Monarchist or Procrastinator serious as he is a pest on the forum and is fake when it comes to anything related to Machines.

Before moving the table, saddle, knee, I would wipe the surfaces and clean off any rust or you will drag dirt under the ways. Then loosen the gibs and oil everything. There is a number of great members with all kinds of information. One has a great webpage and he has several great You Tube shows , showing "how to"
H&W Machine Repair & Rebuilding - Parts and Service for the Metalworking Industry Welcome and enjoy. Rich

PS: I love NC and have vacationed in Bravard where my Father-in-Law moved to after he retired....
 
the table is a bit worse for wear. looks like a few guys were taught what not to do with this machine. It also looks like the table might have been cleaned up once already. I dont have much history on it but from what i can tell its had a hard life. It seems to be mostly surface rust on it and underneath it, the steel cleans up decent beside the obvious damages.






I've seen worse...and I'm sure others have seen worse that the worst I've seen...enjoy it
 
I've seen worse...and I'm sure others have seen worse that the worst I've seen...enjoy it

Prezactly. One thing is that even though a vise would likely have been immediately migrated to another machine or a secondary use when this one was demoted, evidence seems to indicate it had spent more time with some sort of sub-plate or component / tasking bespoke fixturing on the table and NOT a vise.

That can turn out to be a Very Good Thing for the new owner.

I'd surely be more interested in whether the spindle bearings were "OK for-now", and the motor and drivetrain working without harm first. Scrape, shine, fit, adjust, paint.. can all be deferred. First find out if it is worth ANY further effort or no.

I'd guess it IS.

OTOH, I'm only a fake. I don't sell anything. I don't even have the compulsion to insult the same person twice-running. Thousands more to piss-off, and I can learn something NEW from each one.

On which score? Go pound sand!

I don't think I have yet learned as much from YOU as I can do, either!

:)
 
After looking at the photos again there is a good chance the ways on saddle and knee may be chrome plated. The reason I say that is the out-side edges of the top of the knee have been beveled and are not sharp. If that is the case you have found a real bargain. It would be a real bargain. So when you clean the knee surfaces be careful not use the angle grinder as that may peal the chrome. I am very excited for you. I wish I could find a deal like that. I was thinking when you start the head I would pull the bottom cover on the back of the head. It has 3 small Allen cap screws and in there you can see the variable speed spring and pulley. be sure to look in there with a flashlight and make sure the shaft isn't rusty. If it is I would suggest you pull the head apart, even though it may seem a bit difficult. It is easy especially if you watch and follow the video advice on You Tube and H&W.

The machine may run for years if you now spend a little more time preparing it for use. The table top can be repaired too. Do you have a lathe by chance? If you do you can turn down some cast iron and plug the holes. When your ready to do that, let me know and I will tell you what to do. Another thing is to not think the lube fittings are plugged if oil does not squirt out of them. They are called "meter units" and they are designed for slow oil flow. Enjoy and please keep up the good work and lets see some more pictures :-) Rich
 
I can show people of my credentials and I don't only add obvious advise one has learned from reading others advise. Gibberish and useless advise that is repeated by the fake or pest is so obvious to experts who help here. Fabsmith and you new readers, please read the actual advise I give to people. I use my real name. Look at this post where I taught a forum member how to scrape his machine. Take a look at the top of this forum titles.
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...hread-abrasive-section-studer-grinder-346477/

and this paper I contributed to as I taught these Professors how to scrape.
http://140.112.14.7/~measlab/downlo...Produced by Scraping Process Measurement .pdf

My results and advise are published facts and not made up crap trying to fake people into thinking the pest knows something.

I advise you to put the pest on ignore.
 
Wow thanks for all the info and replies! Ill give a more detailed response later when ive got a little more time. I work night shift so i should be asleep right now. But anyways for some of the high spots, I do not have a lathe at the moment but im in the market for one. Ive wanted one since i knew what a lathe was and ive noticed how useful one can be when refurbishing a mill. All the better threads ive seen has some very nice lathe work in them. I hope to pick one up in the up coming weeks. Ive seen some really good deals locally and im just doing some research before jumping into anything. Ive set a lathe budget for 1250 and for what ill be needing it for i feel like i can get a good used one for that. After all i wont exactly be turning battleship gun barrels with it lol. (more on that after work) Back on the BP, i have a couple seized levers so ive been keeping the machine soaking in Penetrating oil before I go at it full speed. Im picking up an engine hoist this week to help with the heavy work. And im still not completely certain on what exactly this machine is. Being built in 61 i didnt think the variable speed heads were available until later but being new to them I could be wrong. Ill get back to you guys as soon as im off work. ill have more pics and info on the more obvious damages as well. Its hard to see from the current pics but at some point this mill has been on its side as most of the right side handles are bent broken or damaged in some way.

Thanks again for the info and replies. The links will be especially handy as i hadnt seen them yet.


Also if this is in the wrong place I apologize.
 








 
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