So my brother and I work at a metal stamping shop here in SoCal and we have a full machine shop capable of making just about anything. Ever since we've worked there, these two Bridgeport mills were stashed in a corner of the building as "backups." My brother asked the boss about a month ago if he'd be willing to sell one to us. A week later he came up to my brother and said how much he appreciates how we are into building things and sold us the mill for a smokin' deal. Now time to build a phase converter and get to making some chips!!! Attached are some pictures for your enjoyment. Huge thanks to my dad and my awesome neighbor Dave for helping us move it!
Yes, that's me driving the trusty Cat T80D.
you scored. well done, thats awesome. :righteous:
You going to get a DRO for it? makes life so. much. better. :toot:
Got any ideas for what you are going to be making?
Quote from: m in sc on October 16, 2020, 10:08:06 AM
you scored. well done, thats awesome. :righteous:
You going to get a DRO for it? makes life so. much. better. :toot:
Thank you. We're so excited! Planning to get one eventually. Maybe a Mitutoyo. I love their stuff. That's mostly what we use at work, as well as a few Starrett tools...
Quote from: rodneya on October 16, 2020, 01:06:43 PM
Got any ideas for what you are going to be making?
I'll be making chips first:) But anything that fits in between the jaws of my vise!
i bought a cheap 200 dollar dro off the web a few years ago, man they have come down in price a lot, and its spot on accurate.
I have a small vintage pratt&whitney mill at home which does 90% of what i need, but you just cant beat an old jhead. :toot:
You could skip the phase converter and just go with a VFD. I'm guessing maybe a 2hp motor max on that head, a drive won't be that expensive. You can get single phase specific input on them but the 3 phase input drives work on single phase you just have to up the drive size. Rule of thumb for that is double but I have the 3hp motor on my lathe running off a 5hp drive.
You can also get 110v single phase input to 220v 3 phase output drives but I think they may be for 1hp max motors.
Quote from: m in sc on October 17, 2020, 08:22:40 AM
i bought a cheap 200 dollar dro off the web a few years ago, man they have come down in price a lot, and its spot on accurate.
I have a small vintage pratt&whitney mill at home which does 90% of what i need, but you just cant beat an old jhead. :toot:
Glad I have lots of options! I really don't need a super fancy one but it would be nice to have a nice one hahaha. I didn't know Pratt and Whitney made mills!
Quote from: oxford on October 17, 2020, 12:58:50 PM
You could skip the phase converter and just go with a VFD. I'm guessing maybe a 2hp motor max on that head, a drive won't be that expensive. You can get single phase specific input on them but the 3 phase input drives work on single phase you just have to up the drive size. Rule of thumb for that is double but I have the 3hp motor on my lathe running off a 5hp drive.
You can also get 110v single phase input to 220v 3 phase output drives but I think they may be for 1hp max motors.
We're halfway into building a rotary phase converter right now. We scored a brand new 7.5hp 3 phase Baldor motor (still in the crate!) at a business closeout sale for a 100 bucks! And yes, the motor on our mill is 2hp.
Quote from: 2smokenNick on October 17, 2020, 04:56:10 PM
I didn't know Pratt and Whitney made mills!
and lathes, which i have one of those as well. (no pics and its at work in the warehouse as its big) My mill is pre war, horizontal and vertical with head attachment, I run a 3/4 hp. was originally designed for overhead belt drive. was converted to elec in the early 60s from what i was told. we have a bridgeport at work i have free run of, so the big stuff goes there.
Pratt and Whitney was some of the best machine tools of their time.
Never seen a vertical head on one of those P&W's, that's really neat.
Nice score on the BP. The generic glass scales from the usual sites are actually quite good and the price is great.
I am more envious of those mills you guys have than of any cool bike...except maybe Joe's! Congratulations and good luck with the installation :whoop:
Quote from: 85RZwade on October 19, 2020, 09:18:21 AM
I am more envious of those mills you guys have than of any cool bike...except maybe Joe's! Congratulations and good luck with the installation :whoop:
Hahahaha thank you!
Quote from: OnlyCrimnson on October 18, 2020, 10:02:00 AM
Never seen a vertical head on one of those P&W's, that's really neat.
Nice score on the BP. The generic glass scales from the usual sites are actually quite good and the price is great.
Thank you. Time to start searching for a DRO!
ill see if i can dig up the one i got for work tomorrow. I was dubious at first, but its been on for 2 years.
IMO, a DRO on a mill is a must if you want to be any what efficient on it. Sure you can get by with dials but the DRO is a whole different world. Even if you spent the money on a brand name (Fagor, acu-rite, ect) it is money well spent that I wouldn't consider wasted over a cheap DRO.