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Bridgeport M Head Rebuild (for the Benchmaster Mill) – Pt. 5 (Finale!)
As the title says, here is the Finale! However, I’m sure I’ll be tweaking this thing until the day I’m done using it. Everything went together really nicely, I only had to modify my idea in one minor way, and I’m very happy with how the mill operates. I do believe I lost a bit…
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Bridgeport M Head Rebuild (for the Benchmaster Mill) – Pt. 4
Well, we’re almost there! Of all the projects I have going on this summer, I’ve basically been going at this one the last week or two at full throttle. A few more hours in the shop and I’m positive the mill will be assembled and done. At the time of this writing, the riser columns…
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Bridgeport M Head Rebuild (for the Benchmaster Mill) – Pt. 3
Well school and the symphony are out for the summer, so I have time to continue working on this project. Since the last post, I rebuilt the quill and finished work on the pulley housing. I’ve started reassembly and planning for the mounting of the head. The QuillOne of the primary reasons for marrying a…
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Bridgeport M Head Rebuild (for the Benchmaster Mill) – Pt. 2
As work progresses, I hope to post here when there’s enough to write about. In the last few days I built the bench that will eventually hold the Benchmaster with the Bridgeport M Head. Currently it holds my newly restored Delta “Homelite” 11″ drill press, which is a “good enough” drill press to do the…
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Bridgeport M Head Rebuild (for the Benchmaster Mill) – Pt. 1
This post will chronicle the rebuilding of my Bridgeport M Head milling head that will be put onto my Benchmaster mill. I’ve heard of the “Benchport” but I’ve never seen photos anywhere online. Most people seem to say it won’t work, but none of them have said they tried or have seen it done and…
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Long time no update!
It’s been a long time since the last update and I really do mean to keep this blog going. However, I know nobody wants to read my babbling blog on a regular basis. This is more of a project documentation… So what have I been up to since February? Well teaching 16 students a week…
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Lathe stuff
So the DRO is finally close to being done. It works, and it works well, but there are still some issues to figure out. These include locating and isolating some ground loops that are picking up noise from the VFD and creating false readings. I’ve bypassed this by using a USB phone battery which works…
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What I’ve been doing…
I thought I’d wait between posts to actually get stuff worth writing about, and perhaps I waited too long. I’ve been keeping myself “entertained,” “busy,” or otherwise occupied learning about electronics… I’ve been working on building a Digital Readout (DRO) using Yuriy’s Toys design and Android app. The short version is here, the long version will…
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Putting down a 1000lbs lathe…
As mentioned, here is the process used to get the lathe off the trailer and into my shop! I type this as I sit relaxing after a busy Christmas day/gig season with a nice glass of bourbon in one hand and a nice extended celebration of my wife’s Christmas Eve birthday (Happy Birthday, Emily, thank…
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“Picking Up” (literally) a 1000lbs lathe
It’s the beginning of December and on my usual Craigslist searches, I happen to find “the machine” I wanted. A larger sized lathe than I already had, with a quick change gear box, and a bonus: an American-made quick change tool post. (Not cheap!) Complete lathe package but with no tooling, asking price? $1750. Seems…
