I've got a Bridgeport I picked up for very cheap at auction and I've been trying to recondition it to get it back to it's relative former glory.
When I got it, the motor ran, but the spindle wasn't budging and the whole thing was making some pretty awful noises.
Turns out, the bushing and tension spring in the lower pulley assembly had catastrophically failed, so I replace the unit. Along with a few other fixes and re-lubrication etc, it's on its way. That said, I still get the same awful noises when its running. Between 7-800 RPM i get a loud rattling, and 1600+ it screeches. Along with this, I'm getting chatter so bad that it has broken several carbide bits, even when milling aluminum. I can't get a nice cut and finish at any RPM.
I suspect it's the spindle bearings, though I'm not sure the chatter would be that bad with just bad bearings. But I'm new to all this, so I'd appreciate any input. Here's a video of the noises.
Bridgeport 2J awful noises. - YouTube
When I got it, the motor ran, but the spindle wasn't budging and the whole thing was making some pretty awful noises.
Turns out, the bushing and tension spring in the lower pulley assembly had catastrophically failed, so I replace the unit. Along with a few other fixes and re-lubrication etc, it's on its way. That said, I still get the same awful noises when its running. Between 7-800 RPM i get a loud rattling, and 1600+ it screeches. Along with this, I'm getting chatter so bad that it has broken several carbide bits, even when milling aluminum. I can't get a nice cut and finish at any RPM.
I suspect it's the spindle bearings, though I'm not sure the chatter would be that bad with just bad bearings. But I'm new to all this, so I'd appreciate any input. Here's a video of the noises.
Bridgeport 2J awful noises. - YouTube