In 2022, I came across an ad for a Bridgeport mill. I'd been wanting one, so I went to see the guy. He was a nice, older man who was moving away and wanted to see his tools go to a good home. I visited several times, trying to figure out if I wanted it and how the heck I was going to move it. The machine weighs close to 2000 pounds. Luckily, it comes apart, but even still it was quite a chore.
The Bridgeport before it moved, in the prior owner's garage.
The first move (August to October 2022)
On August 27, 2022 I cleared out the area under the deck so I could move mill parts through it. As you can see, it was a bit of a job.
Attachment point for the chain hoist, installed. I never should have used that eye bolt: a forged eye bolt would have been much better from a load standpoint.
A trivial test of the chain hoist: a bucket.
Several pieces I moved myself, with various hoists. On September 3 I built a gantry (it has its own page) so I could take the top of the mill apart with a chain hoist. Here it is over the mill.
The same gantry from another angle, lifting the ram off the base.
Two stills from a video of the head coming down, in its lifting straps with a wooden bar through them.
The head, in lifting straps and hanging from an engine crane over a plywood sled.
The head being lowered under the deck with the chain hoist.
The table on the lift cart in the driveway, having just come out of the car.
And the scissor-lift cart carrying the table, hanging from the same hoist. It was easier just to lower the whole thing rather than unstrap it from the cart.
And done. And I mean done. I'm paying someone else to move the rest.
Moving day (September 12, 2022)
Moving day was September 12, and the movers did the rest. Plywood laid down as a road for the heavy load.
Carrying a piece wrapped in a moving blanket along the plywood.
Moving the pedestal, the heaviest piece by far at around 900 pounds.
The moving truck.
At the foot of the deck stairs.
And a short clip of the movers carrying a piece along the side of the house.
Putting it back together
The column, standing in the basement shop.
The chain hoist on the ceiling, ready to lift the ram back into place.
And the gantry, in the basement shop, ready to lift the knee.
I decided to use the gantry for the ram after all, since it has wheels and it was easier to maneuver it into place that way.
On October 8 I took the lubricator apart.
Turning the crank, a few days after it was back together.
The head hanging from the chain hoist, above the column.
By mid-October the mill was back together.
The first drilling on the reassembled mill.
And the new DRO working.
November 20: I got my workbench cleared out and the mill pivoted, so it's no longer blocking traversal through the shop, at least when the table isn't too far to the left.
Cleaning up the table (September 2022)
In September 2022 I started to clean up the table on my Bridgeport mill. It'll probably take a few sessions, but here's the "before".
The table is lying on the workbench, long and rusty, with its T-slots running down its length.
Upgrades after the move (fall 2022)
I was still in "get the mill fully restored" mode, so the next jobs were the upgrades that make it pleasant to use. The first was a digital readout. This is the DRO, still in its wrapper, with its first screen.
And mounted on its arm.
The scales' cables run down the side of the mill.
Next, a power feed for the Z axis, so I don't have to crank a 600 pound knee up and down by hand. This is the mounting ring for it, plasma cut and then drilled and tapped.
The Z power feed, installed and running.
The second move (July 2025)
In the summer of 2025 I rearranged the whole basement shop and the mill had to move to a new room. The hydraulic lift cart that made it easy to take the table off appeared to have given up the ghost, but I could still lift things with the shop crane.
The Bridgeport, still in its old spot, with a tub on the table.
The table, lifted with the shop crane.
The table hanging from the crane.
The table on its cart, going through the doorway.
The table in the new room.
The base was the hard part. I started out using a trick where you lift the Bridgeport by cranking the knee down with a board wedged under it, but switched to using a toe jack, which just felt a bit more controlled. With one side tipped up, I put some electrical conduit that I'd cut up underneath it, and I could actually roll it just by pushing on it.
First attempt, using the knee.
Closer.
The base up on the rollers. I can move it easily by myself using a crowbar when it's on these.
The base coming down the hall. A little help from my friend Andrew.
Things went well with Andrew's help, but honestly the whole thing went so well all that did was speed me up a bit. Once it's up on pipes it's easy to move: just stick a crowbar under it and you can lever it around, an inch at a time. Which was great, because I wasn't sure I liked where it was, and it turned out I could move it a few feet by myself.
In the new room, more or less.
And then a second, shorter move, into the corner, on July 13.
