joebass wrote:
I just bought a new shop to start my welding business. It was an engine
repair shop. The owners left ALOT of crap. With it came a Bridgeport
mill. It has a smaller table and looks pretty old. After doing some
research I thought it had an M head until I found this page last night:
http://www.lathes.co.uk/bridgeport/page3.html
This really made me happy because, now I can use all the R8 tooling
right? I know VERY little about machine tools but have been wanting a
lathe and mill for a while. How does this head differ from a J head
besides HP? Can I do most of the same operations like boring and other
things?
So, is it a C, or an R? If it is the C, you are in deep dooDoo, as the
collets
are going to be really hard to find. If it is an R, you can get collets
and end
mill holders, but it is an odd bird, as there are very few R heads out
there.
It has no quill, so all drilling will be by moving the knee. (Ugh, I'd
hate to
drill 1/16" holes with the knee all day!)
After finding that website last night I went to find some more info on
it today. The serial number on the head is RD787.
OK, sounds like it is an R.
Where can I find the
serial number on the mill.
Run the table back with the Y handle, and there is a sliding cover plate
that
keeps (some) swarf out of the knee. Slide the plate back, and the base
serial will
be stamped there. Most likely it will be RD787, too, unless the heads have
been swapped with another machine.
I forgot to measure the table.
Most likely a 9 x 31", round-ram turret mill base, with about 9" of Y travel
(the old, small knee, later machines had 12" of Y travel).
Whats this thing worth?
Ugh! Not a whole lot! Without even an M head, it is just an odd duck.
Even most
first-time buyers know to look for dovetail ram and J heads. Maybe the
R-8 taper
is a good plus, but unless the ways are in exceptional condition for a
1936 machine,
it may be hard to get rid of. It should be smaller than the current
Series I Bridgeport,
so that may be an advantage to a home shop buyer.
(My round-ram originally M-head machine is S# M1388, and was made in roughly
1938, you yours sounds quite a bit older at 787!)
Jon