Step By Step Installing a 1600 Pound Bridgeport Milling Machine in my shop.

David Schott

David Schott

Joined
Sep 27, 2004
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I decided to do a step-by-step following the process of moving my new milling machine into my shop. I originally scored this machine off craigslist earlier in the week and took a few days to wire a new 220 and make room for this beast.

This is considered a "baby" bridgeport, with the newer models weighing in well over 2-3,000 pounds. By measuring, I know one of those fullsize machines would not clear my basement joists or get through my door so this was an overall ideal machine for me.


Around 10:00 I heard the popping of acorns under tires and this is what rolled into the driveway:
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They owner had taken down the table, ram and head for shipping and drove two hours to my house.

We started by moving a few of the parts. This table is only about 36" but it weighed a ton...maybe 200 pounds?

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We then had to use an engine hoist to get the base off the trailer. This went smoothly:
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After rolling it on dollys with the hoist, we started lining it up to move through the basement door. At this point the weight began to show and the dolly wheels promptly sunk into the pavement, locking us in place:
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There were a few sketchy moments as we had to move the base over the doorjam, but luck was on our side.This being a smaller based model, it fits easilly through a standard 34" door:
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Next post: Reassembly!
 
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We rolled/jostled the base into place with the engine hoist....its not going anywhere! I told my wife we officially were not moving after the base was finally set:
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We installed the table, which was easy, then moved on to the ram.
The ram must weigh 350 pounds so we used the engine hoist, lined up the bolts, and eased her down onto the base:
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Next up was the head. We used the table/knee to raise the head up onto the ram. At least the head is not too heavy...but it took quite a bit of cranking to get it up there!
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We installed the bridgeport vice, which is pretty massive itself and weighs a ton! I might get something smaller but I love that it matched.Here are a few full shots after we installed all the levers, wheels, etc:
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Next post...Details!
 
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I'm no machine expert but everything is in very good condition considering its age.

Here is the serial number. Using a lookup, this dates the machine right at a 1944. It is 66 years old. Almost exactly twice my age.
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The mill has a nice new paintjob, really making it pop. It might not be original paint, but it looks sweet. I have plans to paint my KMG to match.

Heres the tool door:
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All the wheels, knobs and cranks seem to be intact from what I can tell:
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No real rust that I can see at all on it. Everything is buttery smooth:
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The machine has a newer motor that runs on 220. Its very quiet. Oiler is working:
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And here I am, the happy new owner. It was a long morning but I am happy as a kid at christmas:
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Dude that is awesome! I know how big of a job that can be, about 5-6 years ago I helped a friend/co-worker move a full size bridgeport with CNC that he sold. It was easy getting it out of his garage, but the new owner had to rip out his fence to get the trailer to the back yard and in his shop!

A little off topic, knives are one of the only things that to me transcend from cold, hard, inanimate steel into organic, warm and almost containing a life of their own. Something about using fire and muscle to bring it to life i guess.

Then I saw what someone did with a milling machine to do this:

http://ueba.net/hosted_pages/Incredible-Little-Mech-Sculpture

Now I never put a limit as to what can be made on a mill...


-Xander
 
I dont know how I manged before i bought the 2 ton folding engine hoist when i started my car restoration. Those things are awesome for moving heavy equipment. I just moved a 1200lb lathe with just the hoist and a load leveler last weekend.
 
man... nice...

At first I was thinking "you took it apart, what are you nuts?" - but then I saw you moving it through a doorway into a basement! Now I know you're nuts.

The largest Bridgeport I have seen weighed just shy of 9,000 pounds and stood over eight feet high. Moving that was a pill, but I still think carrying yours down into a basement takes the cake. That will just about need to stay with the house...
 
No no...my shop is the basement but opens directly level with the driveway....much easier! Not even one step down. :)
 
I've got a walkout basement, but it has 3 steps, hence my shop having been in my garage... but now my cars are taking up the garage and my shop is moving into the basement and onto my 3 season porch >_<

Your setup is much nicer, no steps! Just a thresh hold.

It's funny how getting things that actually have to go in the garage make you realize how nice it was having the garage space when it was all shop space instead of 2 cars in the 2 car garage. I know whose shop I'm going to raid next time i need some guards milled out though !
 
Nice machine, almost exactly the same as mine. I have mine in 4 pieces now and am waiting on a wrecker to pull it out of the basement so I can put it in the new shop... 5 concrete stairs to go.....:o
 
Hey everyone!

I am so glad I didnt have to go up or down any steps, thats for sure!

Had some fun last night hogging away aluminum but know my head is a bit out of tram by the cuts.

Going to work on tramming this up today. I'll be learning as I go so this should be interesting. Going to grab a dial indicator and then go to town. I've found some guides online and it seems pretty straightforward once I figure out exactly how the four bolts on the front of head work together and how to use them to make small adjustments to the head.
 
Did you level it first?

and

Isn't it pretty close to the wall?
It doesn't give you much room to move.
 
We leveled it as much as possible...

I can swing the entire head around and have no problem getting access. If I ever needed to pull the whole ram back I'd just hole saw it...I needed to conserve as much space width-wise in my shop. This is about as big as I could go without ripping down walls :)
 
I am so envious of this, even though it would be completely impractical for me on so many levels. You'll enjoy it and use it.
 
get yourself a flat plate, like a small granite plate, for squaring up the head so you don't have to keep jumping the t-slots with an indicator. test incators or back plunger incators are the easy to use. co-axle are the best easiest because the dial can stay facing you while you swing the feeler around.
 
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