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Posted: 8/30/2010 4:09:51 AM EDT
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I really have no idea where to ask this so I figured a general area would work. So, a local machinist whom I am acquainted with is about to retire and is going to sell his Series 1 Bridgeport vertical mill with a 9x42 variable feed table. I've seen it and it's in great shape (he took really good care of his gear). I mentioned to him that I wanted to get into machining and that I'm going to be starting some college courses on it soon. So he says he'll give me first shot at it for $5,000.
Is this a good deal? |
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Quoted:
I really have no idea where to ask this so I figured a general area would work. So, a local machinist whom I am acquainted with is about to retire and is going to sell his Series 1 Bridgeport vertical mill with a 9x42 variable feed table. I've seen it and it's in great shape (he took really good care of his gear). I mentioned to him that I wanted to get into machining and that I'm going to be starting some college courses on it soon. So he says he'll give me first shot at it for $5,000. Is this a good deal? Oh God no...if he was serious, he is trying to rip you off. Hopefully, he was just kind of being sarcastic with you, and you didn't pick up on it. (Disclaimer...unless this has an EZ Trak control hooked up to it) |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I really have no idea where to ask this so I figured a general area would work. So, a local machinist whom I am acquainted with is about to retire and is going to sell his Series 1 Bridgeport vertical mill with a 9x42 variable feed table. I've seen it and it's in great shape (he took really good care of his gear). I mentioned to him that I wanted to get into machining and that I'm going to be starting some college courses on it soon. So he says he'll give me first shot at it for $5,000. Is this a good deal? Oh God no...if he was serious, he is trying to rip you off. Hopefully, he was just kind of being sarcastic with you, and you didn't pick up on it. (Disclaimer...unless this has an EZ Trak control hooked up to it) Nope, just a plain Series 1. And nope, he was serious. Good to know, guess I'll just wait to find a better deal locally or I'll just spring for a mini-mill to start out on. ETA: Okay, looks like I could get that same mill in the same condition for about $2,500 on ebay. Guess I'll just keep an eye out on there for anything local. |
| Lots of smaller shops have gone under in the last year or two. Smaller machines and manual machines are all over the place. I was just at a machine dealer looking at a large horizontal bore and his facility was packed to the gills with Bridgeports, drill presses, and manual lathes. |
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Here's part of the problem. Folks in machine tool deserts are paying these inflated prices, and doubly so for Bridgeports.
There's a pretty nice Bridgeport here for $2800. I'm tempted, but I'm also tight on room for a full size machine. The wife won't park outside, and my tractor is worth more than the mill. skin290 turned me on to using www.craiglook.com for searching Craigslist. I found www.searchtempest.com while I was in Colorado this summer. Searchtempest can be set to show all the entries in one window which I find way more convenient than showing them listed by city. Craiglook defaults to a 20 mile search and max's out at 250 miles. Searchtempest goes to "any". |
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Keep your eyes open and be willing to travel a way. Keep your eyes on Craigslist. The economy is FUBAR and there are some deals to be had. Last summer I scored a 1966 Bridgeport J head with 2 big Rubbermaid crates full of tooling for $600.00. I had to drive from Colorado to NW Nebraska but so what. The gibs were a touch sloppy but I shimmed them and she runs pretty well now. I wouldn't trust it for aerospace accuracy but for dovetail cuts and the like it is just fine.
A DRO is great, but not a total necessity. You just get spoiled when you use one |
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