CSEMARTIN Posted May 12, 2010 Author Share Posted May 12, 2010 jgun, Congrats on your purchase! The problem I ran into was finding published data on what these Bridgeports weigh. I couldn't find any information. I called Hardinge and they couldn't tell me either. You would think the company that is now making the Bridgeport Series I would know what these machines weigh?? The column is very heavy, and I wouldn't be surprised if it weighs 900 pounds. With a dolly and three guys, it can be moved, but it will be difficult. Going down some stairs with the column is frightening. The scariest piece to move is the turret and ram. I felt my femur flex when I moved it the first time. It was a very freaky feeling! The second time I moved the machine, I took the turret off the ram. The turret can be easily moved--two guys can carry it. I would guess that part weighs around 150 pounds. The ram is very heavy. It took three of us to carry it. My brother and I strapped the front end and a third guy carried the back end of it. That was the most difficult piece to move. Looking back, we probably should have moved it with the dolly. The knee is easily 350 pounds, but it was very easy to move with a dolly. When you take it apart, you will need an engine hoist, lifting straps and/or a chain. I also noticed that it can be difficult to get the knee gib out if the machine isn't level. When I assemble everything, I'm going to thread the brass (I think it's brass) bushing onto the knee lead screw before lowering the knee onto the pedestal. Then I'll put the three screws between the bushing and the pedestal on. I think that'll work better. Getting the knee lead screw to thread while you're lowering the knee can be a bit tricky. I'm thinking about getting one of these: http://www.machinerypartsdepot.com/site/1478157/product/MHRP to install the head. Lining up the bolts to get the head on is tricky too. Label everything really well. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgun Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 Thanks for your info/advice. The only component that has me worried is the pedistal, At the shop where it's presently located I have access to a forklift to load it into the back of my pickup and I have an engine hoist to remove it at my place, but I'm not sure if the hoist will have enough range to lift it high enough to pull the truck out from underneath the pedestal. Fortunately, I don't have to go up/down any stairs with it. I poured a slab in my yard and am going to build a workshop to house it, so the only thing I have to contend with is moving it across 35' of lawn from my driveway to the slab. I plan to put down plywood and have a heavy duty pallet jack. Hope it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted May 13, 2010 Author Share Posted May 13, 2010 What kind of truck are you using? How high up off the ground is the column going to be? You might want to rent a gantry crane for that job. I rented a U-haul with the ramp that slides out. It says not to put more than a thousand pound load on it, but I can tell you from personal experience that it'll handle it. I'd still pay the extra money and buy their insurance. With a dolly and a few guys, the column came off the truck without any problems. Is there anyway you could drive a U-haul back to your new slab? If that's an option, you could just roll the column off the truck into place. Think about the U-haul idea. I've done this twice with one and it worked like a charm. I only paid 29.99 plus mileage and insurance for the day. It was money well spent. The ramp is the key though. Good Luck and don't underestimate how much this stuff weighs. There is a little bit of danger involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgun Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 The Uhaul sounds like a really good idea. I hadn't thought of that. As I said before,the one thing that could bring the operation to a grinding halt would be if I disassembled it at the shop, used their forklift to load it standing uprite in the back of my 1/2 ton pickup, drove to my house only to find that I couldn't lift it out of the bed of the truck. I'm going to find out what kind of trucks I can rent locally that have the lift gate. Unfortunately, the access to the back yard is not wide enough to back a truck up all the way to the back yard but since I have smooth cement from the street to the back of the house, If I can get the column on the ground at my house I should be able to move it with the pallet jack(I hope). Thanks for your input. This will probably take me a couple of weeks before I'm going to be ready to move it but I'll let you know how it goes, and assuming no one gets squashed I'll let you know if I come up with any tricks that make it easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted May 19, 2010 Author Share Posted May 19, 2010 Here are some more photos of the move. I also found a great deal on a lathe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 I decided to pour a concrete pad to level the machine and get it up in the air to help save my back. The table is getting drilled today for my DRO, and I'm ordering the ballscrews today. On a side note, it was easier to install the knee by threading the brass bushing on the lead screw and then lowering the knee onto the pedestal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussB Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Nice South Bend! Lookin' good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 My ball screws are here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Hey!!! This is a family forum!!! All kidding aside, you will never regret having ball leadscrews on your machine. It's a really worthwhile upgrade that you will enjoy for years to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 What is the best way to run the lubrication lines into the ballscrews? I've called Hardinge multiple times. I've also called the company that sold me the ballscrews. Neither could help me. I'm figuring I need to drill a hole in the side of the knee and run two lines in for the x and y axis. I ordered a small 2-port oil pump today. It seems like such a simple little task, but I'm a little freaked the Hardinge and Rockford Ballscrew people didn't know how to answer my question. Weird? The table and saddle are machined. Now I can mount my DRO brackets. I'm going to have a lot of fun with this machine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 You can run the oil lines through the hole for the knee leadscrew. Put a bracket by the hole to position the lines so they don't get fouled on anything as the knee moves up and down. Don't make too sharp a bend in the hose coming out of the oiler (use tee fittings where desirable). Make sure there is enough line for the knee to go it's full travel without stretching anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted June 17, 2010 Author Share Posted June 17, 2010 Thanks Warren. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted June 23, 2010 Author Share Posted June 23, 2010 My new oil pump is here, but it was supposed to come with two discharge ports (and it didn't). Now, I'm waiting for port number two. At least I have the tubing so I can get the ball screws installed, get the table on, and get my buddy's engine hoist back to him. This is taking forever! It's driving me nuts! I can't wait much longer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 Ya got no choice but to wait. Adios, Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted July 3, 2010 Author Share Posted July 3, 2010 I figured out how I'm going to run my lubrication lines, and I began to install the y-axis ballscrew. In order to get my hand in there to tighten the three bolts that hold the ballscrew onto the housing that mounts to the saddle, I threaded the ballscrew almost all the way out. Then a friend of mine and I installed the precision bearings. I figured I would thread the ballscrew back into the machine in order to bolt on the cross feed bearing bracket. The problem is.....I threaded the ballscrew the wrong way. $hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 OUCH!!!!! Adios, Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted July 6, 2010 Author Share Posted July 6, 2010 I find out in the morning what it's going to take to get this ballscrew back together. The company I bought these from has been closed for the holiday weekend. I tried to reassemble it myself. The balls aren't hard. It's the tension between the front and back ballnut. There is a collar and two bellvue springs that require tensioning. A spanner wrench is required. Since I don't have one, let alone know what one is or how to use it, everything is going back to the factory. I'm done f*#king around with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted July 14, 2010 Author Share Posted July 14, 2010 The ballscrew is back together, and I have power. It won't be long now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussB Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 (edited) Wow, that's a tall motor! The power switch it sure out of the reach of children! (and anyone under 6'6" ) Edited July 14, 2010 by RussB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted July 16, 2010 Author Share Posted July 16, 2010 I hit another road block tonight. Like a nightmare that just won't end, I discovered another problem. The precision bearing kit that Rockford Ballscrew sold me has four bearings and two sets of spacers. The only problem is I need a total of six bearings and three spacer kits---two for the x-axis and one for the y-axis. I guess I'll call them tomorrow, order two more bearings and wait some more. This is painful! These two pieces were covered in rust a few hours ago. With a wire brush and a baldor buffer, I was able to get these pieces looking pretty good! I think I'll go over the handles and dials again. Aside form some scratches, they look like new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted July 20, 2010 Author Share Posted July 20, 2010 I put the y-axis ballscrew in. When I tighten the housing that holds the ballscrew to the saddle, I can hear it grinding and feel it binding.....but only when I'm moving the table towards me. If I lighten up on the tension on the screws, everything moves freely and very smooth. I was very careful to make sure it found its "center". I'm wondering if I should lighten the tension on the bolts that hold the ballscrew on the housing, let it find it's "center" again and retighten?? Any ideas what is wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 I still can't figure out how to "center" the y-axis ballscrew. I'm still getting a grinding sound when I'm brining the saddle towards me. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 (edited) With the leadscrew bearing hosing eyeballed to center and tightened up, try running the table as far as it will go towards the crank handle, loosen and tighten the ballscrew housing, then loosen and tighten the leadscrew bearing housing. It's kind of hard to tell what's going on from here, but that is the most likely way to get things centered up. You may have to drill out the attach bolt holes on the leadscrew housing if they made the ball screw housing too tall or too short. Edited July 25, 2010 by Toolguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSEMARTIN Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 You may have to drill out the attach bolt holes on the leadscrew housing if they made the ball screw housing too tall or too short. I really hope it doesn't get to that point. The problem I'm having is just figuring out what is going wrong, how to tell what is going wrong and then trying to fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussB Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Again, what's wrong with the factory equipped lead screws? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now