Has anyone made a Bridgeport mobile and if so, how have you done it?

I am thinking seriously about putting a Bridgeport on wheels since I
will be moving a number of times in the next few years.

The proposed design would be a frame made of angle iron (3.5 x 6.0 x
0.25) and the wheels (8 inch - 1050lb rated, 2 non swivel, 2 swivel)
will be mounted at points extending beyond each corner under the
frame. This extention is to insure that the wheels when swiveling do
not reduce the stability of the mill to less than the effective
footprint that the base of mill itself has. The wheels will raise the
Bridgeport 9.5 inches above the floor. When the mill is in the
location for operation, the Bridgeport will be supported by leveling
feet thereby removing the mill's weight from the wheels.

Several questions come to mind.

Does anyone see anything that wrong with this design?

Like at what end should the swivel wheels be placed...should they be
placed under the front of the Bridgeport or at the rear of the
Bridgeport?

Is the elevation of the mill by approximately 10 inches going to cause
a problem during operation?

What color would you suggest the racing stripes be? :)

Any suggestions or comments are welcomed.

Thanks in advance,

TMT

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
m...
Has anyone made a Bridgeport mobile and if so, how have you done it?

I am thinking seriously about putting a Bridgeport on wheels since I
will be moving a number of times in the next few years.


TMT,

I don't like the part about routinely raising a Bridgeport 9.5" nevermind
operating it that way. Better to go with an outboard-underslung cart where
the bottom of the mill is only 1/2" off the floor. Here's a link to the
carts I made for our move 5 years ago:

http://www.dogpatch.com/bobp/shop/mover.htm

Although for dedicated service with a single machine, you don't need 8
casters, you could just build an underslung cart that wraps around the
machine with a total of 4. Can get fancy with screw feet at the corners to
lift the machine up off the wheels, but for actual operation you should just
the feet to lift the cart, then drop it on some solid wood dunnage to spread
the load. A prybar would work as well as screw feet for lifting it 1/2".

If you have a smooth clean floor there is no reason to use casters larger
than 4" dia, or even 3", at least within the load rating.

I used 4" instead of larger to reduce the footprint and in part to improve
the stability, on account of the swiveling radius being smaller. My carts
are all swivel because the point was to be able to maneuver inside a 40'
shipping container. It takes some work to get all 8 wheels pointed the
right way when you want to change direction, but with my design I don't
think there really is an alternative to all-swivel.

If you build a single cart with 2 swivel and 2 rigid, put the swivel at the
side of the machine you plan to "drive" on. It's harder to steer from the
other end.

I think we are using the same logic for load rating - best to assume the
load is on 2 of the 4 casters hence your 1050 lb rating. I used 700 lb
casters in the twin 4-wheel carts and because of how the load is distributed
on the flexible frame, I felt it was safe to assume the full rating of 5600
lbs for 8 wheels.

Grant built a pair of carts like mine using 6" wheels, I don't know his
exact reasons for going that route, they take more space and but his carts
are easier to steer and roll. The 6" wheels also put the wheel frame up a
couple inches higher, that might make the difference between being able to
move or not move an odd machine.

What color would you suggest the racing stripes be? :)

Bridgeport grey?

Bob

In article ,
says...
Has anyone made a Bridgeport mobile and if so, how have you done it?

I am thinking seriously about putting a Bridgeport on wheels since I
will be moving a number of times in the next few years.

The proposed design would be a frame made of angle iron (3.5 x 6.0 x
0.25) and the wheels (8 inch - 1050lb rated, 2 non swivel, 2 swivel)
will be mounted at points extending beyond each corner under the
frame. This extention is to insure that the wheels when swiveling do
not reduce the stability of the mill to less than the effective
footprint that the base of mill itself has. The wheels will raise the
Bridgeport 9.5 inches above the floor. When the mill is in the
location for operation, the Bridgeport will be supported by leveling
feet thereby removing the mill's weight from the wheels.

Several questions come to mind.

Does anyone see anything that wrong with this design?

Like at what end should the swivel wheels be placed...should they be
placed under the front of the Bridgeport or at the rear of the
Bridgeport?

Is the elevation of the mill by approximately 10 inches going to cause
a problem during operation?

What color would you suggest the racing stripes be? :)

Any suggestions or comments are welcomed.

Thanks in advance,

TMT

Instead of angle, why not use heavy box channel and weld 1/2" gussets to
the bottom of the corners to hold the mill? Then, you can put the mill
inside the mobile cart instead of on top of it.

I built a mobile base for my Hardinge TM. Its about 40% of the weight
of a BP, so I was able to get away with 1/4" angle iron and 5" casters.
I cut 4 pieces of 6x8 angle 6 inches wide and used them to mount the
casters. I welded the caster angles to the outside of the frame, so
that the mill is raised only 3" off the floor. I used 2x3 angle for the
frame bed, and added 2 additional struts.

The caster 6x8 angles are welded with the bottom of the 6" side even
with the bottom of the cart angle, and the tops protrude up from the
frame so that the mill base is surrounded by it. She can't move
laterally, as I put the casters to the left and right of the mill.

Not sure how that would work for a 2200lb BP though. If you were
hogging, I'd be concerned that vibration could be increased because of
the cart. I thought about doing some sort of outrigger setup on mine,
but I really can't take huge cuts with my mill so they weren't needed.
I would definitely consider some sort of outrigger if you use a cart.
And, if you can, I'd look into bolting the mill to the cart.

Of course, you could build a gantry for about $300 in steel and casters,
plus the hoist.

But if you try the cart using my design, I can't see how the mill would
be more than 1-2 inches off the ground. It all depends on the floor
you're dealing with and what kinds of bumps you'll need to negotiate.

And, I'd make the racing stripes black. :-)

Good luck!
--
Regards,

Rick

(Remove the HIGH SPOTS for e-mail)

I have moved my machines several times. All of them. I did it with a single
pair of machinery skates designed like Bob Powell's (Toolbert). I got my
casters from cheapcasters.com but replaced the grease zerk fittings with
decent 6mm ones from McMaster-Carr. Here are my design parameters:

one guy can load a 3500 pound machine, then move it (flat assumed)
the machine never goes above 3/4" off the floor so it's less risky
the skates have to be narrow enough to go through a 30" door
the skates have to be wide enough to hold your biggest machine
the skates should be light enough so one guy can lift them
the skates should be corrosion resistant so they can be stored outside

Recently a guy brought over a 25 pound Little Giant power hammer in a pickup.
We picked it up and set it on the ground with an engine hoist. He looked at
the ten feet of driveway or so left before it went into my shop and groaned
and asked me if I had any pieces of pipe. I laughed at him and rolled out my
skates. Two minutes later the machine was in place and he was blown away at
how easy it was.

It's really easy to load up a Bridgeport mill. Roll up the front skate, put
your prybar under its middle and into the little floor slot in the front of
the BP base casting, lean on the prybar and nudge the skate under the front
lip, then set the machine down on it. Put a couple of wedges under the casters
so the machine can't roll away, then go roll in the back skate and lift up the
back of the mill by running a portapower between the floor and the back lug on
the ram. You only have to lift it a fraction of an inch, then roll in the
skate and set the mill down on it and take the portapower away. Then tie the
skates together and you can easily roll your mill around.

Or your lathe. Or your surface grinder. Or your hydraulic press. Or your
big bandsaw. Or your big welder. You get the idea.

I had mine hot-dip galvanized. They aren't shiny anymore, but they aren't
rusty either. They took about a day to make. I keep 'em out in the rain.

I can post pix if you need 'em - they're different from Bob's but basically
very similar. I used bigger casters so I can clear the lip going into and
out of my garage - the bigger the casters, the bigger the lip you can roll
over. However, bigger casters have a bigger swing radius, so your biggest
machines will foul sometimes when the caster wants to turn.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington


Too_Many_Tools wrote:

Has anyone made a Bridgeport mobile and if so, how have you done it?

I am thinking seriously about putting a Bridgeport on wheels since I
will be moving a number of times in the next few years.

Super design. This is a common problem. I like the special prybars.
Steve
"Toolbert" wrote in message
s.com...
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
m...
Has anyone made a Bridgeport mobile and if so, how have you done it?

I am thinking seriously about putting a Bridgeport on wheels since I
will be moving a number of times in the next few years.


TMT,

I don't like the part about routinely raising a Bridgeport 9.5" nevermind
operating it that way. Better to go with an outboard-underslung cart
where
the bottom of the mill is only 1/2" off the floor. Here's a link to the
carts I made for our move 5 years ago:

http://www.dogpatch.com/bobp/shop/mover.htm

Although for dedicated service with a single machine, you don't need 8
casters, you could just build an underslung cart that wraps around the
machine with a total of 4. Can get fancy with screw feet at the corners
to
lift the machine up off the wheels, but for actual operation you should
just
the feet to lift the cart, then drop it on some solid wood dunnage to
spread
the load. A prybar would work as well as screw feet for lifting it 1/2".

If you have a smooth clean floor there is no reason to use casters larger
than 4" dia, or even 3", at least within the load rating.

I used 4" instead of larger to reduce the footprint and in part to improve
the stability, on account of the swiveling radius being smaller. My carts
are all swivel because the point was to be able to maneuver inside a 40'
shipping container. It takes some work to get all 8 wheels pointed the
right way when you want to change direction, but with my design I don't
think there really is an alternative to all-swivel.

If you build a single cart with 2 swivel and 2 rigid, put the swivel at
the
side of the machine you plan to "drive" on. It's harder to steer from the
other end.

I think we are using the same logic for load rating - best to assume the
load is on 2 of the 4 casters hence your 1050 lb rating. I used 700 lb
casters in the twin 4-wheel carts and because of how the load is
distributed
on the flexible frame, I felt it was safe to assume the full rating of
5600
lbs for 8 wheels.

Grant built a pair of carts like mine using 6" wheels, I don't know his
exact reasons for going that route, they take more space and but his carts
are easier to steer and roll. The 6" wheels also put the wheel frame up a
couple inches higher, that might make the difference between being able to
move or not move an odd machine.

What color would you suggest the racing stripes be? :)

Bridgeport grey?

Bob

i have 2 designs i use one is a landing gear cart, i cut the holder arm off and
welded a frame withe them. i use this because it is very stable. i move the bp
around to different work stations so i can have one dirty area for cleaning.
the other is a skate that we use for moving machines in place. we use
c-channel and cut one part of the c- off so it looks like angle iron(but
stronger) we then weld 3 pieces of round stock on the flat side equaly spaced.
you should make the center higher by 1/8 to 1/4. on theround stock i put on
old bearings. you can get them free from an electric motor rebuilder, just ask
for some old bearings.
i buy the landing gear carts for $20 at the surplus places, casters are
worth more than that

Grant Erwin wrote:

I have moved my machines several times. All of them. I did it with a
single
pair of machinery skates designed like Bob Powell's (Toolbert). I got my
casters from cheapcasters.com but replaced the grease zerk fittings with
decent 6mm ones from McMaster-Carr. Here are my design parameters:

one guy can load a 3500 pound machine, then move it (flat assumed)
the machine never goes above 3/4" off the floor so it's less risky
the skates have to be narrow enough to go through a 30" door
the skates have to be wide enough to hold your biggest machine
the skates should be light enough so one guy can lift them
the skates should be corrosion resistant so they can be stored outside

Recently a guy brought over a 25 pound Little Giant power hammer in a
pickup.
We picked it up and set it on the ground with an engine hoist. He
looked at
the ten feet of driveway or so left before it went into my shop and
groaned
and asked me if I had any pieces of pipe. I laughed at him and rolled
out my
skates. Two minutes later the machine was in place and he was blown
away at
how easy it was.

It's really easy to load up a Bridgeport mill. Roll up the front
skate, put
your prybar under its middle and into the little floor slot in the
front of
the BP base casting, lean on the prybar and nudge the skate under the
front
lip, then set the machine down on it. Put a couple of wedges under the
casters
so the machine can't roll away, then go roll in the back skate and
lift up the
back of the mill by running a portapower between the floor and the
back lug on
the ram. You only have to lift it a fraction of an inch, then roll in the
skate and set the mill down on it and take the portapower away. Then
tie the
skates together and you can easily roll your mill around.

Or your lathe. Or your surface grinder. Or your hydraulic press. Or your
big bandsaw. Or your big welder. You get the idea.

I had mine hot-dip galvanized. They aren't shiny anymore, but they aren't
rusty either. They took about a day to make. I keep 'em out in the rain.

I can post pix if you need 'em - they're different from Bob's but
basically
very similar. I used bigger casters so I can clear the lip going into and
out of my garage - the bigger the casters, the bigger the lip you can
roll
over. However, bigger casters have a bigger swing radius, so your biggest
machines will foul sometimes when the caster wants to turn.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington


Too_Many_Tools wrote:

Has anyone made a Bridgeport mobile and if so, how have you done it?
I am thinking seriously about putting a Bridgeport on wheels since I
will be moving a number of times in the next few years.

Pictures and Specs would be appreciated.

Do you have a pallet jack and room to use it in the shop?
One of my customers mounted a BP sized mill on a steel pallet they had
fabricated locally. Mill was bolted firm to the pallet, pallet had
leveling pads just outboard from the side of the mill base.
Pallet as I recall (they have since sold the machine so I can't go look
or take pics) was two 3/8 steel plates with short lengths of 4" square
tubing spacing them apart enough to allow a pallet jack to pick it from
either the front, back, or sides.
Very nice and stable setup, but not everyone has a pallet jack or
forklift handy...

Jon

OK, ignorant questions.

What's a "portapower" - surely you don't mean a vacuum cleaner?
(Though a very clean machine is surely easier to move...)


Grant Erwin wrote in message ...

snip


It's really easy to load up a Bridgeport mill. Roll up the front skate, put
your prybar under its middle and into the little floor slot in the front of
the BP base casting, lean on the prybar and nudge the skate under the front
lip, then set the machine down on it. Put a couple of wedges under the casters
so the machine can't roll away, then go roll in the back skate and lift up the
back of the mill by running a portapower between the floor and the back lug on
the ram. You only have to lift it a fraction of an inch, then roll in the
skate and set the mill down on it and take the portapower away. Then tie the
skates together and you can easily roll your mill around.

snip

bryanwi wrote:
What's a "portapower" - surely you don't mean a vacuum cleaner?

http://etoolsonline.com/product/1416Q

One shop I worked at had all the 30 ton and smaller mechanical
presses mounted on a base with pallet fork holes. Worked great to
bring one over to a larger machine to do a second op. Always
seemed to be one hole that the bigger machine couldn't get to or
one small hole pattern to hit after the forming op on the brake.

Jon Anderson wrote:

Do you have a pallet jack and room to use it in the shop?
One of my customers mounted a BP sized mill on a steel pallet they had
fabricated locally. Mill was bolted firm to the pallet, pallet had
leveling pads just outboard from the side of the mill base.
Pallet as I recall (they have since sold the machine so I can't go look
or take pics) was two 3/8 steel plates with short lengths of 4" square
tubing spacing them apart enough to allow a pallet jack to pick it from
either the front, back, or sides.
Very nice and stable setup, but not everyone has a pallet jack or
forklift handy...

Jon

I built a frame for my Bridgeport out of 2x2x 1/4 angle. The angle is
welded as a frame just large enough to sit the mill in. I put 6
casters on it, they're 3 inch metal casters I got out of a local junk
store welded to the bottom of the frame. There are 1 inch bolts in
the corners for leveling screws. One person can move it around, but I
sure wouldn't want to have it on a slope. It's been in use for 8 or
10 years now.

Probably the only critical area is to be sure the caster won't
collapse under the load when moving. That could get pretty exciting.

Putting the casters outboard would be a good idea. If I were doing it
now I would probably do that which would keep the mill closer to the
floor by a few inches. I haven't had any problems, but mills tend to
be a little top heavy and extra insurance doesn't hurt.

Paul

Here is a PDF of the design for machinery rollers I built. Since mine are
made of recycled I-beam and since the body of each skate is an I-shape, I
called my design "I-skates". http://tinyisland.com/images/machrollers.pdf

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

On 25 Jan 2004 11:08:01 -0800, (bryanwi) wrote:
OK, ignorant questions.

What's a "portapower" - surely you don't mean a vacuum cleaner?
(Though a very clean machine is surely easier to move...)

A Portapower(tm) is a hydraulic jack with the pump and reservoir
separated from the ram(s) by a length of hydraulic hose. There are
multiple ram heads, spreader foot, short ram, pull back ram, etc,
which can be attached to the hose with quick connect fittings for
various tasks, and a number of extension tubes which can be
screwed onto the rams to give various heights/lengths. It is
a *very* handy tool for lifting, pushing, or pulling in tight quarters.

The two common sizes are 4 ton and 10 ton. I have a 10 ton model.
They're fairly expensive if bought from Portapower (the US company
which invented them), but there are now many Chinese clones
available inexpensively. Harbor Freight is one US source. I bought
my 10 ton from them, $98 in store special.

Gary

On Sun, 25 Jan 2004 10:31:20 -0800, Jon Anderson wrote:
Do you have a pallet jack and room to use it in the shop?
One of my customers mounted a BP sized mill on a steel pallet they had
fabricated locally. Mill was bolted firm to the pallet, pallet had
leveling pads just outboard from the side of the mill base.
Pallet as I recall (they have since sold the machine so I can't go look
or take pics) was two 3/8 steel plates with short lengths of 4" square
tubing spacing them apart enough to allow a pallet jack to pick it from
either the front, back, or sides.
Very nice and stable setup, but not everyone has a pallet jack or
forklift handy...

Excellent idea! My mill is sitting on a wooden pallet for that very reason.
But wood isn't very dimensionally stable. I was going to weld up a duplicate
pallet in metal to replace it. The idea of building it so a pallet jack can
go under it from any direction is something I hadn't considered. I'm not
sure it is *necessary* in my situation, but it could be handier in a differently
arranged shop, and not that much more trouble to fabricate.

BTW, I put another of my machines on wheels, and didn't like it as a
permanent solution. The machine wanted to "walk" when working unless
I added levelers to lift it off the wheels. A simple set it down and pick it
up pallet arrangement seems better. With the machine bolted down to
the pallet, the pallet just forms a larger and more stable base for the
machine, yet it is easily portable when required.

Gary

Gary Coffman wrote:

Excellent idea!

I thought so, and plan to copy the design when I have room to get at
stuff with a pallet jack. Dawned on me after posting though that there
couldn't have been a full sheet of metal on the floor or a pallet jack
wouldn't have worked. It was probably just some 1/4 x 4" flat bar around
the bottom perimeter.

I forgot to mention, this spaced the machine up a bit, so they had a
short platform welded up out of square steel tube, with heavy expanded
steel top. This brought the operator back up to proper height with the
machine and had the benefit of allowing chips to fall through to the
floor. If there's one thing I hate it's stepping on chips, even a couple
underfoot gets to me. These stand on risers were light and easy to move
out of the way for sweeping.

Jon

On Mon, 26 Jan 2004 19:10:32 -0800, Jon Anderson wrote:
I forgot to mention, this spaced the machine up a bit, so they had a
short platform welded up out of square steel tube, with heavy expanded
steel top. This brought the operator back up to proper height with the
machine and had the benefit of allowing chips to fall through to the
floor. If there's one thing I hate it's stepping on chips, even a couple
underfoot gets to me. These stand on risers were light and easy to move
out of the way for sweeping.

Well, I find that having the machine up on a pallet brings it to a more
comfortable working height for me (brings the work closer to my bifocals,
so I don't have to stoop over to see what the cutter is doing). I have
my lathes on taller than normal stands for the same reason.

Gary

I built a permanently attached mill carraige very similar to the one
you are contemplating. The carraige is used to move and level my
Bridgeport-type milling maching. The frame is made from 1/4" angle
iron and plate. The front casters swivel and the rear are fixed to
make it easier to steer. The jacks are fabricated from 1" threaded
rod and are threaded into coupling nuts welded to the frame. The
jacks have swivel pads on the bottom and a hex head on the top. The
front of the frame has a clevis connection to attach an approximately
4' T handle that I use to pull the carraige. This is much easier than
pulling on the machine itself. I used bondo between the frame and the
mill to prevent metal chips from collecting in the crack.

The carraige moves easily and the jacks level the mill with very
little effort. The carraige is very stable both on the casters and on
the jacks.

I have posted the following pictures of the carraige in the
metalworking.com dropbox:

mill carraige 1a.jpg
mill carraige 2a.jpg
mill carraige.txt

This is the first time I have posted any pictures in the dropbox so
please ignore the other mill carraige files. They are just larger
versions of the same photographs. The following are the links to the
dropbox photographs:

http://metalworking.com/DropBox/mill...raige%201a.JPG
http://metalworking.com/DropBox/mill...raige%202a.JPG

Again this is the first time I have tried to insert a link so if it
doesn't work you can just paste the address into your browser.

I hope my experienc provides some ideas for your carraige.

Ron Leap

Ron,

Interesting method. did you weld the wheel fixtures directly to the base
?????

Merle

Hi,

Your carriage is very similar to the design that I am working on. What
size of wheels did you use and what load rating do they have?

One option that I am planning on adding to the carriage is a drip plan
for the Bridgeport to sit in so oil and coolant are caught before they
reach the floor. I like the idea you have for filling the space
between the frame and the mill so chips do not collect there.

The angle iron that you used in your frame...is the angle flat on the
floor or is the angle edge sitting on the floor?

The clevis attachment point is something I am also adding. I am
planning on having an attachment point on both the front and the back
of the carriage so one can pull the frame into a trailer if the mill
is moved to another location.


TMT


(Ron Leap) wrote in message . com...
I built a permanently attached mill carraige very similar to the one
you are contemplating. The carraige is used to move and level my
Bridgeport-type milling maching. The frame is made from 1/4" angle
iron and plate. The front casters swivel and the rear are fixed to
make it easier to steer. The jacks are fabricated from 1" threaded
rod and are threaded into coupling nuts welded to the frame. The
jacks have swivel pads on the bottom and a hex head on the top. The
front of the frame has a clevis connection to attach an approximately
4' T handle that I use to pull the carraige. This is much easier than
pulling on the machine itself. I used bondo between the frame and the
mill to prevent metal chips from collecting in the crack.

The carraige moves easily and the jacks level the mill with very
little effort. The carraige is very stable both on the casters and on
the jacks.

I have posted the following pictures of the carraige in the
metalworking.com dropbox:

mill carraige 1a.jpg
mill carraige 2a.jpg
mill carraige.txt

This is the first time I have posted any pictures in the dropbox so
please ignore the other mill carraige files. They are just larger
versions of the same photographs. The following are the links to the
dropbox photographs:

http://metalworking.com/DropBox/mill...raige%201a.JPG
http://metalworking.com/DropBox/mill...raige%202a.JPG

Again this is the first time I have tried to insert a link so if it
doesn't work you can just paste the address into your browser.

I hope my experienc provides some ideas for your carraige.

Ron Leap

"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...

Recently a guy brought over a 25 pound Little Giant power hammer in a
pickup.
We picked it up and set it on the ground with an engine hoist. He looked
at
the ten feet of driveway or so left before it went into my shop and
groaned
and asked me if I had any pieces of pipe. I laughed at him and rolled out
my
skates. Two minutes later the machine was in place and he was blown away
at
how easy it was.

25 lb? I groan every time my daughter wants picked up. That's at least
30....


Joel. phx



machines will foul sometimes when the caster wants to turn.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington


Too_Many_Tools wrote:

Has anyone made a Bridgeport mobile and if so, how have you done it?

I am thinking seriously about putting a Bridgeport on wheels since I
will be moving a number of times in the next few years.