just like the other post.....this would be sweet in my garage.
sad thing is Rockford was once one of those giant machine shop areas of the country.
just like the other post.....this would be sweet in my garage.
sad thing is Rockford was once one of those giant machine shop areas of the country.
That thing looks like it weighs more than my MINI.
100 miles for a B'port is nothing. Get cash and truck and go, son.
I did a 500 mile round trip for a late 1940s 14" Walker-Turner dual-range vertical bandsaw in nice shape. I got lucky on the Bridgeport and the Sharp 12x40 lathe (and a ton of tooling) for the prototype shop at work. They came from the estate of a machinist in the astrophysics department at the University of Maryland, 5 miles down the road. The riggers even picked up the hulking 16" Do-All bandsaw I bought from the UMD surplus outlet the same week.
I'd drive the 100 miles for it, 800 is a steal.
It'll be worth that even if you have to sell it later.
Shawn
Looks like it has the variable speed head even. Nice find.
That thing will outlive you! Heck I'd drive from C.N.Y. to Rockford to get one, if I didn't have access to my buddy's shop.
What amazes me about these things is that they were originally only about $1000 new.
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Bridgeport-Machines-Inc-Company-History.html
The first drawing of the machine--which was to become a permanent fixture in metal shops throughout the United States--was sketched by Bannow on the back of a paper bag. Actual development took several years, and in August 1939, the company delivered the first machine to Precision Casting Company of Syracuse, New York. Originally marketed as a "Vertical Knee Type milling machine," the $995 tool soon became known simply as the "Bridgeport.
On thousand in 1939 dollars. Lessee, working the tables, that's about $15,500 today, and the tables have been seriously cooked to the low side since Reagan (Price of steak goes up? They can eat hamburger, no inflation, no COLA for you.) Fifteen large is probably about what a "good" Chinese mill would run you new.
$800 is a good price, but that part of the country has a bunch of them. When I was looking at the ones 3 miles from me, it looks like $1500-2000 (2009 dollars) was the going rate. Those here sold in the $1800 range, so no bargain. It was going to cost about five bills to move it 3 miles, paying someone else to do it.
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