Bridgeport Knee Mill
 | |
| Owner/Loaner | PS:One |
|---|---|
| Serial Number | {{{serial}}} |
| Make/Model | Bridgeport Series I knee mill |
| Arrival Date | Dec 2013 |
| Usability | yes |
| Contact | Area Host |
| Where | Cold Metals |
| Authorization Needed | yes |
| Hackable | no |
| Estimated Value | ~$3000 |
| Host Area | {{{hostarea}}} |
Description
A recent model Knee Mill made by the Bridgeport company. This is the gold-standard small shop manual milling machine in the US. Most other mills of the same size are direct copies of the bridgeport design. This particular machine is a Series I, J-head with a mechanical variable speed drive. The machine has a power quill feed built into the head, in addition to the additional equipment listed below. This machine is capable of facing, surfacing, drilling and slotting in materials ranging from plastics to mild steel. Harder metals may be cut if special cutters and coolant are available. This machine is not equipped with CNC controls, consequently curved paths are limited to circular arcs. These can be cut on pieces that can be mounted on the 8" rotary table or approximated to a desired precision using the simple or smooth arc functions of the DRO.
Authorization
This tool requires authorization for use
Authorization on this tool requires previous Tier 1 Cold Metals Authorization. Seek out the volunteer authorizers on the Groups or in person.
The Bridgeport authorization is in two parts: once you have the prerequisite authorization, you need to complete the Canvas course; then, contact an authorizer to schedule the in-person portion of the authorization, where you will complete the auth project.
Authorizers
- Wally Fugiel
- email:
- slack handle:
Personal Tooling and Learning Resources
Equipment
| Item | Description | Supplier | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| End Mills | A set of sharp cutters you don't have to share | can be purchased from McMaster, Enco or Shars | ~$50 and up |
| Caliper | Measurement device accurate to approximately .001". A 6" digital Mitutoyo would be a fine choice for about $100. Beware of counterfeits. | Amazon, or any industrial supplier | $30 and up |
| Tool Holder | Something to bring your tools with you and keep them safe. | A member made example can be found here | Free/3D printed |
Purchasing Cutters
Learning
- Tubal Cain Bridgeport mill parts, part A and part B.
- MIT milling machine videos: Machine Shop 4, Machine Shop 5, Machine Shop 6, and Machine Shop 7.
- Machine Shop Practice, Volume 2. This book is available in the lounge library and in the cabinet next to the mill.
- Machinery's Handbook. Three copies of this are available in the cabinet next to the mill.
- Milling Machine Operations. This is published by the United States Army, and is therefore in the public domain and freely available online.
Feeds and Speeds
A page with feed and speed information to get you started may be found at Bridgeport Knee Mill Feeds and Speeds.
Available Equipment
On the mill
- Power feed Model 6F (x axis)
- Digital Read Out (DRO)
- Kurt 6" vise
- Riser plate
- Common R8 collets (tool holding)
In the Large Mill Accessories Cabinet
- Hold down set
- Palmgren 8" Rotary Table
- Tilting table
- Spindle square
- Horizontal Attachment
- Knee power feed
In the Small Mill Tooling Chest
- Boring heads
- Fly cutters
- Two flute end mills
- Tapping heads
- More R8 collets (tool holding) and 5C collets (work holding)
Elsewhere
- Sine plate
Repair and Maintenance
Please see the service manual.
Resetting the machine and work area after use
- Clean up chips
- Turn off DRO, power feed and light
Maintenance
Repairs
The X-axis handle (opposite the power feed) is missing the spring.
The handle for the Z-axis front lock has snapped off. The rabbit hole is deeper than expected, or may just be a handle that can be removed.
The screw to prevent collets from rotating in the spindle is frequently removed, as some collets won't fit with it in there and it can cause bigger problems if it shears off. This won't be repaired.
The power feed appears to be leaking oil. Parts that we should consider replacing:
- 61 11636413 Seal, Shaft quantity 1
- 72 11630134 Gasket, Cover quantity 1
- 33 11630261 Bearing, Single Row, Loose Fit, quantity 2; these should be available from a bearing distributor
Good sources for Bridgeport parts: High Quality Tools, H&W Machinery Repair, Mataco
Upgrades
Currently Authorized Users
c| Qualified Member | Trained By | Proctored By |
|---|---|---|
| Tucker Tomlinson | Danger Committee | |
| Mike Warot | Danger Committee | |
| Ed Bennett | Danger Committee | |
| John-Paul(JP) Debauge | Danger Committee | |
| Ryan Pierce | JP Debauge | Ed Bennett |
| Everett Wilson | JP Debauge | Ryan Pierce |
| Derek Bever | JP Debauge | Everett Wilson |
| Elizabeth Koprucki | JP Debauge | Ryan Pierce, Everett Wilson |
| Anna Yu | Ed Bennett | Ed Bennett |
| Dean Anderson | Ed Bennett | Ed Bennett |
| Bart Dring | Ed Bennett | Ed Bennett |
| Greg "Nerobro" Teiber | JP Debauge | JP Debauge |
| Ray Doeksen | JP Debauge | JP Debauge |
| "Colorado" Rob Riggs | JP Debauge | Everett Wilson |
| Jeremy Bloyd-Peshkin | Danger | null |
| Todd Allen | JP Debauge | Everett Wilson |
| Ron Olson | Derek Bever and Everett Wilson | Everett Wilson |
| Michael Skilton | Derek Bever and Everett Wilson | Todd Allen |
| Alan Baker | Tucker Tomlinson | |
| Tom Judge | Everett Wilson | Everett Wilson |
| Ron Bean | Todd Allen | Todd Allen |
| George Shaw | Todd Allen | Todd Allen |
| Arturo Duarte | JP Debauge | Todd Allen |
| Joao Santos | Todd Allen | Dean Anderson |
| Chris Agocs | Everett Wilson | Todd / Everett |
| Lucas Goossen | Todd Allen | Todd Allen |
| Ben Bogler | Everett Wilson | Todd Allen |
| Michael Patton | Todd Allen | Todd Allen |
| David Srebro | Todd Allen | Todd Allen |
| Daniel Sojka | Todd Allen | Todd Allen & Michael Patton |
| Allen Zalsman | Todd Allen | Todd Allen |
| Justin T. Conroy | Todd Allen | Everett Wilson |
| Raj (Joseph Perera) | Everett Wilson | Everett Wilson |
| Scott Drane | JP DeBauge and Todd Allen | |
| Aaron Carlock | JP Debauge | JP Debauge |
| Brandon Love | JP Debauge | JP Debauge |
| Ryan Neuman | JP Debauge | JP Debauge |
| Sam Paris | JP Debauge | JP Debauge |
| JP DeBauge | ||
| Zachery Small | Michael Patton | Michael Patton |
| McTavish McArdle | JP Debauge | |
| Jon Komperda | Dean Anderson | Dean Anderson |
| Jim Brink | Jon Komperda | Jon Komperda |
| Alan Feinerman | Jon Komperda | Jon Komperda |
| Abel Greenwald | Ed Bennett | |
| Andrew Wingate | Todd Allen | Todd Allen |
| Sean Nixon | McTavish McArdle | |
| Ryan Himmelblau | Todd Allen | Todd Allen |
| Charles Harmata | McTavish McArdle | |
| Szymon Mirek | McTavish McArdle | |
| Chris Iacullo | McTavish McArdle | |
| Sam Chen | McTavish McArdle | |
| Zlatan Klebic | McTavish McArdle | |
| Daniel Martinez Olivas | McTavish McArdle | |
| David Earl | McTavish McArdle | |
| Matt Maggio | McTavish McArdle | |
| Jeff Benning | McTavish McArdle | |
| Luis Colmenares | McTavish McArdle | |
| Jennie Plasterer | Abel Greenwald | Abel Greenwald |
| Dave Solomon | McTavish McArdle | |
| Brian Adamson | McTavish McArdle | |
| Tim Redfield | McTavish McArdle | |
| Dan Gulick | McTavish McArdle | |
| Charlie Kepner | McTavish McArdle | |
| Kevin Cluff | McTavish McArdle | |
| Greg Bell | McTavish McArdle | |
| Ben Marshall | McTavish McArdle | |
| Adam Ringwood | McTavish McArdle | |
| Bogdan Chernov | McTavish McArdle | |
| Paul Ocampo | McTavish McArdle | |
| JayPee | McTavish McArdle | |
| Nick Prorok | McTavish McArdle | |
| Michael Baker | McTavish McArdle | |
| Stevan Dedovic | Abel Greenwald | |
| Raymond Chace | Jim Brink | |
| Brady Soule | McTavish McArdle | |
| Jeff Gershune | McTavish McArdle | |
| Oliver Sanchez | McTavish McArdle | |
| Earl Wood | McTavish McArdle | |
| Sean Blum | McTavish McArdle | |
| Ethan Weiss | McTavish McArdle | |
| Tom Cummings | McTavish McArdle | |
| Dylan Ambrosini | McTavish McArdle | |
| Ian Einhorn | McTavish McArdle | |
| David Milligan | McTavish McArdle | |
| Scott Mueller | McTavish McArdle | |
| Karl Schmidbauer | McTavish McArdle | |
| Osi Van Dessel | McTavish McArdle | |
| Malindima Sampa | McTavish McArdle | |
| Jonathan Ellison | McTavish McArdle | |
| Frank La Marca | McTavish McArdle | |
| Alli Price | McTavish McArdle | |
| Brendan Twaddell | McTavish McArdle | |
| Charles Currier | McTavish McArdle | |
| Jackson Miller | Wally Fugiel |