Garage hacks, adjustments and annoyances.........

[Oldpath05]

When you started showing pics of your Bridgeport milling machine I went googling past few days to see what it actually is does your right I live under a rock. Quite the machine and now some videos are showing up on my youtube channel, I watch this one, the guy made a pinion gear, he shows all the math that went over my head but still kinda interesting.

Hows your gear making skills, you have that indexing tool? Cutting a Pinion Gear on Bridgeport Mill TIPS #574 tubalcain - YouTube

 

[Reb954]

Interesting video, thanks. And yes, the math is way above my head too. At times I will lay stuff out in Autocad so it does the math for me but other times I just eyeball it in.

I didn't get any pictures due to just trying to get the job done but a few weeks ago I had to rebuild a gear for a vault door. The main gear that closes the door tight so the bolts can be thrown had stripped a few teeth off. I found out the vault door was built in 1919 but I tried to find a new gear first. No luck so I cleaned up the gear good, had a guy tig weld some new teeth on. I don't have an indexer so I just eyeballed the tooth angle and slope and recut those welded teeth into a shape that will work. All this was done on a mill with just a swiveling vice and a 1/8" endmill. I would cut a bit on both sides of all teeth, then try the gear to see if I was heading the right direction. So far all is working good but I do need to take it back apart again so I can make sure the tooth load is fairly even.

Made a bit of headway on the mill yesterday. Removed the table, saddle and knee so now it is ready for cleanup, removing any paint/rust and painting.



I have been considering putting it on caster wheels which might be something you should consider for your lathe/mill. First thing will be to find some casters up the the task, about 2500 lbs.

 

[aczlan]

I have been considering putting it on caster wheels which might be something you should consider for your lathe/mill. First thing will be to find some casters up the the task, about 2500 lbs.

With how underbuilt most casters are, I would look for casters that are rated for 2500 pounds each rather than four casters that total 2500 lb...

Aaron Z

 

[Oldpath05]

So your a eyeball machinist to........ No wonder your redoing the mill it's a mess, and so the tool of budget is a needle gun, loud ain't they, guess you dont have a sand blaster. If you have much more prep work to do them Norton Rabid Strip buffing wheels work good and fast on a hand grinder for removing old paint/rust. For some reason the orange wheels cost more.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00755XY2Y/ref=ox_sc_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A37KLPQG0QTZGU
https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Oxi...eels+for+grinders&qid=1585521715&sr=8-1-fkmr0

 

[Oldpath05]

I have been considering putting it on caster wheels which might be something you should consider for your lathe/mill. First thing will be to find some casters up the the task, about 2500 lbs.

My son suggested the same thing but I said just the regular caster wheels aren't cheap, then you add in brake and adjustable leveling casters, then the weight like you and aczlan as mention, I dont dare to look but I bet there'd be $200.00 in wheels and I haven't even bought something for the top/back yet and I'm still scratching my head on that with some youtube videos.

Hears couple videos of the the idea in my head so far but not aluminum, I would if I had some but I'm not set up to weld aluminum, I might get a price 3/32 SS then compare that with 1/8 steel and white paint. I was hoping that the guy would've given a demonstration but I didn't see one. I did get a kick out of the way this guy says aluminum @2:45-ish, I didn't recognize his lathe at all but not surprised where he's probably in Europe somewhere.
How to build a killer (lathe) bench - part 7 - YouTube
How to build a killer (lathe) bench - part 1 - YouTube

Now it's popcorn time, my SIL came over last month and wanted to video me...........
KUBOTA L34 Maine Woods Clearing The Way Part 1 - YouTube
Kubota L34 bare ground winching - YouTube

 

[dragoneggs]

With how underbuilt most casters are, I would look for casters that are rated for 2500 pounds each rather than four casters that total 2500 lb...

Aaron Z

I agree... especially if it is going to sit in one position without moving for long periods of time.

 

[aczlan]

I agree... especially if it is going to sit in one position without moving for long periods of time.

IMO, it would be better to build a heavy stand (preferably metal) for it to sit on and make it high enough to fit forklift or pallet jack forks underneath (you do have a forklift or pallet jack, right?).

Aaron Z

 

[Oldpath05]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That what I'm thinking, set it and forget it and if I do have to relocate it someday I'll use the tractor.

 

[Oldpath05]

I just went on the Grizzly tool site and their casters are cheaper than I thought, they might be up for the task but then the leveling feature I guess has to be invented on. Shop Tools and Machinery at Grizzly.com

 

[GeneV]

That mill is the same brand as mine but it has the variable speed head where mine has step pulleys to change spindle speeds. Other than that they are virtually the same.

I found my model of lathe was built from the late 60's to the mid 70's and my mill was built in 1967.

Here is the mill head as of Saturday morning. View attachment 646885 Then by Sunday morning it was pretty much done. View attachment 646886 Notice in the sides of the upper head you can see the step pulleys where on the pictures you posted the sides are closed.

ETA just depends on how much time I have to work on it but I expect to take several more months as I am completely disassembling the mill, stripping off all the paint, repainting it and fixing any problems.

Nice. I got a Taiwan clone of the step pulley Bridgeport, Precision Matthews brand. I went new because I needed it for work, was worried about getting a clapped-out machine. However, as soon as the Matthews arrived, could see right away it ain't no Bridgeport.