So I got me a new tool for the garage. It will surely be fun!!

So a guy who works next door to my work says he will be retiring soon. So I asked him what will he do with all his tools and machines. He says they will be for sale. So I put a deposit down on this Bridgeport.

He says it is most likely pre-war or damn near close to the war. Now my only problem is moving the damn thing.

 

good buy, a bridgeport will last longer then you and your grandkids will be using it

 

Not sure what war he is talking about but, Bridgeport started making the V ram in 1956. JC

 

A variable speed head is nice but kinda spoils you by not having to change belts a few dozen times a day Good score, you will wonder how you ever got along without it.

Frank

 

It can be dis***embled into manageable pieces. Have fun.

 

Must be the Viet Nam war. lol Anyway, nice piece of equipment there! Good job on scoring that one! Just hope the poor guy doensn't p*** away mean while and the wife forget about the deposit. lol

 

They say you can move things using wood for levers and pipes for rollers. Maybe a cherry picker to put it on a pallet and move it with a pallet jack. You'll probably need a cherry picker to dis***emble it.

 

Don't fool around if he is a close neighbor get a fork lift and don't raise it over 2inches

 

Raise it up a little at a time, and a pallet jack to move it. I did my two like that.

If you need the clearance, the head comes off easy, and the table will kinda slide right off, too.

He got a lathe for sale?

 

Color me jealous.

 

I vote for the forklift. Borrow some straps that are rated at 5,000 lb. or better so you don't scratch things up when picking it up to get the forks under it.

 

To move a mill more than a few feet , drop the table as far as it will go and rotate the head 90*. That will get the C/G down so won't be as tippy.

 

buy a set of those "forearm forklifts" that you see on TV.

 

Ha!!

 

Looks nice. Congrats.
Good luck with the move.

 

Nice score. Not pre war though. Of course thats a good thing.

 

The new ones come with the table all the way down and the head spun upside down. Then when you lift it with the forklift do it by the threaded lifting eye on the ram, not by the bottom. A cherry picker would work if it's all concrete or paved from his shop to yours. If you need head room turn the forks over on the forklift. One person can move a mill on FLAT concrete pretending to be an Egyptian with 3 round bars or pipes. I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night but I have moved milling machines. Looks like you did good buying it from your neighbor, maybe a few free lessons will come with it. Have fun.

 

I want one.

 

For a couple hundred bucks you can rent a rubber tired/all-terrain fork lift from RSC or United . Some of the not-so-big units will easily pick 5000 lbs and you don't need a dead flat floor. With a lifting eye, pick it and set it on your trailer.

.

 

very nice find.....send me a pm if he has a lathe for sale,,,,im in jersey too,,so i could pick it up..

 

Before you go all Egyptian or rent a forklift, make a call to a local equipment mover. If it's too much, it will motivate you during the process. If it's reasonable, you will feel smart not breaking your back and possibly messing things up.
Time to start looking for s**** to learn on!

 

The safest and best way to move a Bridgeport.....
First, lower the table all the way. Then rotate the head 180 degrees...upside down. These moves put the C.G. at the lowest possible. I use a steel 4 foot length of 4x4x.375" between the inverted head and the main body. Adjust the fore and aft travel to allow enough room for the 4x4. A fork lift then lifts on the ends of the square. Never lift more than a few inches off the floor. If loading on a trailer, lift the mill high enough and drive the trailer under it. It may swing fore and aft if movements are not VERY gentle. If it starts swinging, stop (gently) and wait until all motion stops. This method has worked very well for me for a LOT of B'port moves. Someone out there is cyberspace will probably slam my method. After all, I don't know ****.
Good luck.

 

nice score! you will learn to LOVE this machine!!!!

 

awesome find, i took a job at the machine shop at school so i would have access to the mills and lathes, there alota fun, they can do some pretty cool stuff i learned.

 

Way to go ! Great score and it will out last you , your children and your grandchildren !
I am going with the forklift !

 

take it apart and get it together and MAKE SOME PARTS!

 

He is 100% right. You may have to move the ram in/out to get the head upside down, then move the ram back so the back of the head touches the column, that way its not so front heavy. You will see a threaded hole in the top of the ram to screw a threaded eye in. You can lift it with a long pry bar to get it up off the floor. Just go around it one side at a time. You can rent equipment rollers or use some barstock. Once outside, I had mine lifted onto the car trailer (along with a lathe and band saw) by a back hoe and I gave him $40. When I got home, my nieghbour lifted it with the loader on his tractor. I believe it ways a couple thousand pounds.

Not flipping the head upside down brings a high risk of the top heavy machine falling over.

Good luck, nice score!

 

nice deal...... took mine apart moved it down a flight of stairs into my ba*****t

 

Ok now Im curious...just how much do these things weigh?

 

I believe that one is from the late fifteis or sixties. I've got one just like it. I moved it by myself with a big pinch bar, a come-along and some s**** planks. Got it up onto my motorcycle trailer, and then off onto an underslung dolly I welded from 1x1 tubes.