Got my Bridgeport home

[Bernd]

Waregle,

I'll post this thread here. If it needs to be be moved to a more appropriate place, please do so.

The day has finally arrived were I pick up my, new to me, Bridgeport. I'll document how I got it home, took it apart, moved it to the basement and reassembled it.

So to start this pic series off, here are some pics of bringing the mill home.

Had to move it outside to get it on the trailer.

Here is the mill at home finally.

A front view of the mill sitting on the trailer.

I've completely flipped the motor and picked up the ram. I discovered that it has a 4" raiser block. Nice.

Set the ram and motor down on some pallets for now. The trailer and mill will now fit into the garage. It's going to have to stay there till Monday. Going to the camp and close that for the winter. I'll be able to contemplate how I'm going to get it into the basement and reassemble it.

So that's it for now until Monday. I should have a post on moving the first part into the basement Monday night or Tuesday morning. Stay tune for the move.

Regards,
Bernd

P.S. I won't be back on till Monday moring.

 

[wareagle]

Bernd, congradulations! From the pictures, it looks like you have yourself a very nice mill!

 

[CrewCab]

Nicely done Bernd. anyway, have a good weekend and we look forward to more updates next week 8)

CC

 

[ksouers]

Bernd,
Congratulations on getting it home! Can't wait to see the move.
Really interested in how it checks out, too.

 

[Bernd]

Thanks for the all the kind words guys.

Today was a busy day. I got the ram or top of the Bridgeport into the basement. That took a while. Heavy little bugger too. Pictures to follow later. To late tonight to write up a whole lot. Base and table were off loaded and rolled into the garage for further disassembly.

Here are some stats from the what I could find on the machine. The table is a 9" X 42" with a Bridgeport variable power feed. I found what I think might be a serial number on the cross slide, #2309-69. The DRO can be either metric or imperial and is made by Anilam of Miami, Florida. I totally forgot to check what spindle it had when I went to buy the machine. I thought it had an R8 spindle, Wrong. It's got a quick change spindle. Picture of it below.

At first I was a bit disappointed. But the more I look at it the better it looks. Much easier to change tools. All I need to do is find some collets and tool holders.

Hope to have pics up tommorrow night of the first part being moved to the basement.

Bernd

 

[rake60]

I'm loving this thread Bernd.

We beat the crap out of the tired old Bridgeport at work.
It never complains and always gives the correct answer to
what you ask it to do.

Rick

 

[Alphawolf45]

I have that type quick change spindle on my Hurco cnc mill....mine is the 200 series Quick change...It sometimes happens that swarf gets into it , wont allow a toolholder to draw-in but I blow out the chips and it then works right again....Uhmmmm, have to keep a nylon hammer handy to rap on it from the side sometimes to get the nut to turn..But overall I am very glad that my machine does not have R-8 spindle on it, what you have there is much faster in my experience.

 

[Maryak]

Bernd,

Oz colours are Green and Gold.

I'm green with envy and you found gold with that bridgeport. :bow:

Good luck to you, I'm sure it will be a great asset in your shop.

Regards
Bob

 

[Bernd]

..But overall I am very glad that my machine does not have R-8 spindle on it, what you have there is much faster in my experience.

I used to work with these types of chucks were I used to work for a living. They were a bit bigger though. The more I look at it the happier I am that it came with this chuck. I can't see having to reach up and turn a wrench every time I want to change tools.

Bernd

 

[Bernd]

Bernd,

Oz colours are Green and Gold.

I'm green with envy and you found gold with that bridgeport. :bow:

Good luck to you, I'm sure it will be a great asset in your shop.

Regards
Bob

Don't be too green. I've been looking for one of these for several years now. I just didn't think I'd find one in this good of a condition or with DRO and a power feed table.

Thanks for the kind words though.

Bernd

 

[Bernd]

The story continues with the moving of the ram into the basement and moving the mill into the garage for further disassembly.

First I prepared a pallet to make the move easier. I screwed two 2 X 4's to the bottom so that the rollers would roll better. I discovered this when I moved the drill press. The rollers kept getting stuck between the boards.

Removing the ram from the trailer using my handy lifting devise. I'm going to use those pallets and wood blocks to support the head on the pallet I added the 2 X 4's on.

I've put a couple of screws in each of the pallet to hold them together. Here I'm screwing down the blocks of wood as I level out the ram.

Once I had every thing level I used a couple of lag bolts to hold the ram. It mainly kept it from sliding off the blocks of wood.

All trussed up like a turkey and ready for the move into the basement. I added a bit more blocking to keep the ram from shifting around on the pallets and then strapped it down good and tight. If it tipped it would take pallets and all.

On it's way down. One minor problem though. The next pic will show it.

The pallet was wider than the ramp and it slide to one side.

I screwed an 8ft long 2 X 4 to the one side as a guide to keep it somewhat centered.

I then added a second 2 X 4 to the other side so it wouldn't ride down on the pallet boards and get hung up somewhere.

Success, It's down the stairs. You'll notice that the 2 X 4's are a bit black on top. Well, I added a bit of grease to make sliding down the ramp easier.

This part of the move is finished for now.

Time to get the mill off the trailer. The pic is pretty self explanatory as to how I did it. I was able to this because the drive slopes up into the garage. The trailer wheels are blocked, there are blocks under the back side so the trailer won't tip up in front when all the weight is on the back. The tractor bucket is an insurance that that won't happen. Those are 4 X 4 oak planks I'm using. I wouldn't have used anything smaller or a soft wood for that matter.

A shot from the back side. I secured the mill so when I put the first roller under it, it won't take off on me.

The jack won't fit under the frame so I used a piece of wood and jacked that up enough to be able to put a roller under it.

Here's a better view of all the blocking and support as the mill is nearing the edge of the trailer. Notice I've got it chained and strapped off to a piece of pipe. Just incase it's a down ward trip on the wooden road I made.

About half way there. I added the piece of oak 4 X 4 in case one of the so called wooden rails broke that it won't tip over completely.

And a bit of help from my friend the tractor to get it into the garage.

Next part is taking the table and knee off and to move them to the basement. Don't know weather I'll take both off together or separate them. I'll knew when I get to it. You'll find out tomorrow or the next day. So stay tuned.

I don't think I'll show the whole move down the stairs as it'll be no different than the other parts I've moved down. I'll hit on some of the high lights and then get back to detailed description when I finally assemble it.

Regards,
Bernd

 

[Stan]

Here is a hint from the people who move buildings. When they are sliding things around, they lubricate with soap. They insist that it has to be soap (not detergents) and they just go around with a bar of hand soap rubbing it onto all the sliding surfaces (no water). I am sure the worker's wife are a lot happier than if they came home with their clothes covered with grease.

 

[rake60]

I'm loving these pictorials Bernd!

They are lessons in raw physics.

Nothing is too heavy to moved safely.
You are more than proving that!

Rick

 

[wareagle]

Bernd, looks like you have things going your way. With a little thought and ingenuity, it is amazing how easy it can be to move heavy objects.

Best wishes for the remaining pieces to be an easy and safe move!

 

[Bernd]

I'll have a few more pics tonight. Things are not going so good. I was forced to take the machine apart further than I wanted to, but it is a good thing. This machine is a definite poster child for not using an air hose yo blow a machine off. I'll show why when I post the pics.

I got a the confidence for moving the machine from that one web site I quoted earlier where the guy moves a 24,000lb concrete block. As Rick said physics and a bit of geometry. Of course it helps a bit if you have a tractor with a loader bucket. ;D

Later,
Bernd

 

[Bernd]

Here is a hint from the people who move buildings. When they are sliding things around, they lubricate with soap. They insist that it has to be soap (not detergents) and they just go around with a bar of hand soap rubbing it onto all the sliding surfaces (no water). I am sure the worker's wife are a lot happier than if they came home with their clothes covered with grease.

Ya I've heard of using soap. Unfortunatley the grease was closer and all we have in the house is liquid soap.
Now I'ce got to get theose boards off of the ramp. I'm sure I'll get some grease all over me.

Regards,
Bernd

 

[JonnyD]

Bernd,

Great job with the move. I absolutely love how you're moving a Bridgeport with Dozer. This is the first I've seen it move this way :bow:

Good snag on the QC collets too. Can't wait to see what you can make with it.

 

[Bernd]

Bernd,

Great job with the move. I absolutely love how you're moving a Bridgeport with Dozer. This is the first I've seen it move this way :bow:

Good snag on the QC collets too. Can't wait to see what you can make with it.

Hey I like that name, "Dozer". Might have to christen the tractor with that name.

I've got a friend that has more. It'll defiantly be steam engines. A bit bigger maybe. ;D I'm looking at building a 4 truck Shay with it, but not right now.

Bernd

 

[Bernd]

AS I mentioned earlier I would have a few more pics to post. What follows is an attempt to remove the table with the knee off the mill. I had problems due to weight and the fact I cut a strap on a sharp edge trying to pick that part of the machine up. Now I'm glad that it happened that way. I was forced to remove the table and cross slide. What I found wasn't pretty. You'll see what I mean as I continue this story.

First I had to get the mill back out into the driveway so I could position the bucket over the table and knee to try and pick both up. So I wrapped a chain around the column and pulled her out.

Once outside I made sure the mill was level. It would facilitate the pickup of the table. Remember my drive slopes down from the door.

Everything was loose. I removed the taper gib and was at the end of the screw feed. I used a couple of straps at each end of the table, as seen on the left end of the table, and a come-a-long. For some reason I just couldn't pull the whole works up. The straps were stretched way to tight. I didn't want to break a strap and have the whole thing come crashing down. So I went to plan "B". Remove table and then remove knee. I discovered this wasn't going to be easy. I thought all I had to do was remove the cross slide screw and pull the table off toward the front of the machine. WRONG! The nut under the table won't go through that hole in the front left by taking out the screw. DARN!

So back into the garage the mill went. Couldn't work outside since it looked like rain. So removed the screw and slid the table on to a tea cart after getting the correct height. I also broke the handle for the up/down feed of the table. That's another story for later. So off came the table. Unscrewed the nut under the table and removed the small cross slide.

Here's a pic of the cross slide/table nut and the four bolts that hold it in place. Notice the chips? They're stuck on there pretty good. They must have used a very sticky coolant on this machine.

And this is what I found under the cross slide. The is the gear set that turns the table screw. You almost miss it for all the chips that are piled up in there.

Did I make chips already. Naw. That's all the chips I removed from the inside of the knee. Unbelievable. This machine is the poster child for not using an air hose to clean off the table.

I'm now glad that I was forced to remove all of the slides and table. This will allow me to clean up the machine some before putting it all back together. It looks like it'll be a few days before I post more pics of the move. Have to do some cleaning first.

Regards,
Bernd

 

[Bernd]

I'm getting close to having the whole machine in the basement. I removed the knee today and a long with the table moved both to the basement. I'm not going to bore you with pics of it going down the stairs. I did the same as for the ram. So here's today's progress report.

I used the chain fall this time. Made much easier work of removing the knee.

Didn't quite get the center point, but it's finally off.

Once the knee was off and I cleaned out some of the chips, it and the table were moved to the basement. I put both loads on the 8ft long 2 X 4's to facilitate moving them easier in the basement.

I switched the 4 X 4 posts under the base 90 degrees. I have a slight problem of getting the end up the 4" high step. No problem. Next pic will show what I did.

I just jacked it up on one end, put the 4 X 4 rails under it and lowered it on to a roller. The base is staged for tomorrows move.

So far it's been a fun project. Tomorrow the heaviest part will be moved. I hope the stairs will be able to carry the weight. I guess you'll have to check in on Sunday to find out.

Regards,
Bernd