Bridgeport Milling Machine Rebuild - Part I, Remove Extra Parts and Base Rebuild

First off, Happy New Year to our readers! It's been slow for us due to the holidays, but we're picking up momentum again.

It's been about a month since the machines were moved. Over the holidays the shop was reorganized and the machines we're put in their final locations.

The lathe and mill are spaced apart to different sides of the shop. This prevents them from fighting with each other.

The real reason they're separated is to make sure there is plenty of room around the machines. For safety reasons it's important to have a nice buffer of space around heavy machinery.


With the machines settled in, it was time to start the milling machine refurbishing project. This will be no easy task, but we knew that already. The least we could do is to give it a good cleaning. The most we could do is to take it completely apart and rework everything. We decided to shoot somewhere inbetween, putting us closer to doing the most. Reworking the mill will definitely require a lot of time. We're more interested in the experience and process of reworking an old machine. It's these types of situations we like to be in, solely for the purpose of learning. There's nothing like jumping right in and getting dirty. This will be the first time we've refurbished a machine like this, so put your chair in its upright position and enjoy the ride. Learn as you go, just like we will be doing.


The first step was to trim some fat. By that I mean removing any parts that won't be needed. For us that was a 480V 3-Phase disconnect switch, a small transformer, a fuse box, and some 110V outlets.

The disconnect sits on the side while everything else hangs out in the back.

Here is the transformer accompanied by flexible conduit, rigid conduit, electrical boxes, and wiring.

Now all that's left is the silhouette of what used to be. ...but not for long.

Next on the list is the mill base. With limited shop space, the large base needed to be cut shorter. Here is a video of the work:



The plan was to move the mill to the back edge of the base and remove the access from the front. Using a jack to lift the front end of the mill, we slid in some 1/2" conduit. Putting the mill on pipes makes it really easy to roll around.

Base sale! Now with 30% less base.

The extra pieces are separated and put into inventory to be recycled or reused one day. The next step is to start disassembling the mill and clean it up it.

...to be continued.