At 11:18 PM 7/4/2007 +0000, scott.hall@comcast.net wrote:
>subject says it all. seems like it's time to add my very own mill to the
>garage. the guy that I learned from had nice things to say about
>cincinnati products, though we used two lagun republic jobbies. but it
>seems like bridgeports are ubiquitous and might be easier to source
>parts/help for.
With two quarters of trade school under my belt and a similar unrealized
desire here's my angle. My dream would be a Bridgeport Series II.
I like being able to set the speed (surface feet?) with a crank rather than
changing belts. I think the Lagun were variable speed as well.
If I was in the position to do this I'd be recruiting my instructor or a
working machinist to lead me through this. I've also seen a lot of
equipment at the local trade school under repair so I'd be sure I wasn't
getting the used machine that was on it's last legs. Wear affects your
tolerances and setup time.
The retired machinist here in the Seattle area bought a Jet mill and lathe
to set up a small shop. One of his income streams is resleaving Jaguar
brake calipers. He uses a tool post that has three? setups so he's ready
to perform this operation quickly and on demand.
The other element to consider when choosing a brand is year. A lot of
these brands are simply brands. I don't think a new Bridgeport is built in
the same place or by the same company any more.
Further note. The trade school sold some donated equipment that was
German. Good stuff apparently, but metric. Not a disaster, but one guy
had to shop the German Ebay for a drill chuck and t-nuts as I recall.
You have power? Apparently the phase converter was purchased from Ebay as well.
Someone else will have to explain the CNC bit. As a hobbyist, they
wouldn't let me touch that stuff.
Steve Shipley
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