Sorry; wasn’t really sure where to post this, so I’m just putting it in “general”.
Anyway, I needed to work on a Bridgeport 2J head, and I’m NOT standing on a ladder to do it, so I made a bench mount for it. I figured well, since I already made a larger version of the pro series top, I may as well just make the mount to work with the Fireball system. Nothing fancy, just made from a scrap piece of 6” channel, but I figured I would share.
Ironically enough, I’ve only used the Fireball table design for welding ONCE, but if you’re creative, the design is strong enough to use for virtually anything you can dream up; obviously if you’re doing something with massive weight, you’ll want a beefier table, but I just wanted to share something that would shed a light on the other ways to use a Fireball table.
I don’t actually think of it as a fixture table, but a FOUNDATION TABLE; it can be used as a foundation to build or work on basically anything; overall, good job Jason and company!!
Here’s all you get for now; my shop is a disaster, and I still haven’t actually finished the table, only the top, which I immediately started using. Just don’t make the same boneheaded mistake as me; I measured 4 or more times and while everything looked good, somehow I managed to drill the upper left hole far enough off that I can only use 3 bolts to mount the head to the bracket.
It probably wouldn’t have been as bad if I just drilled 1/2” holes, but my OCD took over and I just had to make fancy threaded holes (AKA, you have to be exact if you’re going this route) instead, and ended up missing the target somehow. Oh well, it still works fine, and with the head still attached to the overhead beam trolley, I tried pretty hard to make it tip over, as a stability test, and it wouldn’t budge. I had slack in the chain fall while it was attached, but I didn’t want to try it without having some kind of safety, just in case it did tip, or the ancient saw horses holding everything up decided to shit the bed.
I’ve broken enough bones in my life, as well as having some digits amputated from crushing injuries, so I’m playing it safe, lol
Great idea! And a nice way to work on the 2J head!
I recently bought a Bridgeport UK version and found out the hard way that I have to rebuild the whole 2J head.
From your picture, it also seems I have a different quill feed!!
Unless I’m mistaken (not like that’s ever happened before), your quill feed is the same as all models; mine is missing the fine downfeed , which is the mini steering wheel looking thing in your picture. The normal downfeed is the lever on the right side of the head, which in your case, looks to be a 1960s? era 1.5 HP 2J head.
If you’re in the USA, and still need parts, look up H&W Machine in Ft. Wayne Indiana. You probably already knew that, but I figured I would share, just in case you didn’t know about them, technical knowledge and advice, parts for EVERY model, and overall just great people to do business with.
Good luck on your rebuild; I’m halfway into mine, and it’s……interesting, once I figure out everything I need, I’ll probably post it up.
That quill feed handle is an aftermarket quick feed. You move the lever to the side to retrack the drive pin and reposition the quill. Very handy and one of the first things I add to a new mill. Also get a clamp type quill stop and a cordless drill adapter for the knee crank.
If you’re referring to mine, yes it’s an aftermarket quill feed, but don’t all the lever style handles function similarly? I don’t know about the tri handle versions, or the aftermarket steering wheel types…
And what is the clamp type quill stop you speak of? Something like this?
I thought it was a great idea, until I saw the price; I’ll just stick with the original design for free, until I design something better, in my case, something bright orange is probably in order lol
Okay, gotcha. It’s basically a new version of the original micrometer quick nut, for a third of the price of the original one. I have mine soaking in deep creep, so I’m hoping it will break free.
