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Walked into a small job shop in Rockford last Friday and saw a Bridgeport still running parts
I was dropping off some inserts at a shop over in Rockford, just a little two bay place off the river, and the owner walked me back to show me his setup. Sitting right there in the corner was a Bridgeport Series 1 mill from the 70s, still holding tenths, still cutting parts that ship out the door every day. He said his dad bought it used in 1988 for $2,400 and it has never left that spot. I stood there watching the guy run it, hand cranking the quill, no DRO, no coolant, just a little squirt bottle and a lot of feel. The chips coming off looked like they came off a brand new machine. I have been running Haas VF2s for 11 years now and this old thing made me feel like I skipped a step somewhere. Any of you still keep a manual knee mill on the floor for one-off stuff, or do you send everything to the CNCs now?
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michael_jones28d ago
Hold on, $2,400 in 1988 and it's still holding tenths? That is nuts. I've scrapped machines that were 15 years old because they couldn't hold plus or minus five thou anymore, and this guy is out here hand cranking a 50 year old mill with a squirt bottle like it's nothing. The part that gets me is no DRO. Doing it all by the dials and feel, and the chips still look clean coming off. That old iron was built different, no question. We've got a VF2 too and it's great, but a guy who can run a knee mill bare like that learned something the screen can't teach you.
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