Visteonguy

I used to use all the machines at work, when I needed them,,, but, being in the auto industry and its hard times,,, the layoff axe has been swinging with gusto lately,, and it finally happened,, Wacked the tree above me this time and I found my self falling from the company tree,, oh well,, got some free time now,, but no access to the machine tools I got so used to playing with,, so I went on Craigs list and found myself a couple exhamples of some well worn machines begging for a bit o love,,,, Spent the past couple of months lazily working on them to bring them back to a more acceptable form that could be used again to make,,, more stuff, in metal, of course, but also in wood, plastic, or maybe a chunk of the moon if it comes my way,,

The mill, is a bridgeport "clone", of 1978 vintage, that has some problems yet, they try and copy the good ol American Bridgeport,, but the quality and durablily is just not there,, its now usuable again,, but needs some bearings replaced soon,, which will happen,, and the Lathe,, ,,, ahhhh well,, At least I can say,, its good ol American iron,,, its a South Bend lathe,, that was born on June 6, 1928... its got seniority,, and also a personality,, so now I guess we will see if we can get along,,

Oh also,, I found a guy showing a roll-around base he was selling plans for on Ebay,,,, I already built a mobile base for the lathe so I could push it inside my garage last winter. I added about 6 or 7 inches to the over all hight of the lathe. it worked,,but seemed to make it a bit top heavy and I did not really like that. I made up a base for the mill like the guys on ebay and it worked so nice, I cut up the base I already made for the lathe during its cleanup session, and remade it into the same style as that for the mill,, it works soooo much better and brought it down so its only about an inch and a half taller then it was with no base at all,,, both of these machines are between 2000 and 2500 lbs, so normally moving them are not just a matter of grabbin em and movin em where ya want em,, But,, now they are,,, those bases are worth gold,,,

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Terry

It seems like every where I go,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, there I am...

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Hi Terry

I won't ask you what you like to do in your spare time.

A beautiful clean up, repair,,,, and great stands.

A great job, on such a bulky, heavy machine.

John

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John

Cleaning my glasses will not make me look any better, but will make what I'm looking at better!

curiousgeorge

Nice job, Terry! I like your "new wheels".

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George

PLEASE! PLEASE! Fill in your first name and location in your profile. I like to know who you are and where you are from. If you don't want me to know who you are, then I don't want to talk to you.

harrysin

Terry, even though I've been privy to the restoration of these machines, I can't help but marvel at you skill and patience. I hope that we shall see lots of photo-shoots of projects that you're going to make using those machines.

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Harry

Dr.Zook

Outstanding refurbishing job Terry. Both machines look great for their age. Did you say you were a machine repairman by trade? Does your "Bridgeport" run off 220v house current? Looks like you have quite a few acessories for the mill also.

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Dave
the "Doctor"

In woodworking there is no scrap, only firewood.

harrysin

Dave, doesn't Terry's post give you the necessary incentive to get cracking and set-up your machine shop, if it doesn't, I suggest that you advertise all your equipment on Craigs list and rent out the space.

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Harry

Mike

Like Terry I enjoy restoring machinery even if it is for work. Here are some shots of a Yale forklift truck in a high tech scrap yard. When I started it had virtually no paint on it and was covered with metal turnings, dented engine covers, etc.

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Mike

Check twice!

Terry/Mike, one question,,,,,

Why do you guys get all the big toys to play with. I want a big toy too.....

John

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John

Cleaning my glasses will not make me look any better, but will make what I'm looking at better!

bobj3

Hi John

I'm sure you know this but you can find TONS and Tons of old tools (Iron) on eBay many go by the lb. but you will need a BIGGER shop and some more boys to help you move them around the shop...

It comes down to once you have them reworked now what do you do with it...old tools are just that,,,it's like collecting old cars, to nice to drive, now you just store them..and I have been down that road..

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Bob J.

Check twice!

Bj, it is just a pipe dream of old tools that big, I get more into something new and a lot of the time using older technology. I just admire people with the patience and the room to restore anything mechnical.

Anyway, too old to srart another family, and more space "is not an option" Mind you there is Scott's room, it is a mulit purpose room....... I can see the conversation go something like this,,,, but Scott this is a South Bend Lathe, born June 6 1928,,,,,,, But Dad "it's dead"...

Just a dream and admire their work.

John

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John

Cleaning my glasses will not make me look any better, but will make what I'm looking at better!