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Ian's Bridgeport mill

Canadium

Canadium

Ian
A continuation of https://canadianhobbymetalworkers.com/threads/bridgeport-1200-00.5001/

I'm dedicating this thread with thanks to the two wonderful guys @trlvn and @Rauce who came out and busted their butts to help me bring my Bridgeport home as well as to this general forum which has enabled me to meet so many wonderful people! I just finished my radiation treatments and was far from 100%. At the end of the moving day yesterday I was totally exhausted even though the other guys did most of the work. They say good help is priceless. I can vouch for that!!! I've always marvelled at how guys on this forum and elsewhere seemed to be able to bring home full sized vertical mills as though they were just bringing home the groceries! Now I can brag that I have actually participated in the moving of a mill!

It's my first ever milling machine, the beginning of an exciting journey for me, and I hope you won't mind the many questions I will have to follow in the coming days!

my Bridge2.webp
 
Glad to help. This was the most 'hands-on' time I'v ever spent with a Bridgeport. It really is astounding how the head can be contorted!

I think you've got a solid addition to your little menagerie there! Everything went pretty smoothly even with that pesky rain shower!

Craig
 
Congratulations on your new toy. Hopefully you are feeling better sooner than later and the projects start rolling off the table. I'll leave most of the question answering to those that know more than l, and hopefully I can learn something at the same time.
 
Nice post! Nice machine! Must be something about the guy!

Congrats!
 
Because of health issues progress on the mill has been going at a snails pace. Initially I was thinking I would just do a minimum of work to get it running and making chips. After all the work I did on my lathe last year I wasn't eager to go through such a lengthy process again. However the more I look at the project the more I see things have to be disassembled, cleaned and repaired anyway so might just as well go the whole way. I've determined slop on the x-axis is about 62 thou, y axis about 72 thou. Very worn but to be expected. The table looks to be in fairly decent shape considering the age. The quill feed handwheel is missing and feed reverse knob is broken off and also missing. The power feed for x axis was not connected so couldn't tell how/if it works. In fact the entire power in cable for the power feed was removed so it was not even clear what the power requirements were and how the power was supposed to be connected. Eventually I decided to look inside the electrical box in case any clues about hookup resided there. As the door fell open out dropped 3 pages of notes with wiring diagrams! After studying the diagrams and the circuit boards I hooked up 120V of power to a board and flipped the switch. I was fully expecting a pop as the thing blew up or at the very least some magic smoke. But instead nothing! The on switch made the power light go on as it should but the motor still didn't run. Have to study those diagrams some more and order some parts!
 

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Canadium said:
Because of health issues progress on the mill has been going at a snails pace. Initially I was thinking I would just do a minimum of work to get it running and making chips. After all the work I did on my lathe last year I wasn't eager to go through such a lengthy process again. However the more I look at the project the more I see things have to be disassembled, cleaned and repaired anyway so might just as well go the whole way. I've determined slop on the x-axis is about 62 thou, y axis about 72 thou. Very worn but to be expected. The table looks to be in fairly decent shape considering the age. The quill feed handwheel is missing and feed reverse knob is broken off and also missing. The power feed for x axis was not connected so couldn't tell how/if it works. In fact the entire power in cable for the power feed was removed so it was not even clear what the power requirements were and how the power was supposed to be connected. Eventually I decided to look inside the electrical box in case any clues about hookup resided there. As the door fell open out dropped 3 pages of notes with wiring diagrams! After studying the diagrams and the circuit boards I hooked up 120V of power to a board and flipped the switch. I was fully expecting a pop as the thing blew up or at the very least some magic smoke. But instead nothing! The on switch made the power light go on as it should but the motor still didn't run. Have to study those diagrams some more and order some parts!
Click to expand...


Happy to help if I can.

Does that mill have a barrel switch up on the motor? If so, you can temporarily bypass the entire control system by disconnecting the power cable from the center poles of the switch and then connect 220 3ph to those center poles. Then you can literally use the drum switch to turn on the power for forward or backward.

That will tell you if the motor works. It's a good place to start.
 
I think the machine is currently set up for 575v 3 phase right?

A VFD and a new motor or a rewind of the current motor will bypass everything in that electrical cabinet.

Most motor shops won’t bother rewinding small motors anymore but there’s a place I’ve used in the Toronto area that’s happy to do it at a reasonable price. I don’t know if the Bridgeport motor is a custom mount but my excello is, which is why I went for a rewind over a new motor.

Also, is the slop you measured backlash or in the ways themselves? I know with my Excello a gib adjustment was all that needed on the X axis, the topside of the saddle was worn evenly and holds good tolerances. The Y axis not so much but your mill looked better than mine since flaking was still visible across the top of the knee.
 
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Ian's mill may have a 575 3 phase head - not sure, but the auxiliary power is only 120 volt single phase. The feed motor typically plugged into the side of the power box that Ian has open and that box I believe provides all the speed control.

This diagram is of the connections at the motor area. You can see the 120 Volt supply and the ambilicle for the motor control would have been a
Speed control.jpg
 
Brent H said:
Ian's mill may have a 575 3 phase head - not sure, but the auxiliary power is only 120 volt single phase. The feed motor typically plugged into the side of the power box that Ian has open and that box I believe provides all the speed control.

This diagram is of the connections at the motor area. You can see the 120 Volt supply and the ambilicle for the motor control would have been a
View attachment 23678
Click to expand...
Ah, I thought we were also talking the head.
 
For what it’s worth regarding the motor in the head, LN Electric is where I have had motors rewound. They did the motor on my old Williams horizontal mill and my excello. Both times a rewind and new bearings was around $400. The only place in Hamilton that would even give me a quote rather than try to sell me a new motor wanted $800.

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