Bridgeport Mill - Breaking it in....... Tips?

[FeelthySanchez]

Cool.
The "sweet spot" is 120.

[mark tucker]

those heads dont have much quench aera to cut,I would think they would do fine.
Im still looken for the right aluminum cutter, not just a uncoated cutter . gladd you got your's figured out.

[Mr. Okrasa]

UPDATE:

OK! I'm doing this batch of 36hp blocks over the weekend. They have already been chem. treated and line bored.
I'm going to surface the cylinder decks and bore a couple of them for oversized cylinders. I purchased a
Bridgeport #2 boring head and going to "experiment" on some junk blocks to see what I can
and cannot do with it........Cheers Amigos! Mr. Okrasa

BTW, I already have the RJE 36hp flycutter also.

_________________


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1959 VW Karmann Ghia Coupe / Bamboo-Green / Denzel 1300cc / OG. owner, paint

Denzel engine running. See this link: https://youtu.be/DgUlsQDTXTE

VW www.Okrasa.com
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[mark tucker]

I have 2 of those #2 bridgeport sets. oh so nice.I like to use a raidi on the end so there isant a sharp corrner.Ive also used it with a 5/8 ball end mill for unshrouding the valves in the heads. os so nice. and also use it for installing bigger bearing(091 bearing) in the small main shaft gear carrier. and also...boy this could take months. use you imagination ,if it's good the possibility's are limitless on what you can do. now get after it!!!!!coax indacator and let the chips fly!!!! you can even make a cutter and use it to counter bore the heads for copper head gasket resess and...like I said oh so many things. have fun.

[mark tucker]

I just got offline with ENCO about my new ENCO lathe.....no service at all. no help at all. enco will be going away in less than a month.......I thought all those sales this year were kinda good as well as the free shipping big% off. guess Ill have to make new parts for my new lathe my self....as I usually do with most everything. the buttead even tryed to say it wasent a enco lathe ...but it's blue..and has enco plates....and is just like the new updated pic online ( witch is slightly diferent that the other brand x lathes that are fast as a jet)... we dont have any and wont axecpt imperfect produsts...... what a moron. but I reckon he will be out of a job soon so.....still a moron. .010" runout on the gear train...... witch is caused by a powered mettell keyway bushing that was made offset.......(dead press molds). I can fix that. but would be nice to have good ones...

[nsracing]

Why do you bother w/ Enco stuff when you can get better American machinetools. An old SouthBend will be cheaper and way more accurate than any Enco can ever produce.

I don't bother w/ anything Chinese machine tools. They are all pot metal to me. For the price you have to dump into an Enco, you can do much better going w/ old fashioned American iron.

They are all over the place in Fla.

[mark tucker]

I havent found any allover the place in fl.and the ones I did find were junk, more than the enco.and more $$$ just like the china chromoly cranks I dont mind the china lathe.the issue is the american company enco that sucks. When the companys come back to the usa and sell at afordable prices and have the quality of the china stuff I will certanily buy american as I have done for somany years with all my v8 stuff..I dont think I have any well less that 1% of china parts for my v8 stuff. funny thing is my vw dosent seem to mind superior china parts over the soft German stuff....go figure. also none of the good old south bend lathes would thread mickey mouse threads..... I did have a line on a nice logan and was working out shipping..... but....no mouse thread....Im not like you I can no longer just pay $30000.00 for a lathe I use for my self only and only a few times a month. I dont mind fixing stuff or making it right weather it be made usa,china,inda,germany,or where ever.but CS from the company that sells it....that would be nice. kinda like going to the local vw dealer with my bug....they dont know nothing about it will not try to get parts, wont do shit.and yet they are VOA. go figure Im stupid. blindly buying american shit is just that blindly buying shit, no mater where it's made. Ive not seen a lot of american lathes that were all that great. hardingie would be my choice if I could afford one or a cnc lathe and that probably wouldent be amreican...well parts might be and the company might be...hmm just like enco..witch also sells american made....so....I gess this lathe isant a full race lathe just a prostreet lathe....but better than a street witch is better than a daily driver.... funny thing my 40 year old enco mill works just fine..and has little wear. it's not a bridgeport, but...thats why I have two...and the bridgeport isant all many think it is....but they do make oh so many shapes and sizes....as do the china guys...and Ill bet there are china parts in the newer bridge ports too...go figure.

[stealth67vw]

[mark tucker]

it was longer than that. they merged long ago. then to bridge ports supprize....hardingie snuck off with the prints and had a vacation in tiwan. the rest is history. some of the asain BP clones have a lot of interchangable parts some dont. MSC bought ENCO 20 years ago, but didnt want to tell any body, they dont even list it in thier history. I gess they got tired of all the shit that has come through thier back doors and is putting a stop to it...finaly. I made bushings for the offset bushings in mine today out of...old VW valve guides so the 4 keyway/gear bushings bushings are no longer offset bushings and no more gear runout. I think Ill order some extras from...jet or grizz...possiably MSC I think there trying to dump the rest of the enco shit...I think this lathe was a MSC dumped peice of equipment to a "Industry wholesailer" I cant blame them. less headaches. I used to buy almost everything from MSC. funny thing the old enco befor MSC bought it had some good stuff....well better than the last 10 ~15 years or so, I also got a enco mill thats almost like new and it's only....40 years old...I dont use it much .mostly use my bridport. my brother has a enco bridport clone we got new about 12 years ago still like new, but some rust his shop isant fully heated&ac equiped. MSC has that same mill for 3x the price...or more. Im glad to of got a deal on this lathe & I dont mind rebuilding new equipment, that way i know it's right and will do what I want it to do when I need it to. after all , all I do is vw stuff these days hell I could of just use a wood lathe for this stuff

[nsracing]

Index is probably the last one still built entirely in USA. The early Bridgeports were all USA. If the Bridgeport does not weigh 2500 lbs will be Chinese - that is what I was told when I bought them.

Bridgeports are dime a dozen...just all over. I am not a fan of R8 shanks.

I love INDEX mills -my first choice. I have had a dozen Bridgeports and I sold them all. I was not happy w/ the performance. Not rigid enough for my taste. Unless the shanks are Quick 300 or bigger, don't care for Bridgeports.

I like the large BT-shanks..any machine that has them. Mostly they are the larger Kearny/Trek, or equivalent.

The Bridgeport will do for minor milling or boring.

I have Moore Jigborers right now for all my boring. But I find them too fine for such rough work as VW machining. I feel like I am hurting the jigborers when I throw a VW case on it. The tables are so nice on the Moore. Mine still have the flakes.

[mark tucker]

scrub harder and get rid of those pesty flakes.... you can still see the flakes on my 40 year old enco as well as my bp. if you have half a brain & take care of the machine they will last almost for ever but since nobody will last for ever how would we know the machine did..... I got all the bushings I made in my little lathe in the new lathe and....oh so quiet now...well about 90% quieter. and less than .0015 runout execpt for 1 witch is .003 due to it being pined on to a shaft & me not wanting to break somethiung I dont have a replacement for.it was .011 runout so...not bad at all .003 is realy out only.0015" I can live with that till I get some parts to rework&change out. just agear on the QCGB. I think thatt will do for nascar parts in a vw engine. still trying to decide witch dro to go with.

[nsracing]

I don't think an Enco will ever match a MOORE machinetool no matter how old the latter. The MOORE Jigborer is just superb. PERIOD.

I am meaning to get a MOORE Jig grinder though. I have been meaning to make my own Remington 700 singleshot receivers for benchrest application. The Jig Grinder will come very handy to make the slot ways in the action.

I have been to FLA to pickup machines in the past. They are there. Cleveland is like crawling w/ used old machines. Michigan and all the other states that did either firearms or ammunition, automobile, tractors are just loaded w/ machinetools.

It breaks my heart to see a very large Monarch just rusting outside coz it was too big for people. Shame.

[mark tucker]

ordered a 12x10 sine plate...wifes gonna kill me....might be worth it.I gess I better fix the weed wacker.

[Art Thraen]

That is a beautiful Brigeport!!! If I may, send you a few PICs and tricks on the ACE method of how we hold down cases and heads..

I will get some PICs. Maybe I have some in my PIC gallery here on Samba..


I built several tools to help make holding and clamping Cases and heads that I haven't seen other do.

NICE MILL!!!!

Art @ ACE

By making this Bridge "Frame" 3/4 Iron... Had it made by a Fab shop in area, then they Surfaced Ground bottom and top.. Very flat..
Dial in on the Plate.. After its bolted to mill we never move it. Very handy to bolt other work to also,,

[mark tucker]

look out art that mill is the rong color!! YOU MIGHT BE IN FOR SOME FLAMING!!! I make almost all my jigs,was gonna build the sine plate but not a big difference in price with the cost of materials these days.. my brother has a mill that looks just like that one.

[Art Thraen]

Whats so crazy!!! is that mill has been a great machine.. I Like the RONG color..... so funny! Love this stuff

[modok]

Rong! oh my god that took a minute to hit me, my god he's been setting this joke up for years, years, genius

Rong-fu is a company that makes milling, machines out of tiawan.

[mark tucker]

yes modock it is, like I said my brother has the same one... the rong one and I do like the color better than my old grey thing. Ive got the 4" risor on mine witch is nice for some things but...not so good for my back& long thoracic nerve injury.....injury...done by a hack dr that should be flipping burgers at Mcdonalds.
some parts of those clone wars mills are interchangable with the birdieports and some arnt. Ive used both, no real differance in any way....well i dont think the rong ones have as good of way hardning, so keep them pumped daily and wipe up the mess. if yours dosent have a auto lube or a pump&distribution block....get one.and be sure all the hoses go to thier proper place as there all metered so the part that needs more gets more than the one that needs little lube.
and things that make dust debris meand a good cleaning afterwards.big chips dont tend to screw stuff up but dusty millings do.(iron,castings,wood yes I also do a lot of wood on mine when I need to.also travertine tile for the OCD machinest doing tiling work )

[Singerdude]

[mark tucker]

if your good you can make that next level shit nice and level with one of the rong machines....