Bridgeport Step Pulley Restoration

[mickfinch]

Brad,

My J2J has a Bijur, so I have no experience with the oil gun, but it sure is nice to give the charge handle a tap with my left foot every our or so and watch the ways ooze. I'm a little more anal about oil than most guys, so if I can make the job easier, thats OK.
Kay Fisher did a real nice write-up on a Round Ram overhaul a while back, and converted his Zerks over to a One-Shot system. He provides a parts list for anyone interested in doing it. Good read. Heres the link:

Bridgeport Mill Rebuild

Mick
bluechipmachineshop

 

[LIR&F]

Brad- wow super job so far. I'm watching close because i want to do same when I find one.
Do you have a check list you used for weeding out the real dogs when you were looking. I am a novice so any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks John

 

[bradjacob]

Update - Head Disassembly

So I cleaned up my garage, organized and made room to really jump in and get to work on this beast. I began be disassembling the head itself. I wanted to get all the parts into Purple Power while I'll started on cleaning the table and stripping paint.

Using Steve Brooks' book, I began to to take the head apart and hit my first roadblock. That damn Reverse-Trip-Ball-Lever was broken as the book indicated it may be. And like everyone's else, mine was no different. The piece DID wiggle around so I knew it wasn't wedged in.

So using my freshly restored South Bend lathe, I made my first real-world part... A drill bit guide. Simple little piece, but it save the day!

I drilled a little at a time (since I believe the lever was hardened). Then using a VERY handle tool - (an airbrush needle with a tiny hook bent) - I was able to press it into the drilled hole and the bent hook acted like a fish-hook barb. It pressed into the hole then wedged the hook against the drilled hole - allowing me to wiggle it and pull it out, with the help of a small magnet.

To clean the bed, I search long and hard and could NOT find a suitable bin to dunk it in. So I bought some 2x8 lumber and custom-built my own. This will DRAMATICALLY cut down the amount of de-greaser I'll need. It'll be lined with layers of heavy-mill plastic to make it liquid-tight. The wrapping paper bin (with rocks to displace the liquid volume) proved to be ridiculous - LOL.

Now - I believe the issue with my quill power feed making the "click click click" sound is caused by a combination of a "marred up" Feed Worm shaft and an over-tightened Clutch saftey-spring. Looking at it, I think it might have been too tight - what do you guys think?

I have a ton more pictures located in the Photobucket album, but here's the casting all ready to get the paint stripped

 

[ScubaSteve]

Brad- I like to dunk parts in degreaser as well, and have tried that whole displacement technique in my parts washer. What a PITA! Have you ever tried electrolysis? For big parts like this, it works really well for those times you would need lots of degreaser, since you just dunk it in water. It removes paint, grease, everything. You don't have much paint to contend with, so it might work even better...especially if you were to just wipe off the big grease deposits with a rag.

 

[bradjacob]

The J head casting cleaned up really nice actually with a 1 hour soak in Purple Power. I MAY consider (not painting) - but only doing some touch up, hmmmm???

The bed fully submerged in Purple Power - which by the way, was just about 1 gallon to fully cover it. Due to the fact that it was built to be only 1/2" bigger on each side.

Here's the saddle after a dip in the purple-power bath and the adapter finishing up the gear-end.

 

[cegreen]

Hi Brad - Great job! Just FYI, following the advice of several people on the PM South Bend forum, I've been using Mr. Muscle oven cleaner for degreasing and paint removal, and it works much better than any other method I've tried. Also, it's not necessary to submerge the parts, although they do need to be rinsed after treatment. I suspect any oven cleaner would work, but Mr. Muscle is available in non-aerosol pump-spray bottles, which I prefer.

Just as a test, I suggest spraying a portion of your Purple-Powered saddle with some oven cleaner, let it sit for an hour or two, and then clean it off and rinse it. I would be surprised if the saddle doesn't look quite a lot better. Obviously, rubber gloves and safety glasses are required.

-Chris

 

[bradjacob]

I would be surprised if the saddle doesn't look quite a lot better. Obviously, rubber gloves and safety glasses are required.
-Chris

Chris - the saddle looks like a Tiffany diamond compared to what is USED to look like. Purple Power is one fantastic product. It degreases so nice... In fact, I'm now going to clean all the castings with it and might not even paint at all. If I (do) paint, I'll simply use bondo to fill in the deep scratches (since the paint is so thick), then spray over to make it uniform.

Mr. Muscle is typically used as a paint-remover. Dennis Turk is a huge proponent of it. On all my restorations, I'll usually submerge small parts, nuts & bolts in a bath of P.P. In 48 hours, they'er squeaky clean. For paint removal, I use Citrustrip. It's a longer process (no doubt), but it's always worked really well for me.

But for something this big, I'm actually glad the P.P. cleaned the castings up, because if don't have to strip the paint, it'll save me a lot of time.

 

[Billyum]

J2 Head

Chris - the saddle looks like a Tiffany diamond compared to what is USED to look like. Purple Power is one fantastic product. It degreases so nice... In fact, I'm now going to clean all the castings with it and might not even paint at all. If I (do) paint, I'll simply use bondo to fill in the deep scratches (since the paint is so thick), then spray over to make it uniform.

Mr. Muscle is typically used as a paint-remover. Dennis Turk is a huge proponent of it. On all my restorations, I'll usually submerge small parts, nuts & bolts in a bath of P.P. In 48 hours, they'er squeaky clean. For paint removal, I use Citrustrip. It's a longer process (no doubt), but it's always worked really well for me.

But for something this big, I'm actually glad the P.P. cleaned the castings up, because if don't have to strip the paint, it'll save me a lot of time.

Are you going to replace all rolling element bearings ?

 

[bradjacob]

Are you going to replace all rolling element bearings ?

No, unless they're damaged. This machines is pretty tight. I got lucky.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Judging from the attention to detail in your other restorations, I bet you won't be able to sleep at night unless it's completely stripped and repainted

 

[cegreen]

I'm all in favor of whatever works, and based on your enthusiasm for PP, I will definitely give it a try.

Mr. Muscle is typically used as a paint-remover. Dennis Turk is a huge proponent of it.

Yes, and I've used it that way as well, with great success. Having said that, though, I will also note in passing that Mr. Muscle and other oven cleaners owe their very existence to their ability to remove every last speck of thick, baked-on grease. And they do. They are, in fact, heavy-duty degreasers that also happen to work well for removing many paints.

When I want to get rid of everything down to the bare metal, that's what I use, and it works.

I'm just starting to work on a 1958 J-head myself, so I'm following your progress with great interest. Thanks for taking the time to document your work!

-Chris

 

[kpotter]

I would definitly paint it but dont remove the old paint you will regret it. Use the spot putty to patch the chips, bondo doesnt stick well. I have repainted at least a 100 of these things and have found that a good high build primer and spot putty will take care of the blemishes. A good oil based industrial paint like sherwin williams or dupont sprayed and mixed with a hardener will work great. I have used automotive paints and epoxies but the oil based enamels work great and wont kill you. Polane is sweet but it is not something to spray in the garage. Seriously dont chip off the old paint it will turn into a nightmare.

 

[bradjacob]

I would definitly paint it but dont remove the old paint you will regret it.

Actually, I'm NOT going to repaint. There a some chips and blemishes, but honestly, it gives it a bit character. I JUST got done restoring my second South Bend and it got all dirty the first time I used it. Inevitable... So with this Bridgeport, I'm going to keep the original paint. Which, by the way, looks really good. The purple power, really cleaned it up beautifully. I WILL buff and polish the external parts, handles, pulley cover, etc... And I think that those sparkling parts, against the "broken in" look of the castings will honor both form and function.

I do have some parts I need to get though. Reverse trip ball lever; feed-worm-shaft; felts and mabe some new data plates.

Anyone know where I can get them?

 

[bradjacob]

I'm all in favor of whatever works, and based on your enthusiasm for PP, I will definitely give it a try.



Yes, and I've used it that way as well, with great success. Having said that, though, I will also note in passing that Mr. Muscle and other oven cleaners owe their very existence to their ability to remove every last speck of thick, baked-on grease. And they do. They are, in fact, heavy-duty degreasers that also happen to work well for removing many paints.

When I want to get rid of everything down to the bare metal, that's what I use, and it works.

I'm just starting to work on a 1958 J-head myself, so I'm following your progress with great interest. Thanks for taking the time to document your work!

-Chris

My pleasure Chris. Will you be posting a build diary as well? Also, you're in Jersey? What part? I'm in eastern PA, so maybe we met up one day and talk shop.

 

[abarnsley]

Plenty of attention to cosmetics, NOT A LICK about the wear.

Scraping is clearly worn at ends of saddle. PAINT IS OBVIOUSLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING HERE..

Get a clue. A pretty machine with worn ways, is like a Cat bulldozer with fresh paint and worn undercarriage.. NOT worth much... A Cat with 100% undercarriage and a blown motor and finals, is still worth 2 x what a paint rebuild is...,

That saddle has at least .008 wear, and PAINT CAN'T fix that.. 80% of the scraping is gone from one side of saddle... Ever heard of Edward F Connelly ??? Not going into a toolmakers shop for sure...

Rocking horses are fun for kids to ride..

If the machine is torn down that far, FIX IT...

I don't even want to know about your SB Rustoliomation...

I run a worn out shimmed gib BP, But I also have better machines around for real work..

No great job statement from me...


You have a 57 Chevy with a valve job on an oil burning, worn cylinder, original 57 motor... Nothing more...
You can't honestly call this anything other than a tear down and repaint.. NO RESTORATION INVOLVED.. Bridgeport would have never let it out of the factory like that... Machinists tend to be a bit picky about so called rebuilt/restored machines. If it can't work close to original factory inspection tolerences, it is worn.. unlike a car with a 12 to 14 foot wide street to drive on...

Now if this was a 125 year old display only piece, maybe you could call it a restoration.. Not many interested in running plain high carbon steel tooling anymore...

 

[cegreen]

My pleasure Chris. Will you be posting a build diary as well? Also, you're in Jersey? What part? I'm in eastern PA, so maybe we met up one day and talk shop.

No, no build diary this time - my schedule, process, and progress are all too non-linear. ;-)

I'm only about 30 minutes away from you, so I'd love to meet and talk shop. I'll send you a PM.

-Chris

 

[bradjacob]

Plenty of attention to cosmetics, NOT A LICK about the wear.

Scraping is clearly worn at ends of saddle. PAINT IS OBVIOUSLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING HERE..

Get a clue. A pretty machine with worn ways, is like a Cat bulldozer with fresh paint and worn undercarriage.. NOT worth much... A Cat with 100% undercarriage and a blown motor and finals, is still worth 2 x what a paint rebuild is...,

That saddle has at least .008 wear, and PAINT CAN'T fix that.. 80% of the scraping is gone from one side of saddle... Ever heard of Edward F Connelly ??? Not going into a toolmakers shop for sure...

Rocking horses are fun for kids to ride..

If the machine is torn down that far, FIX IT...

I don't even want to know about your SB Rustoliomation...

I run a worn out shimmed gib BP, But I also have better machines around for real work..

No great job statement from me...


You have a 57 Chevy with a valve job on an oil burning, worn cylinder, original 57 motor... Nothing more...
You can't honestly call this anything other than a tear down and repaint.. NO RESTORATION INVOLVED.. Bridgeport would have never let it out of the factory like that... Machinists tend to be a bit picky about so called rebuilt/restored machines. If it can't work close to original factory inspection tolerences, it is worn.. unlike a car with a 12 to 14 foot wide street to drive on...

Now if this was a 125 year old display only piece, maybe you could call it a restoration.. Not many interested in running plain high carbon steel tooling anymore...

What a rude and non-helpful bunch of bullshit...

First off, you don't know what shape my mill is in. You're assuming my machine is doomed from looking at a picture of my saddle and reducing it down to a worthless "tear down"' because of your speculation of .008 ??

Second, you have no idea of what my plans are for scraping, or not scraping. You also know NOTHING of the condition of my lead screws, columns-ways, knee ways or my table (which by the way, are all in very nice shape). My spindle is perfect and YES, I measured nearly zero runout when I bought it. You also know nothing of my plans to return it to an oil machine instead of a grease machine.

So guess what asshole, just because YOU fire off some jealous crap about my worthless "rebuild", doesn't necessarily mean it is. I don't have to bring the machine back to original factory specs for it to be a very useful machine. After all, I'm only a pretend "hobby" machinist - not a skilled professional like yourself. I think the lack of daylight and all that snow is making you a jealous, bitter fool.

 

[bradjacob]

I don't even want to know about your SB Rustoliomation...

I run a worn out shimmed gib BP, But I also have better machines around for real work..

No great job statement from me...


You have a 57 Chevy with a valve job on an oil burning, worn cylinder, original 57 motor... Nothing more...
You can't honestly call this anything other than a tear down and repaint.. NO RESTORATION INVOLVED.. Bridgeport would have never let it out of the factory like that... Machinists tend to be a bit picky about so called rebuilt/restored machines. If it can't work close to original factory inspection tolerences, it is worn.. unlike a car with a 12 to 14 foot wide street to drive on...

Now if this was a 125 year old display only piece, maybe you could call it a restoration.. Not many interested in running plain high carbon steel tooling anymore...

Jeez, you really dont know how to articulate a point. Before you criticize my work (which doesn't need your approval), please show us YOUR work, or "proper" restorations.

Learn us, please...

 

[kpotter]

Dang who peed in his soup. Cleaning a machine up and using it is fine, most work doesnt need a perfect machine, hell my whole shop is filled with worn out old crap by his definition but I earn a decent living running it. You are doing a fine job no point in rescraping and regrinding if all you are doing is hobby stuff. If you are going to use it for high tolerance work go buy a new mill.

 

[cegreen]

My pleasure Chris. Will you be posting a build diary as well? Also, you're in Jersey? What part? I'm in eastern PA, so maybe we met up one day and talk shop.

Brad - PM sent. -Chris