Bridgeport Mill ??? Should I jump on this?

[sandman2234]

I have an Index brand knee mill and its handy when needed. The price seems great for the condition its said to be in. I am using another 3 ph motor as a converter to run it from regular 220 single phase and it has worked fine.

I had an arguement with an electrician at work one time, with him saying that couldn't be done. He finally agreed to set it up per my instructions, and test it. It worked like a champ, and he had to buy lunch the next day!!
David from jax

[300UGUY]

Go for it!! Great deal!!!

[ultrarunner]

Mine has paid for itself over the years... and it is one heck of a drill press!

I made up a rotary convertor from another 1 hp 3 phase motor... been running it this way for about 20 years...

I paid a lot for mine and it was in great shape with some tooling... never thought I would loose if I had to sell... things change in 20 years... still glad to have it.

The rotary convertor was little more than hooking up some wires and letting the idler convertor spin.

I rented a truck with a 2500 pound lift gate and did everything slowly to get it the 7 miles home and down the driveway...

[smilingreen]

That is a steal of a deal. Go for it...........on second thought, maybe you shouldn't. Just give me the address of where the mill is sitting and I will gladly take it home with me........

[Matt in Virginia]

fwiw,
I prefer Phase Perfect, however, that is your call. Granted I'm running a HAAS TL-2 off mine as well... Phase Perfect puts out power cleaner than off the line...

Regards, Matt.

[sandman2234]

fwiw,
I prefer Phase Perfect, however, that is your call. Granted I'm running a HAAS TL-2 off mine as well... Phase Perfect puts out power cleaner than off the line...

Regards, Matt.

No doubt Phase Perfect isn't better, but running a $250 mill off a $4000 power supply might scare the 0/P enough to make him decide it isn't worth buying. Haven't priced them in a while, so that $4k is an estimate from the 20 hp I priced a while back.
Rotary phase converters are better than static, but a lot of people run Bridgeport mills with no trouble. I have been running mine since 2004 on the same one that came with it, and the previous owner had been running it since 1996, with no problems. He was a 40 year veteran of machine shops and if there was a problem with the 1/3 reduction in power supply, he would have noticed it. I don't push the mill hard enough to even get close.
David from jax

[LD1]

Deffinatally a steal @ $250.

You didnt mention what size it was, but even the small 9x36 bridgeports weigh a ton +. So $250 is scrap price. Even if the thing is totally trashed, there is no risk.

I was at an auction a few months back, and they sold about a dozen BP mills. All smaller 9x36 and 9x42's. The LOW end ones that were NOT variable speed and had stepped pulleys instead, absolutely NO tooling, and NO vise, and pretty sloppy, and they were still bringing 1500-2000 range.

The two they did have that were setup with a digital RO, and variable speed, but still very sloppy, went for 2500-3000.

250 is a steal plain and simple. And if it is "hardly used" as he describes, could most likely be flipped for 4k+

[sweettractors]

Jump on the deal. Like said above scrap price. I wish I had a dollar for every enjoyable hour I have ran a Bridgeport vertical mill. Ken Sweet

[bearcreek paul]

Buy that milling machine. It's a great deal and you will kick yourself in the but later. Hook it up to a buzz box and starter motor and your good to go. No hp loss.

[dstig1]

Cripes bridgeports are only 2-3 Hp motors, without a heavy load start. You don't need a 20 Hp converter to run one... 5hp would cover that plus another not too big 3ph tool.