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Bridgeport Knee Mill Labor Quote

bwedge8

Plastic
Joined
Apr 11, 2023
Hello - our shop just got a quote for repairs to an S1 Bridgeport knee mill.
For: resurfacing/rebuild, new x-axis power feed, and new DRO plus labor for all, we were quoted just under 12 grand. I know you can't buy a Bridgeport for that money, but does this seem fair to you more experienced ears?

The shop seems straightforward, but the price was still a bit of a shocker.
Any thoughts are much appreciated.
Thank you!
 
I'd imagine it depends on exactly what you're talking about as rebuilding. I was just actually looking in to the same thing and came across this thread from 2018. Back then $8-12k was given as a ballpark.
 
Off hand it sounds reasonable. As an example, a Newall DRO can easily hit $3k, plus sales tax and a few hours of labor to install, so let's say $3700ish.
A new table power feed is around $1000 for the parts, add tax and installation so let's call that $1400.

You're at $5100 before any rebuilding.

Then full teardown of the head, ways, scraping, alignment, parts needed. I did some very light work on the head of mine a couple years ago, just bearings grease, etc. If I wanted to go deeper but knew what I was doing and there were no surprises (read $$$$) it's probably a full day labor ($1000 at the low end, easily double that depending on location) plus materials ($100 to $1000 depending what's needed, assuming nothing major broken).

That's before any paint repair, scraping and aligning of the ways which is a whole separate process involving more skill and labor than any of the above items.

As far as knee mill rebuilders, both H&W and Babin (not the other Babin) are very well regarded.
 
Off hand it sounds reasonable. As an example, a Newall DRO can easily hit $3k, plus sales tax and a few hours of labor to install, so let's say $3700ish.
A new table power feed is around $1000 for the parts, add tax and installation so let's call that $1400.

You're at $5100 before any rebuilding.

Then full teardown of the head, ways, scraping, alignment, parts needed. I did some very light work on the head of mine a couple years ago, just bearings grease, etc. If I wanted to go deeper but knew what I was doing and there were no surprises (read $$$$) it's probably a full day labor ($1000 at the low end, easily double that depending on location) plus materials ($100 to $1000 depending what's needed, assuming nothing major broken).

That's before any paint repair, scraping and aligning of the ways which is a whole separate process involving more skill and labor than any of the above items.

As far as knee mill rebuilders, both H&W and Babin (not the other Babin) are very well regarded.
Thank you! Much appreciate the advice.
I looked up the knee mill rebuilders - they seem to be based out of the east coast. Do you happen to know any off the west coast?
I'm really weighing the cost of bringing in a new used machine versus maintaining this one now. This knee mill has pretty much never been serviced, which is really a shame.
 
Hello, I am a Machine Tool Rebuilder and I now teach it. That price sounds low to me. I have friends who specialize in rebuilding in rebuilding Bridgeport's. One is called A&D machinery Rebuilding in Roberts WI. If you were close I would recommend sending it to them, but it would be to expensive shipping it there. He told me last week he charges $17,000.00. He replaces all the parts, scrapes the ways, grinds the table. One thing get some references and call them of machines they have rebuilt. Also call some shops not on their reference sheet in the area they are from. I would ask for a detailed "scope" of the work they will do, how long will it take. Another friend of mine who is a pro rebuilder told me he can't rebuild a Bridgeport and get a better machine then buying a new Acer Mill. If you want to chat - My email is [email protected] or PM your phone number and we can talk and you can read the quote to me.
 
IMO, disregarding wear and damage, there is a quality difference between the old Bridgeports made in the states and the new imported ones that are IMO the same as any other Taiwan knee mill. Not to split hairs or anything, but IMO if you are weighing costs, I'd give more value to a proper rebuild over a new import. Not to say all imports are poor quality either, it just depends where you want to put your money. Also consider that by the time most guys are looking at rebuilding a mill, it already paid for itself a long time ago, so the cost of the rebuild IS the cost of the machine.

If you are like the rest of us who don't have money to blow on the "good stuff," the usual routine is try to find something used but better than what you have, and if you need better you rebuild it yourself. With the exception of buying parts, most of the cost of a rebuild is in hours spent disassembling, cleaning, finishing, grinding, scraping, inspecting, assembling testing, etc. It's of course a big learning curve and not everyone has the desire or resources to get into refitting knee mills (especially if it's a one time gig), but most of us already have the tools a skills to do a good "paint job" rebuild, making it look nice again and getting mechanical things set right, so from there you learn how to measure what is worn and how much needs to cut from where to make things flat and geometric again, price out sending individual pieces for plaining or more often grinding for the bulk of your material removal, then you do the final scraping and assembly yourself. There's risks and no warranty, but it seems to be the most common alternative to replacing your ol' iron with new imported stuff.
 
Not unlike rebuilding automotive engines. A shop near where I was in Texas could get a rebuilt crate engine from AER cheaper than the *PARTS* to rebuild themselves. That and the AER engine would be a higher quality rebuild than they could do. Henry Ford really was on to something, even in addition to patent infringement.

A machine being worth rebuilding or not is highly dependent on the machine, and how close you are to a rebuilder. If I had a machine already optioned out the way I liked it and was within a couple hour drive of H&W I'd have no hesitation sending it to them. If I had a solid base/could adjust the gibs to what I wanted and only needed the head redone I'd mail that out as it is lighter/smaller. A little gib adjustment often goes a really log way. I've used machines worn fully through the flaking on all the ways, but with some gib adjustment and not using the outer 4" of travel at the ends we made many satisfactory parts. Not ideal and bruised our pride a bit, but the parts got done and time was not wasted.

Being here in California, you're probably ahead buying a used machine that meets your needs or a new clone vs. a formal rebuild. If you do need new, echoing what Richard said, I've heard many people say that they can sell a decent clone (Sharp and Lagun come to mind) cheaper than the cost of rebuilding. One of the shops I used back in Texas actually preferred the Lagun knee mills to Bridgeports even before the cost, though I never used them.

Next up would be buying a machine that meets your needs. My employer is in the slow process of emptying a place we merged with, and at some point they'll be selling the looks and works like new Sharp knee mill. Not saying you should wait around for it, but there are plenty of sales like that here in CA.

After that comes buying a new one. For me, I've been able to either make do quite easily with what I have or find a nice used machine, but I tend to work on small parts. Anything more than 8 to 10 inches long, or with a moderate level of complexity, is going on a CNC or to a local shop anyways. If you're in Socal there are gobs of shops and used machines for sale. Up in Norcal less machines for sale, but still no shortage of skilled local shops until you start demanding lead times under 1 week without notice.

If you have the space, keep the second one for the interns or as a beefy drill press. If you don't, it's a lesson.
 
IMO, disregarding wear and damage, there is a quality difference between the old Bridgeports made in the states and the new imported ones that are IMO the same as any other Taiwan knee mill. Not to split hairs or anything, but IMO if you are weighing costs, I'd give more value to a proper rebuild over a new import. Not to say all imports are poor quality either, it just depends where you want to put your money. Also consider that by the time most guys are looking at rebuilding a mill, it already paid for itself a long time ago, so the cost of the rebuild IS the cost of the machine.

If you are like the rest of us who don't have money to blow on the "good stuff," the usual routine is try to find something used but better than what you have, and if you need better you rebuild it yourself. With the exception of buying parts, most of the cost of a rebuild is in hours spent disassembling, cleaning, finishing, grinding, scraping, inspecting, assembling testing, etc. It's of course a big learning curve and not everyone has the desire or resources to get into refitting knee mills (especially if it's a one time gig), but most of us already have the tools a skills to do a good "paint job" rebuild, making it look nice again and getting mechanical things set right, so from there you learn how to measure what is worn and how much needs to cut from where to make things flat and geometric again, price out sending individual pieces for plaining or more often grinding for the bulk of your material removal, then you do the final scraping and assembly yourself. There's risks and no warranty, but it seems to be the most common alternative to replacing your ol' iron with new imported stuff.
Thank you - definitely weighed the costs of getting an entirely new/new "used" unit, and settled on the servicing our Bridgeport based on its original quality. We're a small-medium operation, so while the new mill would be fantastic, it's not something we necessarily have in the budget. I really appreciate your input.
 
Not unlike rebuilding automotive engines. A shop near where I was in Texas could get a rebuilt crate engine from AER cheaper than the *PARTS* to rebuild themselves. That and the AER engine would be a higher quality rebuild than they could do. Henry Ford really was on to something, even in addition to patent infringement.

A machine being worth rebuilding or not is highly dependent on the machine, and how close you are to a rebuilder. If I had a machine already optioned out the way I liked it and was within a couple hour drive of H&W I'd have no hesitation sending it to them. If I had a solid base/could adjust the gibs to what I wanted and only needed the head redone I'd mail that out as it is lighter/smaller. A little gib adjustment often goes a really log way. I've used machines worn fully through the flaking on all the ways, but with some gib adjustment and not using the outer 4" of travel at the ends we made many satisfactory parts. Not ideal and bruised our pride a bit, but the parts got done and time was not wasted.

Being here in California, you're probably ahead buying a used machine that meets your needs or a new clone vs. a formal rebuild. If you do need new, echoing what Richard said, I've heard many people say that they can sell a decent clone (Sharp and Lagun come to mind) cheaper than the cost of rebuilding. One of the shops I used back in Texas actually preferred the Lagun knee mills to Bridgeports even before the cost, though I never used them.

Next up would be buying a machine that meets your needs. My employer is in the slow process of emptying a place we merged with, and at some point they'll be selling the looks and works like new Sharp knee mill. Not saying you should wait around for it, but there are plenty of sales like that here in CA.

After that comes buying a new one. For me, I've been able to either make do quite easily with what I have or find a nice used machine, but I tend to work on small parts. Anything more than 8 to 10 inches long, or with a moderate level of complexity, is going on a CNC or to a local shop anyways. If you're in Socal there are gobs of shops and used machines for sale. Up in Norcal less machines for sale, but still no shortage of skilled local shops until you start demanding lead times under 1 week without notice.

If you have the space, keep the second one for the interns or as a beefy drill press. If you don't, it's a lesson.
Thank you for the advice! Definitely looking to find space for a couple more units and trying to keep machines for "rougher" applications. If your employer is in California and somewhat in the vicinity of LA/Orange County, please let me know when your machinery starts getting posted - we're interested in seeing what we can upgrade or at least compare to some of our equipment.
 
Thank you for the advice! Definitely looking to find space for a couple more units and trying to keep machines for "rougher" applications. If your employer is in California and somewhat in the vicinity of LA/Orange County, please let me know when your machinery starts getting posted - we're interested in seeing what we can upgrade or at least compare to some of our equipment.
I'm in SFBay, but it seems like all the good tool auctions are down in LA so you should be fine.
Is there something specifically wrong with your current machine that you want addressed, or is this a case of "It doesn't make good parts, must need a rebuild"?
 
Personally I would not want to pay that much even if it is the going rate. If you buy another machine you can sell the one you have now. Off the top of my head I bet you get $3,000+ for it from a hobbist. The real cost of another machine is the net cost of subtracting the sales price of your current machine. Also by buying another machine and then selling the current one, you are never without a mill. If you send yours off for rebuilding, who can guarantee how long will it be gone? Buying another machine means you only pay shipping one way where as sending the current one out means paying for two way shipping. Just be sure to consider all factors.
 








 
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