How to use a Bridgeport and its features!

I did my apprenticeship under a German journeyman and he was hard with his apprentices. If he came up he would ask me how I came up with the feeds and speeds for that job. There was no guessing or estimating with him. He made sure you looked it up in the Bible, which was the Machinist Handbook. And when you finished the job you left the machine spotless regardless how you found it. You oiled and greased it before use and all the other minuta of proper shop etiquette. But his knowledge of how to properly use a Bridgeport was endless. Because of his strict approach it made me a better machinist today. And the Bridgeport is still my go to for any milling/drilling/tapping job. Liked and subbed

I took a 6 week machine shop class at Chabot Community College in Hayward, CA. in the 90's. I didn't know diddly about machine work, but once we started I loved the mill and lathe. Too late to make a career out of it, but I'll never forget the class. The teacher was also brilliant.

Mine is identical to this. Purchased in Connecticut and now in my shop in northern Italy.

I've never used a milling machine before. I've started at a company that has one of these, and after having a go on it today, I'm educating myself. Thank you for uploading this.

Thanks for the video. I used to rebuild and maintain these years ago. Watching this made me feel like I was seeing an old flame again. I do miss them. One of the most beautiful machines in the world.

I got 500-1000 hours on these back when I took machine tool in school but 35 years later with out using the skills I am totally lost so the vid is a nice refresher.

As a novice, I see you talk about amazing tools. Its nice to see this video "Take it back to the basics". It allows us newbies to have smart start.

1936! The silhouette of a Bridgeport is gorgeous. Using one is a treat. Thanks!

My very first day as a machinist, I used a Bridgeport exactly like this one. We used every feature it had, great little mill.

When serving my apprenticeship (at a large multi national auto electrical manufacturer with a German HQ), one of the workshops had a very old Bridgeport machine that if a recall correctly used a large (very) diameter rod/bar to mount the head on the base. It was replaced (added to more correctly) by a brand new (1977) Bridgeport that was immediately fitted with the DRO. I wasn't allowed to use it when I was assigned to work in that shop, only the people from the room next door (the development section) were to use it (as It was theirs).

Excellent video! Thanks for sharing! I went to school to learn to use Bridgeports, lathes and their cnc cousins. Loved every minute! Unfortunately health issues prevented me from running them for a living. Really enjoyed your video though!

Great to be here see you both Glen & Don and enjoy a bit of American history. We miss our regular fix of fantastic videos. Lance & Patrick.

Don, Many thanks for all of the effort you and your colleagues put into all of these videos. This is one of your best. Adding the commentary later is a great idea. Your comments are clearer and better focussed.

Glad to see you again! Best regards from Italy 😃

Great video. I have the pleasure of operating a Bridgeport where I work and it truly is a very versatile machine 👍

Good to see you guys back in the shop!

I believe it was said that Bridgeport was said to have advertised “ the only machine that can make one of itself”. I used to work in Bridgeport CT.

Truly the Swiss army knife of machines! I still use one almost every day and I don’t think that I could live without it. When the new guys ask me about it, I tell them that it is a WWII veteran and it helped win the war so treat it with the respect it deserves. Its a “early 40’s” step pulley machine. The second question they always ask is how do you make complex things without automation or prints? I reply that it was there in the block of steel or aluminum the whole time. I just had to remove the chips all around it. 😁😁😁😁😁. Shout out to the great teacher Mr Adkins who gave me the skills over 40 years ago.

Great to see you guys. Thx for the video. Voice over was good choice.

I used to really like working on an old Bridgeport. It was so accurate and enjoyable to operate.

One of the things that I would like to see instructors teach their students or apprentices is that your machine tools not only move metal and create parts , they can also double as an inspection tool.

Made a good living mastering this equipment as a tool and die maker. I think a lot is lost on the newer machinists at just what these machines were capable of and accuracy that was able to be obtained with them to a skilled operator. There are certain methods you learn to eek out incredible accuracy if you use them enough, not just cranking handles to get there. I went on to CNC equipment but never stayed far from a bridgeport for certain tasks.

My very first operation as a machine operator was on a bridge port vertical milling machine. It was set up with a 3 jaw chuck that indexed bolted to table and I milled wrench flats on a part that came off a lathe

Looks like a nice clean work environment! You guys make good teachers!🤓

Appreciate your dedication and knowledge being shared with us to learn. Stay safe and see you next time.

As a machinist coming from a 100% background of CNC machines, this was very helpful thank you! I haven't ran a bridgeport since college, but I was lucky enough to get a new job in the manual department. Very excited to learn this new skill!

Hi mr Bailey I have downloaded and watched almost all of your channels videos. I have to say first of all your Voice is really good! I mean really good. I have learned tons of things from your videos. I hope you doing good during pandemic. I hope when i become old i become someone like you. Smart and healthy and helping the young people learn things! i am watching from Iran and i have to say i owe you sir for your trainings.

Very well done good to see you both stay safe all the best from john in Texas

Always pleased to see your video's.. thanks for sharing, hope you're business and you've all not been to effected by all this that's going on. Look forward to more of your great work.

Excellent video! I'm sharing with my students!

Great to see you back Don.

Please dont stop this I'm 30 years old been in the trade for 7-8 years and I love watching the videos and they have helped alot !!!

Don, it is Great to see you back again...It has been Too long...your videos and knowledge is invaluable and we need the sort of videos that you are known for providing this community...Thank You Kindly

Nice video! Glad to see you all are doing well; stay safe.

Don, Great to see you making videos again! Welcome back!

Nice to see you back making great videos!

Glad to see you producing content again Don.

Firstly give that cheeky young whippersnapper a rap across the knuckles... dinosaurs indeed 😄 Here in the UK my Bridgeports, 1976 and 1987 were made to the same quality as the US machines by Adcock and Shipley of Leicester. I will most likely buy a CNC, possible a Haas but I can't imagine my shop being without the incredibly versatile, world famous Bridgeport vertical milling machine. In fact,I love these machines so much I'm probably going to buy another one soon. A quick edit to ask a question about angling and tilting the head. I was wondering whether there is an accurate way of setting either of these functions. I've tried sine bars and fixed dti's to try to accurately set angles but never feel absolutely confident. Thanks for the video Joe.

Thank you, very informative! Much appreciated!

Glad to see you again sir, i want you to know i learned a lot from videos and i hope you continue teaching us, thank you for your time and effort... best regards from kuwait

Great video .. Keep more coming !!

Thank You, Mr Don Bailey - for putting these videos together. I can tell that you are a master machinist -by far. Your videos are great and very informative. I would love to meet you one day. I also live in the greater Detroit area.

Great Video, Thanks!

Love this kinda video, thanks you. I can't help but thinking though when I watched this of a pair of Doc Browns looking at the pair of you in lab coats. lol. Keep them coming.

Hola Don que bueno verte de nuevo .aprendi mucho con tus consejos a pesar del idioma.un abrazo grande desde Argentina. saludos👍👍👍

Thank you for doing a great video

Good communication shows a lot of knowledge

I used a Bridgeport from 84 to 88 to make race car parts. Everything we sold at some point touched the mill. Most versatile tool in the shop.

Glad to see you making more videos

Served my apprenticeship using them ended running my own shop with 12 of them, I made a 10 inch extension to increase the height for several. Absolutely marvelous machine.

thanks for the Bridgeport video!

Thank's for the tutorial video sir,it's very helpful especially for the begginers in milling machine

Such great videos!

Good stuff. More please.

thanks for this video mate it's really infomative

We used to have one in the UK school I worked in. It was the most brilliant machines I have ever used, and was so superbly built. I even purchased a 3" MT3 Tungsten cutter out of my own pocket to do some surfacing work. It was a completely manual version and I had to learn how to use it by trial and error because the school had lost the manual. The the technology department the decided to scrap what was a good working machine because they didn't like kids around big machines. Health & Safety gone mad.

I was wondering what Don was doing in 2020... glad to see he's here.

An incredible machine, almost a work of engineering art.

Awesome!!! Thanks, Don!!!

The Bridgeport mill should be in the museum for modern art. It's a beatifull piece of machinery. I love mine.

I'm not that well rounded of a manual millhand but I got pretty good at removing busted taps and any other HHS out of parts with a center cutting carbide 3 or 4 flute EM. Use the table lift screw very slowly by hand with the spindle speed up, lock the quill down tight and keep the air clearing it. You can beat both the EDM's time and scrap rate. And you can get two or more extractions out of that little EM.

I wish I could come see the hole shop!!

Great video thanks for the rundown on the controls and features, what year is the model in the video? Are there different models over the years with different features? I'd be curious which model to look for and used market as a hobbyist. It would be interesting if you could show some of the accessories like I keep hearing the term j-head etc thanks again!

Keep em Turning 👍

Wow, only an hour old, glad to see another video from you guys

THANK YOU!!

Thanks for sharing

Missing your videos, hope all is well. Regards from south west Australia 👍👍

Wonderful machine

You are great men

The quill is commonly referred to as a W axis in CNC boring mills.

Don and glen thanks for video u guy’s are cool

Incredible machine

Voice over was a great call, much easier to hear

Hi Joe, may I ask a question? Is it possible to rebore a motorcycle cylinder using a Bridgeport milling machine? A friend ha asked me to do this but I'm not sure. Hope you can help me with your experience.

very informative

glad to see you're back

Great scott!! Is that Doc Brown?

Don! Welcome back!

Exelente video gracias 👌 Excellent video, thank you very much, I am new to this world of mechanics, I have the same milling machine, but there is a detail I do not know how to place a mandrel, even so I will continue investigating, the basic information is very useful to Excellent video, thank you very much, I am new to this world of mechanics, I have the same milling machine, but there is a detail I do not know how to place a mandrel, even so I will continue investigating, the basic information is very useful to me. 😎👍

Thank you,Gentlemen.

Clean machine

Been running one every day for 10 years now! Love A good ol’ Bridgeport

Thank you, great ass always!

Don @suburbantool was looking for the hand wheel quill feed use. I notice most Bridgeport Mills the hand wheel is usually missing. Can you shine a little light on the issue. Notice your mill still has it. Thanx for sharing you knowledge.

Designed, invented and built by both Rudolph Bannow and Magnus Wahlstrom

in my shitty university we still had a bridgeport from the 1950s in the machine shop, still worked great. I preferred it to the newer machines with digital readouts.

I wanted one from the first day I saw it in votech class. Took me 30 years to get one and it isn't perfect but it's mine. I won't sell it until I am too old to walk.

At the rear of the head on the main frame is a rounded area with a big hole What is the hole for ( toward the rear of the bridgeport emblem area)

Love Bridgeport mills learned in machine school

Oh this YOutube rabbithole caper: fell down here and am grateful. Trouble is: the variants of this great machine - but, heh! the principle's the same! THe copy of an "instruction" book I found are not up to the mark - so this is much better. Thanks guy!

Is this bridgeport mill still in production?

8:01 i thought that was a coffee cup!

I’ve worked on them over the years just simple setups im not a machinist l remember the factory were they were built l lived about a mile away now is a just a parking lot sad great Machines

When I 1st saw the video on my phone I thought it was Paul Schaffer and Larry David

How much does one of those machines cost?

cool

How long does it take to learn this machine (well)?

Lovely video, brings back memories. It amuses me to see folk spending thousands on cheap chinese hobby mills when for the same money or less at auction they can have some model of Bridgeport which is in a different league.

My grandpa made herringbone double crowned gears for Caterpillar gearboxes on one of these. Prototypes that is.