Drill/Mill or Lathe/Mill attachment for small shop area

[Dick Linn]

If you have a local community college that has a machining curriculum, you might want to get in touch. Our local college helped Team 975 with some machining a few years back. Free resources can't be beat.

[ChuckDickerson]

Originally Posted by Lowfategg

For setting up our shop this year, we collected the following. Our whole robot lab is in a two car garage, which we do everything in.

I'm assuming you are referring to a typical residential two car garage here?

Originally Posted by Lowfategg

“Bridgeport” knee mill 9x32" w/DRO (During the build season this was the most used tool in the shop, but if I could buy one again I would get the larger 42" table. You can get them cheap if you look hard enough, we grabbed ours for $500. They might be big, but worth their weight in gold compared to benchtop mills.)

Ok, I have heard similar stories from countless others over the years and I know they exist out there but I have just never been able to luck up on one of these $500 Bridgeport mill deals to save my life. I have been looking high and low for years but we just don't live in an area with a lot of manufacturing so these deals just don't seem to happen around here.

How does one get and move something like this to a home garage? I don't know of many homes with a forklift so just in case I ever do luck up on one of these deals I would sure like to know how others have manhandled a Bridgeport into their garage. Seriously, where is everyone finding these $500 Bridgeports and how are they moving them to their home shops?

[Lowfategg]

Originally Posted by DeepWater

I'm assuming you are referring to a typical residential two car garage here?



Ok, I have heard similar stories from countless others over the years and I know they exist out there but I have just never been able to luck up on one of these $500 Bridgeport mill deals to save my life. I have been looking high and low for years but we just don't live in an area with a lot of manufacturing so these deals just don't seem to happen around here.

How does one get and move something like this to a home garage? I don't know of many homes with a forklift so just in case I ever do luck up on one of these deals I would sure like to know how others have manhandled a Bridgeport into their garage. Seriously, where is everyone finding these $500 Bridgeports and how are they moving them to their home shops?

Yes its a typical residential 2 car garage (24x24?).

I probably should have been a little more detailed about the price of the Bridgeport. We got the machine (J-head Bridgeport 1964) without the DRO for $500 with a 6" clone Kurt mill vise. I added a $450 2 axis DRO from ebay later, and then an import powerfeed for the X axis for $200. Also, its not entirely necessary for some people, but I did swap the 1 HP 3 phase motor for a 1.5 hp 1 phase motor, since we don't get 3 phase power where I live.

To move the machine we rented a moving truck with a power tailgate. The people we bought the machine from loaded the machine in with their fork lift. Once we got home, we moved the machine onto the power tail gate using a pry bar and steel pipes placed under the base of the machine so it could roll. Once on the ground you can just keep up the same action of using the steel pipes to roll it where ever you like. Its not easy work, but it is doable.

Finding these machines all depends on where you live. Like here in New Jersey there is another $500 BP selling on craigslist.

So in total its more like $1500 after add-ons and rental charges for us, but that is still far less than any similarly sized and equipped benchtop mill (thousands less than a new knee mill, Bridgeports (2J) new are around 12k).

[ChuckDickerson]

Originally Posted by Lowfategg

Once we got home, we moved the machine onto the power tail gate using a pry bar and steel pipes placed under the base of the machine so it could roll. Once on the ground you can just keep up the same action of using the steel pipes to roll it where ever you like. Its not easy work, but it is doable.

Assuming there are no hills involved. I have this mental image of a Bridgeport rolling down my driveway and into my truck stuck in my head right now.

BTW: In the same spirit of all the "How many people does it take to screw in a light bulb joke": How many people does it take to roll a Bridgeport around on steel pipes?

And by "doable" are we talking "completely safe but a lot of work" sort of "doable" or more like "you either can now never move and will die in that house because you are NEVER moving that thing again or whoever buys the house after you gets the mill too" sort of "doable"?

Thanks for the info though. I keep checking Craigslist all around my area but no "great deals" have popped up here in years!

[Lowfategg]

Originally Posted by DeepWater

Assuming there are no hills involved. I have this mental image of a Bridgeport rolling down my driveway and into my truck stuck in my head right now.

BTW: In the same spirit of all the "How many people does it take to screw in a light bulb joke": How many people does it take to roll a Bridgeport around on steel pipes?

And by "doable" are we talking "completely safe but a lot of work" sort of "doable" or more like "you either can now never move and will die in that house because you are NEVER moving that thing again or whoever buys the house after you gets the mill too" sort of "doable"?

Thanks for the info though. I keep checking Craigslist all around my area but no "great deals" have popped up here in years!

Here are two websites that describe what is involved in moving one of these monsters.

http://reference.toolandfab.com/writ...move/index.htm

http://www.garahan.com/wrljet/bridgeport/

[Dick Linn]

You may find a Bridgeport for $500., but finding one in good condition at that price is difficult.

Now here's a reconditioned B'Port for $2,900.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb...d.php?t=184186

Edit: Hey, I've had some on-line chats with the guy in the first moving link above (Scott - MXtras).

Here's how a few skinny guys offloaded our mill, which weighs around 2,100 pounds.

[Lowfategg]

Originally Posted by Dick Linn

You may find a Bridgeport for $500., but finding one in good condition at that price is difficult.

Now here's a reconditioned B'Port for $2,900.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb...d.php?t=184186

True, but we are building robots, not parts for the space shuttle. A sightly worn out Bridgeport is still FAR better than any other mill you are going to find for $500 new. Still if you do want a machine that is in great condition there are still deals to be found.

By the way that is a great looking one, I saw that on practicalmachinist as well. Look at the scraping on those ways! Beautiful.

[Dick Linn]

If you can find one of the smaller Clausing or Steinel mills or something similar, they would be ideal.