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Hello all,
My first post is going to be one that has been posted 100 times already. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
I went to look at a Bridgeport step pulley mill, roughly 1962 vintage by the s/n, that was advertised on CL. Advertised as a nice machine by the way. Upon inspection, with my minimal experience but semi-understanding of what to look for, it seems the machine is pretty well used. The head sounds rattly, so I figure bearings may be on their way out. The x and y ways don't have any scraping, although there are nicks almost like the scraping was 90% wore but I'm not sure. The knee ways still had the factory scraping but I read that area isn't really a wear area. The x has about .040 of backlash and the y has about .070. I don't know how to adjust the gib or now to tell how much adjustment is left, so I didn't investigate that much. I do know the end of the gib seemed flush with the right edge of the table dovetail but that may not mean anything. The x and y are smooth through the middle and get tight about 2" from the limits. I heard this was another indicator of excessive wear. I grabbed the quill at full extension and it didn't seem to move and was smooth through the entire travel. I didn't think to grab the spindle and check movement. I dial indicator would probably have been required for this and I didn't have one. The table is dinged up pretty good, although it doesn't have any holes drilled in it. A surfacing would be required no matter what. Cosmetically the machine leaves a lot to be desired but I'm not too concerned about form as much as function. It's listed at $1850 and he came a little off that immediately. I think that may still be too high. I don't necessarily need factory new quality right now, so if this could get me by for a little while, I can either purchase a different machine or get one rebuilt. He has other equipment for sale, such as lathes, welders, etc, so I was also thinking that if he had something else I wanted, I could haggle a little more to help him get rid of multiple machines. I had been looking at the Grizzly G9901 to purchase. If I can save a bit, it helps ease the burden of getting a DRO and tooling.
So what may something like this be worth?
Also, is there anyone out there in the OKC area that may be willing to teach a new dog some tricks and possibly assist in looking at this machine?
Thank you in advance.
Jay Fleming
My first post is going to be one that has been posted 100 times already. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
I went to look at a Bridgeport step pulley mill, roughly 1962 vintage by the s/n, that was advertised on CL. Advertised as a nice machine by the way. Upon inspection, with my minimal experience but semi-understanding of what to look for, it seems the machine is pretty well used. The head sounds rattly, so I figure bearings may be on their way out. The x and y ways don't have any scraping, although there are nicks almost like the scraping was 90% wore but I'm not sure. The knee ways still had the factory scraping but I read that area isn't really a wear area. The x has about .040 of backlash and the y has about .070. I don't know how to adjust the gib or now to tell how much adjustment is left, so I didn't investigate that much. I do know the end of the gib seemed flush with the right edge of the table dovetail but that may not mean anything. The x and y are smooth through the middle and get tight about 2" from the limits. I heard this was another indicator of excessive wear. I grabbed the quill at full extension and it didn't seem to move and was smooth through the entire travel. I didn't think to grab the spindle and check movement. I dial indicator would probably have been required for this and I didn't have one. The table is dinged up pretty good, although it doesn't have any holes drilled in it. A surfacing would be required no matter what. Cosmetically the machine leaves a lot to be desired but I'm not too concerned about form as much as function. It's listed at $1850 and he came a little off that immediately. I think that may still be too high. I don't necessarily need factory new quality right now, so if this could get me by for a little while, I can either purchase a different machine or get one rebuilt. He has other equipment for sale, such as lathes, welders, etc, so I was also thinking that if he had something else I wanted, I could haggle a little more to help him get rid of multiple machines. I had been looking at the Grizzly G9901 to purchase. If I can save a bit, it helps ease the burden of getting a DRO and tooling.
So what may something like this be worth?
Also, is there anyone out there in the OKC area that may be willing to teach a new dog some tricks and possibly assist in looking at this machine?
Thank you in advance.
Jay Fleming
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