Bridgeport mill refresh

[8mpg]

Well I decided to refresh the mill. Not going to be a rebuild per say. There are some broken things, its rusty, its worn but it should be a decent machine for a hobby. I bought this mill from a guy in Carrollton who was moving. Paid $300 for it. Im completely new to machining. This is a 1966 Bridgeport 1HP Series 1 mill

Anyways, after lots of research, videos, etc... I took the plunge. The backlash on the x axis was something like .022", y was .027". There was quite a bit of play in the table with the y axis gib bottomed out. Im going to try and shim it. Here are a few pics from the breakdown.



The entire quill downfeed system was trouble. The clutch lever is broken, the other lever to engage is was broken. The pins and thread stop is all stuck. I tore it all apart yesterday and put it back together for now. Ordered parts



Started cleaning up all the rusty table end holder things and the knobs, dials, etc. Just using a fine wire brush on the drill press:

The knee handle and left table end were the worst but cleaned up well. I may polish them



Mill table is going in a bath or vinegar to try and clean it up. I was thinking evaporust...but at $90/5 gallons and the box I built to soak it in is 15 gallons... Im going cheap:

The saddle will be next:


Dirty but very smooth: Im not going to mess with the mill knee.


And for the end of today... I decided to cut my nuts in half

[8mpg]

Few more pictures from todays work. Started stripping the machine of its paint. Wishing I didnt go down this path. Using Citristrip to get the majority of the paint off. Theres at least 5 layers of paint/primer









Im really liking the bare metal. Trying to research about just clear coating it.

[boh347]

Awesome love those old Bridgeport’s.

[RR 314]

Awesome love those old Bridgeport’s.

Yup. Awesome machines! If a man wants a perfect fence post, forget the torch or chop-saw. :-)

[boh347]

Yup. Awesome machines! If a man wants a perfect fence post, forget the torch or chop-saw. :-)

Truth!

[JayB]

I don't know what any of that stuff means...but that looks pretty cool.

[bullwinkl]

Nice find. What’s with the half nuts

[Gummi Bear]

Cool!

That’s a project I’d like to do someday. Find an old Bridgeport and restore it like you are. I’d like to do a lathe as well.



I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...

Henry David Thoreau

[Goldeneagle]

Watch out when changing gears up in the pulleys. I've heard a lot of grinding noises come from not making sure gears are engaged good. That ol girl looks like she has been getting the job done!

[8mpg]

Nice find. What’s with the half nuts

The earlier machines came with a single nut on each axis. This allowed more backlash in the axis. Machinist discovered that if you cut them in half, now having two nuts per axis, this reduces the backlash. Brideport did recognize the better design with two nuts per axis and started manufacturing them like that I believe in the 70's

[muzzlebrake]

Awesome machine. I know 2 people that have on of those. One owns a gun store and the other is a motorcycle engine builder. Nothing would ever make them part with it.