TMWT: The machine work thread

[CruizerHound]

Great auction in Salisbury

CLT Auctions | Salisbury Metal Products Retirement Auction lots

Bridgeport Round-Arm vertical milling machine 1hp step pulley J-Head, X-axis power feed, 9" x 42

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I hate you Jake. *sigh*

Not going to be able to swing a mill purchase right now. Too many irons in the fire, maybe later this year.

Ok, maybe I can swing it.

 

[weejub]

Gorton Milling Machine

in the 'bro

 

[fourtrax]

I'll kick in a few dollars if I can use it occasionally

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I'll kick in a few dollars if I can use it occasionally

I'll take you up on that.

 

[Malleus]

If we're starting a co-op, I'm in. Put me down for a nickel. Or whatever the going rate for membership is.

 

[lt1fire]

If we're starting a co-op, I'm in. Put me down for a nickel. Or whatever the going rate for membership is.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Damnit Jake. @CruizerHound

 

[CruizerHound]

HELL YEAH!!!!!!! A big congratulations, and you won't regret it!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Uneventful drive home, strenuous unloading procedure with the engine hoist, but got her in the garage. Time for tooling.

 

[cruisermatt]

Uneventful drive home, strenuous unloading procedure with the engine hoist, but got her in the garage. Time for tooling.


View attachment 1667162

Put a VFD on that puppy. You'll get tired of being stuck with only 8 speeds quick.

The first thing to check (besides the serial number!) are the two pins in the clutch mesh mechanism. They get loose and their threads strip out which prevent the clutch mechanism from fully working, which prevents you from using the back gear.

Also, I looked at the pics in the auction and we have the same power feed. Do you know if yours works?

 

[S4Cruiser]

Machine is big and heavy...and badass!!

 

[mtweller]

 

[CruizerHound]

To piggyback on cruisermatt's comments, get a VFD(you problem have to). I have a TECO and it works great. The setup is pretty confusing, but there are a plenty of resources out there. As for tooling, I have been really happy with Shars. Great prices and quick shipping. Looking at the last picture Im not sure if that is the best location for the mill. I would strongly suggest putting it up against a wall out of traffic. The amount of flying chips that thing will produce is incredible and those chips will stick to the bottom of shoes.

Tooling notes:
Don't buy used. I made that mistake before I got my machine up and running. Tooling gets used up and is meant to be disposable. That goes for test and dial indicators as well.
Starrett is crap, yeah I said it. Guys (me included) go crazy for that red box. Buy new Mitutoyo if precision is important.
High speed steel (HSS) is best on a Bridgeport. Carbide tooling takes a lot of speed and force to produce a built up edge to remove material, and the mill is limited in both. 2" carbide insert fly cutter is about the max diameter.

To buy:
3 axis DRO
R8 collet set 1/8" thru 3/4"
Keyless chuck with R8

Edge finder
http://a.co/cXrdSFb

Better than eBay, sort of
Home page

Really good cheap large endmills
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GKYUYNW/ref=biss_dp_sa1

Coolant setup(try to find a better one)
http://a.co/hVufy2S

Really pleased with this set
http://a.co/dWgBzEs

Make a dual dial indicator setup for tramming the head for your first project.

 

[cruisermatt]

X2 on everything @CruizerHound said, except for the part about Starrett being crap
For calipers though I would go with Mitutoyo. They’re ni$e.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Awesome resources guys, thank you Can't answer your questions yet, but I'll work on it!

Looks like most people wire their mills with a vfd straight to the motor instead of through the switch panel and starter. Is there a downside to using the vfd as a phase converter only and supplying the whole machine with three phase power, so everything on it runs like it would if it were plugged straight into three phase supply?

Nevermind, I got it now!

Edit again:

My lathe is equipped with an in-column coolant pump, so wiring will be a little different than most. Current plan is to wire vfd to supply power to machine as if it were wired to building three phase supply, so that the coolant pump and head motor both function.

Building a list of Shars tools (and others) to buy. Thanks for the advice @CruizerHound and @cruisermatt !!!!

 

[Malleus]

Try RegoFix too. They'really a Swiss company, but they're made in TN. I spent my apprenticeship making that stuff.

 

[RedHeadedStepChild]

This sucks
I just pulled this thread up with the intent of making some smart assed follow up post about whether John had a mill. This just ruined my whole day.

Congrats johnny.

 

[angerhater]

FYI, When I worked in the machine shop my Bridgeport did not have the coolant pump. I had tin can full of Coolant and I applied it with a brush , while brushing away the metal chips. You can even use a squirt bottle.

 

[RedHeadedStepChild]

...and since we're spending your money, a DRO is nice too.