Do You Use the Foot Brake

[Bob La Londe]

Bob what style of Brake does your Bridgeport have..

I don't understand the question. I bought a brand new South Bend mill. Not a Bridgeport. If you are just picking on me for not choosing a Bridgeport I did look at them. I also looked at a number of other options. The South Bend had everything I wanted. None of the other "packages" did. Everything installed. All I had to do was hook up air and power. I didn't choose it on price either. It was one of the more expensive of the various knee mills I considered. If I just wanted a Bridgeport for the name there were cheaper ones available brand new. They just didn't come packaged with everything i wanted. If I was going to buy based on price I would have probably gotten something Taiwan assembled from Matt over at Precision Mathews. I'm pretty satisfied with my Precision Mathews lathe which I did buy based on price.

As to how the spindle brake works I have no idea. I did take the power draw bar off once because it didn't seem to be working right, but it turned out to be me not using it right. Other than that I have not been inside the machine. There is a lever on the side of the head. I push it back and it kills power to the spindle motor. Push it back further and it stops the spindle very effectively.

FYI: It came stock with a 7.5HP VFD to drive the 5HP spindle motor.

As to the new tech old tech thing.... It wasn't that long ago when it was hard to find 1-3 VFDs rated for full 3ph power at 1-3ph input. Even now when I look them up they tend to be more expensive than an upsized VFD. The problem is most 3-3 units over about 3.7Kw (5HP) are not advertised for 1-3 phase converter operation. You have to dig into the manuals to see if they are capable or not. As an aside, I've got a bunch of machines running VFDs and when I first started doing this PolySpede/Spedestar was the only 1-3 I found rated for 1-3 at full rated power. I was going to put one on the Hurco mill, but I just haven't gotten around to it. I just keep running the 3.7Kw derated Mitsubishi that was in i when I got it. I will upgrade it at some point. The Mitsubishi is limited at 120hz in the menu, and I want to be able to run upto 200hz. When I upgrade I'd like to also be able to get full power. Those machines were run at 200hz with a pricey upgrade from Hurco. From what I have heard talking to guys who had them upgraded back in the 80s and 90s all Hurco appeared to do was upgrade the electronics. Not the spindle.

[mochinist]

Yes…
I’ve used lot’s of different manual lathes with foot brakes, all of them were just like my vehicles, you can gently apply the brake and slow it down relatively fast, compared to just letting it spin down slowly on its own or you can step on it as hard and fast as you can, and stop it almost instantly. No need for the latter unless its an emergency though. Maybe your lathe brake is different?

[sarge41]

I'm like mochinist in that I like a mechanical foot brake. I first got used to one on a French made tracer lathe and used it gently. I now have a 15" engine lathe that has an electronic brake that engages when the hand lever is moved to the "off" position. I have used it for about 25 years and no problems, but would rather have a foot pedal that can be used softly.
Sarge41

[Tundra Twin Track]

I don't understand the question. I bought a brand new South Bend mill. Not a Bridgeport. If you are just picking on me for not choosing a Bridgeport I did look at them. I also looked at a number of other options. The South Bend had everything I wanted. None of the other "packages" did. Everything installed. All I had to do was hook up air and power. I didn't choose it on price either. It was one of the more expensive of the various knee mills I considered. If I just wanted a Bridgeport for the name there were cheaper ones available brand new. They just didn't come packaged with everything i wanted. If I was going to buy based on price I would have probably gotten something Taiwan assembled from Matt over at Precision Mathews. I'm pretty satisfied with my Precision Mathews lathe which I did buy based on price.

As to how the spindle brake works I have no idea. I did take the power draw bar off once because it didn't seem to be working right, but it turned out to be me not using it right. Other than that I have not been inside the machine. There is a lever on the side of the head. I push it back and it kills power to the spindle motor. Push it back further and it stops the spindle very effectively.

FYI: It came stock with a 7.5HP VFD to drive the 5HP spindle motor.

As to the new tech old tech thing.... It wasn't that long ago when it was hard to find 1-3 VFDs rated for full 3ph power at 1-3ph input. Even now when I look them up they tend to be more expensive than an upsized VFD. The problem is most 3-3 units over about 3.7Kw (5HP) are not advertised for 1-3 phase converter operation. You have to dig into the manuals to see if they are capable or not. As an aside, I've got a bunch of machines running VFDs and when I first started doing this PolySpede/Spedestar was the only 1-3 I found rated for 1-3 at full rated power. I was going to put one on the Hurco mill, but I just haven't gotten around to it. I just keep running the 3.7Kw derated Mitsubishi that was in i when I got it. I will upgrade it at some point. The Mitsubishi is limited at 120hz in the menu, and I want to be able to run upto 200hz. When I upgrade I'd like to also be able to get full power. Those machines were run at 200hz with a pricey upgrade from Hurco. From what I have heard talking to guys who had them upgraded back in the 80s and 90s all Hurco appeared to do was upgrade the electronics. Not the spindle.

Sorry Bob,I read South Bend and my Brain typed Bridgeport,was curious if your Brake had limit switch like you mentioned.I think there’s a variety of styles Band,Shoe&Drum,Disc and maybe some that contacts pulley.