Should You Buy A Bridgeport Mill To Start Your Shop?

[@nevetslleksah]

I run a one man machine shop out of my home garage in a northern suburb of Detroit to supplement my retirement income. I have a Bridgeport mill, a few lathes, a surface grinder and other equipment. I do work for a local gage company. Most of their work is fixture and bench gages for the automakers and suppliers, so the quantities on the details are 1-3 up to maybe a dozen pieces. I prefer the smaller quantities as I find I get bored fairly easily if I have to make more than 6 or 12 of anything. They send out RFQ’s, I bid what I am capable of completing 100%. Most of the work is mill work and occasionally there is some lathe work. All my machines are manual. I make some money, but admittedly I am not going to get rich doing this, but it keeps me out of trouble and out of the wife’s way. I like turning cranks and at this point I don’t have any desire to learn CAD-CAM. I also do some work for the general public occasionally.

[@OppTech_one5]

Sounds like you might need an apprentice......in the Detroit area........hmmm, who could we find I wonder.... ;)

[@johns208]

My path from Bridgeport to making money. Bought an used Bridgeport clone and learned how to use it. Took me 10 years to make back the cost of the mill. But the learned skills got me a job at local machine shop as a machinist/tool & die. Saved ALL the pay checks and used it to buy a second-hand CNC mill. Left the shop and I'm on my own now. Only took me 8 month to make back the money for the CNC mill that cost 30x as much as the Bridgeport.

[@TheToolandDieGuy]

I like your math.

[@craigsbully]

10 years?! yeah, perhaps machine work isn't your stroll.....

[@johns208]

@@craigsbully can't disagree with you. it wasn't my stroll at first.

[@razorworks9942]

Great question and GREAT answer! Being a welder/fabricator for over 4 decades and counting, I got introduced to machining through a machinist friend about ten years ago, and I will not call myself a machinist just out of respect to the trade, but as a home shop and a job shop to my community, I can make some pretty cool things and put some smiles on some faces! That said, I agree 100% that doing things manually is definitely not going to make the mortgage payments, but if your retired like me willing to get up and do something everyday, it's a Hell of a lot of fun...at least for me.. Currently I'm in the middle of making custom Jeep parts for my new Gladiator! Razor!

[@craigsbully]

my little manual shop pulls in $36K per month I prototype and make production tools for manufacturing. I don't know what your mortgage is, but I think making $187.50/hr for at least 8 hrs a day 6 days a week with a 4 month lead time for scheduling, my guess is that I can take care of a lot of mortgage.

[@alangivens7983]

I am brand new to mills and will be taking delivery of my completely restored Bridgeport in two days. I have never even touched a mill and I am just adding one to my shop where we often do custom one off projects we are mechanical contractors by trade. I found your video very helpful and informative and wanted to be sure to thank you for sharing your time and expertise.

[@doughall1794]

Yes, CNC is the only way to go to print money, I could not see having a shop without it but.... I started my garage shop with a manual mill and lathe, mostly to learn and do prototypes, not to make money. Today when I have my Big CNC running I use the Bridgeport for repairs, fixturing, and mostly stock prep. Started CNC with a Bridgeport Boss 5 conversion with 4 axis and nice Centroid interactive and USB capability, it is awesome and could probably do away with the manual Bridgeport but the game changer was the Fadal with tool changer and flood coolant. Now with Fusion360 I no longer use the interactive. Quicker to just do it in CAD/CAM and pop out the G code. Can I live with just my CNC, probably. Can I live with just a manual mill, NO. I still use my manual CNC and I feel they compliment each other. Tearing down a production setup on the CNC for one small job does not make money. If you know what to look for you can pick up a used CNC for under 5k. Paid $1700 for my well worn manual bridgeport delivered to my door 7 years ago. $5400 for my Centroid 4 axis conversion to my door and my Fadal was only 5k to my door and it has the option to run on single phase. Funny thing is I used my CNC to make fixtures and soft jaws for the manual Bridgeport.

[@jeffanderson1653]

Yeah, you're right. Us hobby guys that have all the time in the world and are nearing retirement, never learned G code, well a Bridgeport/clone is perfect. We aren't doing it to make money, your answer to that young fellow was correct. That young guy asking about a Bridgeport may have a few grand to buy the BP but what's a Mazak cost? Exactly my point. Those machines are cost prohibitive for the average machinist or hobby guy.

[@keithlane7471]

While I respect your opinion on having a Bridgeport in a small shop, or not . I think for people working short handed in a small start up shop, no matter what, a manual series I Bridgeport is absolutely the first big machine you need to buy. Not as your primary production mill, but as the tool that will keep your primary production mill running efficiently. Whether you need to fly cut off a false end that was your method of holding for your CNC operations, or prepping stock so it's ready to load and run in your CNC. You will also find that you will need to machine / build fixtures for any number of operations, or run off a handful of small parts you need now, but once you have a CNC set up, and proven out, you're not going to break down a set up in the middle of a job. Series I Bridgeports weigh in at roughly 2,000 pounds in one piece. Newer ones are lighter. My 1961 Bridgeport weighs in at 2,200 plus pounds . The Bridgeport mills built just after WW II are the best. Heavier castings equate to less harmonics, and longer tool life. Many years ago, when moving my shop to a bigger building, I was so glad I had the riggers move a Series I Bridgeport in first. That one Bridgeport, once moved and wired up , has been kept busy to this day making everything you can imagine. From a production standpoint, I agree, you'll never make required cycle times with a manual mill, but big picture, having a good manual mill will keep your shop efficient and will expedite feeding your CNC Machining Centers. Excellent video . I'm always keeping my eyes open for channels like yours to pass on to new people joining our trade. Looking forward to future content. Take care

[@davewhite9146]

Well you can have a Bridgeport without a Mazak but you can't have a Mazak without a Bridgeport. Nothin like setting up for a secondary operation on the BP while the Mazak is grinding away producing the next part . Just my 2 cents . Great content .

[@joseywales6146]

Oh that's good! My shop is a captive shop for a legacy manufacturer -small runs, like three parts or less- so that's how we configured our work cells, CNC with a BP for 2nd ops. It's not the best, but short runs and quick turns require that flexibility. P.S. the best "tool" in my shop is a creative machinist!

[@AJR2208]

Thanks very much Phil. I think you understated a bit here though. Your "Two Cents Worth" is really worth at least more like "A Few Bucks Worth"!! This info will help a lot of people..... :)

[@CzechSixTv]

I'm not a machinist by any measure, but learned a little in HS(on a Bridgeport mill, Logan metal lathe and Atlas brake lathe all from the 50's if not older) and a bit more while working for a well digger where nearly every piece of equipment in the shop was driven by a series of leather belts(the stuff was OLD). All the actual machinists except the owner had long since retired, but I was the mechanic fixing/maintaining the trucks, drilling rigs and other equipment. Sometimes the owner would have me cut/thread pipes or driveshafts for pumps and cut/drill/tap mounting plates for motors if he was out on a job. When I really had nothing else to do, I would make chips from scrap just to have a better understanding of how the machines worked. For repair and hobby work, or even custom one of stuff, I can see the lure of a vintage manual mill. They are, for the most part, still capable and incredibly durable. Plus they just look cool as hell compared to a modern CNC machine. As someone with friends that were machinists in shops with manual equipment that closed down because the shop couldn't handle volume...CNC wins every time. By the way, if you're even wondering why I'm commenting, I stumbled upon the video while researching mills for small hobby projects and figured quality info deserved at least a thumbs up and comment(gotta feed the algorithm).

[@douglaspierce7031]

Because I cut my teeth on a Bridgeport, I've actually run jobs similar to how I would process them on a Bridgeport. I keep small, easily to edit programs to side mill a part to length, face a part and drill\tap cycles. I've had guys tell me they can do these tasks much faster on a manual than I can with a CNC. I've accepted many a challenge and have yet to be beat

[@biologicalagent]

My grandpa owned a Bridgeport. He worked his entire career for 40 years on the same machine. The last 20+ years were for texlon inc. making moulds. I make good money, in IT I probably make 3 times what he did, but I really wish he were here to show me the ropes. All I wanted was to run a Bridgeport like he did.

[@bstevermer9293]

Wow, 40 years, no one sticks around like that today. Did he say if it was ever rebuilt

[@spencertoolandgrind]

I bought a Bridgeport. Cranked handles. Upgraded to a prototrax. It’s so simple and fast. I would love to have a Mazak. Easiest things to use.

[@barrishautomotive]

I have a Bridgeport type mill (1960 Gorton Mastermil) in my home shop. I can't fathom trying to make any real money on it. It's fun for a hobby, and it's great having the ability to mill custom parts as part of my other work, but I wouldn't consider a manual mill to be a profit making machine at this point. Additionally, people are way too hung up on the Bridgeport name. They're good machines for sure, but there are plenty of other machines out there that are as good or better that will cost far less because they dont say Bridgeport on them. When I set out to buy a mill I was pretty much dead set on a Bridgeport, but once I started doing my research I realized that a lot of other American manufacturers had designed and built better machines by the 60s and 70s, and that the real value was in those machines. I ended up getting my beefy 3000 pound Gorton mill for almost free because nobody wanted it and it needed to be cleared out of an old factory that had closed.

[@WilliamPayneNZ]

The shop I worked in had both CNC and manual. The mould cavity work was all CNC and EDM. The manual work was usually “Job shop” type work or non cavity parts of moulds. The shop was a good profitable shop but everything was about doing it the most efficient way. Some jobs were done manually and others were CNC. I did a lot of TIG welding and for me starting my shop the market I see is doing work that others can’t, special steels, exotic metals, specialised build up and repair. I know a guy who has a business with a manual lathe and mill in his garage, but he doesn’t do any moulds and his business/profit model is more about supporting himself rather than a large growing business.

[@MF175mp]

I was laughing when you talked about FOGs. FNG here.

[@fasteddie4107]

I’m glad that my home shop is just for my secret alchemy and fun, so I love my Bridgeport. Good video and useful information. Thank you.

[@Engineerd3d]

Thank you for this. I love the manual machines, however I never understood how people made money without cnc.

[@lwilton]

For most sorts of production I can't see why you wouldn't want to go with some form of CNC machine. It can read the readout and turn the handles a lot faster and more accurately than you can. But I'm wondering about the case where you are basically a repair shop. Everything that comes through the door is different, has to be registered and held differently, and has some different kind of machining to be done on it. And most of the time you don't have prints, you have a rusty and bent part to set up and fix. It seems to me in that case that the automatic machines lose about 90% of their cool factor, and not being able to get close to the tools and the work and feel what is happening with the cut might be a disadvantage.

[@TheToolandDieGuy]

Correct. Sounds more like fab work than precision machine work. We actually have a small department in our shop that takes care of the mistakes and repairs.

[@tomte47]

We got rid of all but one manual kasuga mill and one manual lathe and the only work being done on them is rush jobs when you just need to take some material of for clearance or use the mill as a drill press. Even Conversational programing is outdated nowdays, I think you would be amazed at how fast you can get things done with a properly setup cad/cam and a modern cnc. I work in the tool and die department so most jobs are singles or low quantity. We have the computers right next to the machines at work with every common operation ready in a macro in the cam so you just click on say a thread and it selects all the threads of the same size and at most you change the depth and send it to the machine. The DMG i run got a 18k rpm 40hp spindle, 5axis, through spindle coolant, 1900 ipm rapids and 60 tools ready to go in the magazine. Good luck competing with that on a bridgeport :)

[@markdavies8037]

Hi guys, i get cnc, i use 5 axis hermles at work, but i think back to the manual days and how much more interesting it was doing it yourself. I know its hassle and getting covered in coolant and chips etc. But you did it!! Im sure im not alone with that thought.

[@rupunzel6299]

Have a Bridgeport in the garage, it is a hobby machine tool used to make and fix one-off items. Know it takes a LOT of tooling to make any machine tool go. Any machined part that needs to be produced in any significant quantity, part is done in CAD then sent out to a CNC shop, done. As for learning how to run machine tools in the beginning, IMO, this should be done on a manual lathe for a long list of reasons. Once the basic skills, knowledge and abilities are learned well enough on a manual lathe, then a milling machine like a bridgeport, to get any where in the production machined parts world it is going to be a CNC machine.

[@larryschweitzer4904]

I'm in a different industry, but 25 years ago I bought my first CNC. $85,000 ($150,00 in todays $). We figured it paid for itself in the first year. Over the years we added specialty CNC machines to the point where 95% of everything we make is on CNC. We have spent a lot on software which feeds all the machines. If we survive this virus thing our next machine will be self loading and unloading greatly reducing cycle times. Cost will be about $250,000 but with at least 4 times the output of the 25 year old type of machine. The price of CNC has come down greatly and the capabilities have gone up hugely. BTW, the competition hasn't been asleep either!

[@paulmalinoski5951]

I think a Bridgeport is great to do really simple features on oversized and awkward shaped parts. Id say it's a great supplemental tool and more versatile but that versatility comes at the cost of speed and production. For example, doing work on the end of a 40 inch long bracket. You can swing a Bridgeport head over and hang the work off the back side of the table, something that you can't do with a Haas (my background is mostly Bridgeport and Haas). So, in my opinion, a Bridgeport is crucial to have for those odd, one off situations. But it's much more of a supplemental machine nowadays.

[@r1deftone]

I started on CNC in the 90's and had to use Bridgeports and various manual lathes through out my career in Aerospace. Manual & CNC both have their strong points and weak points. I earned a B.S. and became an Engineer and finished my career building a lab with a Bridgeport and a Hardinge lathe. Eventually I was able to procure a Prototrack 3 axis (I prefer the 2 axis though) For production and some prototype work a CNC is no doubt the way to go but for some prototype and repair work a Manual Mill or Lathe can't be beat.

[@rickmajeski3703]

I started my NYS Apprenticeship on manual Bridgeports (No DRO). Didn't care for CNC at all. Years later, I got introduced to ProtoTRAK mills. I currently run/program a 2-1/2 Axis TRAK DPM3 that I run daily, and a TRAK TRL 1630 Lathe I run a few times per month. Best of both worlds...manual AND CNC in one machine! If you want to make money on a "manual mill", buy a TRAK (Southwestern Industries). They are affordable and programmable. My company has purchased CAMWorks to program in 3-Axis on the TRAK. I LOVE LOVE LOVE running my TRAK mill and lathe.

[@MrWoodchuck59]

I learned on manual machines, and started using CNC on the Anilam. I also used Hurco machines But my favorite by far was the prototrack mills. we had a 2 axis on a Bridgeport & a 3 axis bedmill right next to it. and 2 drill presses right in front of them. it wasn't uncommon to have all 3 going at the same time. simple programs I fat fingered in. the complex stuff I programed & posted from Mastercam 9. I'm retired for almost 4 years now.

[@DDB168]

I've got no idea but I think what you said makes perfect sense.

[@TheToolandDieGuy]

It does. LOL

[@fall22123]

I remember squaring up blocks on a manual and getting burned by those hot chips from the face mill. The worst was when they went down my shirt.

[@TheToolandDieGuy]

Those were the days! I could actually smell my hair melting on one day!

[@HighGear7445]

Retired now but started in the late 70's with all manual and after around 12 years went into CNC. Most all of my work was either specialized tool and Die for the industry or short run machine parts ( mostly less than a dozen parts at a time ) to build automation machines, gear cutting machines and tooling for the fastener trade so header ect tooling. With that type of work I always had a bridgeport handy for either secondary work or something that I could do quicker than set up a cnc to do the same job. Also repair type work , I've done some of that where your just working on 1 part. This type of work is where a manual machine shines in todays world.

[@billberger]

I find a bridgeport is super important to my shop but that is because I mostly do weld repairs and custom work. I would look to a cnc shop if i needed anything made at volume.

[@johncooper4637]

I have seen many comments in other places bemoaning the fact the newbie CNC guy has never run a manual machine. A Bridgeport beats the heck out of the lathe/mill/drill that I had before. I'm retired and this is all I can afford. I may have some race car work in the future if the virus does not kill the project.

[@ShopperPlug]

If people have the money, get a mazak CNC it costs $30-40K for used and after reconditioning. New comers, BP is the way to go, even for making money, the BP costs $3-4K used after reconditioning. They will not have many customers to begin with, so BP will be able to accommodate the customer order throughput. Then they can upgrade to a full CNC later. But my opinion, BP is still better than a mazak for most new people, since a BP can be easily modified to function as a fully automated CNC, many have done it. It will shed another $1-$2K for the servos and parts depending how accurate the BP is needed to be to function as a CNC. So a BP modded as a CNC can last a long time until a valid CNC is truly needed. I think the only time when a BP modded CNC needs to be replaced with a true CNC is when large work surface area is needed, single digit micron tolerance required, much larger selection of quick automatic tool changes and needing to be competitive.

[@geckoproductions4128]

Nice video. Enjoyed the discussion and like your style and delivery. However, the reason Im watching this is that I'm an old retired guy and part-time gunsmith. I blueprint and accurize precision rifles. So, new stuff is fine for cookie cutter stuff, but sometimes old school is better. For example: 7.62 NATO is a 30.06 cut down 1/2 an inch. 30.06 gives you another two hundred yards of bullet flight before it goes sub-sonic....if you really want to reach out and touch someone. 45acp samo samo. We WENT to 45 cause 38 wasn't getting the job done....and now we are dumping the 9mm (38) to go back to 45 acp. Some things just WORK. One of those things is a Bridgeport. As for me, I like Collins S line radios, 1911 pistols, and Bridgeport vertical mills. IMHO

[@chrisaa746]

I'm a retired ME and I have a shop in my garage. No I don't think you can make money with a manual shop - maybe gunsmiths can. However Good CNC equipment is expensive. I use my shop to build prototypes then I go to a production shop. This allows me to develop my stuff faster, but complex parts I still out source. I still have my drafting table and I do hand sketches on it but, I will never use it to make working drawings ever again ( I like Soildworks ) A Bridgeport is like my drafting table, handy but the past.

[@Just1GuyMetalworks]

I'm not biased either way. If you're mass producing parts, definitely CNC. For one off repairs, not saying you can't do it with CNC, but a manual mill might be a more practical solution. As a guy who still has so much to learn I would love a Bridgeport (or even a clone 😊), but learning the CNC part of machining nowadays is a big portion of the whole learning process. That being said, I think it best to learn the manual side first lest my brain go into full overload 🤣. Sorry, a little off topic there. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Cheers 👍😁👍

[@gasparini76]

Based on the previous comments, manual machines are suitable for: 1) Small run jobs (custom jobs); 2) someone that is willing to self learn; 3) Carry out a repair. These activities are money saver, not money maker

[@craigsbully]

I'll disagree with you, I pull in $36K per month reading dials. I can program CNC machines as easily as sitting on the couch, it is second nature to me, Ive worked for several companies as an applications engineer teaching G and H code, Solid Works, Pro E and fusion 360. I still prefer the active minded manual machine work. Skills are earned CNC work is not real machine work.

[@komoru]

Cutting Edge Engineering does heavy repair work and only does manual machining all the time. If you're doing production runs, that's where CNC shines

[@zordichstach]

best way to make money on a bridgeport is to sell it for more than you bought it

[@aeroearth]

When buying any machine tool it pays to really study what you want to do with it and what the machine's capabilities really are. I studied CAD/CAE and have bought several of those systems for my Engineers, but for me I was so slow at it that it impeded my creative ideas. Hand sketch for me suits and is really fast. I know that the Bridgeport is a well proven and very versatile design but it is a bit lightweight for a lot of machining. BIG advantage of CNC is its ability to repeat machine parts and as part designs usually fall into "like that part but a little different" means conversion of an existing part file and program is where they score. I have bought a new Bridgeport for my Fitters in a Prototype machine shop to replace a just post war much smaller and thoroughly worn out universal mill but at that time 30 odd years ago CNC was nothing like as advanced as it is today. I have toured the Mazak factory in Japan some decades back. I learnt many things including how they have three grades of machine tools. Master machines that produce mother machines that produce the machine tools that you buy. They continuously upgrade all three classes of machine tools to improve their accuracy.

[@rushymoto]

I have a bridgeport in my garage in the UK and I plan to use it for fun AND to do one off jobs for people like repair parts, bits and bobs and thats the way i like it.

[@geoffmathieson2643]

Great subject Phil. I have one, and love it to death. The Bridgeport seems to do most things, none of them particularly well or quickly. Great to make a one off thing as an incidental to making other things, but I'd hate to try and make a living running finished parts on it.

[@darthherald2564]

Does anyone else here search for new cnc crashes on youtube every so often? Asking for a friend.

[@TheToolandDieGuy]

I have to admit that when I have some free time, those are my favorite, LOL

[@every1665]

For making one-off prototypes as a service to product development, a manual mill can still be efficient. And, as un-professional as this sounds, often for simple parts either turning or milling, I just make it up as I go! It would take longer to draw it than make it. Please abuse me. I love it.

[@AJohnson0325]

Now there are machine shops with cnc 5,7, and 9 axis machines and Shunk tombstones to run multiple parts at a time. Some shops even have robot arms to load and unload. The economy of scale is nuts at these bigger shops. All the new machines have automatic toolchangers and the speeds and feeds are several times what a bridgeport can do. These guys are using most of the profits to constantly reinvest into the business and buy bigger, better, and faster machines.

[@petemclinc]

Here's the thing, CNC is the way to go but if you're a hobbyist, have limited capitol and space, single phase power, manual machines make sense. A Bridgeport still has its place in a CNC shop, for 1 off jobs, small runs, repairs and large, awkward work pieces.

[@magicman9486]

As i like to say. My great grandfather was a wood worker. If he had had routers, table saws and CNCs he would have used them.

[@terryallemann2654]

I think you are 100% correct I own a small tool & Die shop i have been in the Die cast mold shops for 40 years now. Back in the early 80's CNC was just starting to show up in smaller shops and by the time a guy could punch the tape for the mill i could make the part on a Bridgeport but today with cam software 2D part can be programed and ready in less than 10 minutes and lathe work even the Holy Grail Monarch 10EE can not achieve a fraction of the Accuracy of my CNC lathes. But as far as the Tool Maker/Machinist goes you will be a much higher skill level and more innovative using manual machines just know you will also be less accurate and a lot slower and people are paying for time not parts when it comes down to it.

[@corndog6700]

I don't feel like it, but I guess I've graduated into the FOG. It's been 39 years now, and I still remember sweeping up the shop and deburring parts on my first day. In my opinion, there is still work for a Bridgeport, I don't really want to set up a HAAS or something to cut a keyway, for a lot of one-off work. Or maintenance and repair, a bunch of quick and dirty work. Sure, I'd like a HAAS Super Mini Mill in my garage, along with a Bridgeport, but hell, I've still got a Bandit/Lagun Fred Flintstone mill. At least it's paid off. But maybe a HAAS is in my future, if I can find someone that needs an anchor for a very large boat that can use that Bandit.

[@beckyschwantes5287]

What model mazak do you have ? Get yourself a VCN 5X and your “tilting the head” problem is solved!

[@rupunzel6299]

There was a time in manufacturing when manual machine tools were THE only way. That was a time when many , many, many highly skilled machines were needed to make stuff. Those days are ling gone and will never return. While the basic skills of machine tools remains, introduction of CNC machines have completely altered the way stuff is made world wide. One can tell much about a Nation's industrial ability by the machine tools they produce and what these machine tools are capable of.

[@TheToolandDieGuy]

I was lucky, as I came into the trade when most of the work was still being done manually, and it served me so well when I switched over to CNC in the mid-80's.

[@jd3497]

Another great and very honest video. What about an older CNC'd B'port that still retains it's manual controls?

[@jimsvideos7201]

As an aside I saw a newly released production sized lathe that has what look like manual controls, but they're inputs to an NC controller that also has canned threading cycles etc. So perhaps there is a middle ground for folks who want to turn their own handles for one-of parts, but be able to push start to make some money too.

[@askquestionstrythings]

Interesting, I was debating a Bridgeport or other knee mill for simple prototyping in my home hobbies shop... but now you have me questioning if it's even worth having for those one-offs. (technically secondary prototypes as my 3d printer is always first choice for design prototypes, but second round functional prototypes there is a point when you have to switch back to metal)

[@zordichstach]

even for one offs a cnc will smoke a manual unless it is a silly easy operation, and even then, a cnc is probably faster. i have a 3d for some protoyping but you can do so much with a cnc (mine is just a fixed ram knee with dynapath1000) that the printer is idle alot.

[@davidrule1335]

For me it's a side hustle. Me with my 1943 Tree knee mill and 1943 South bend lathe. we charge $80.oo/hr so I average 10k a year. I love it.

[@paulmace7910]

If all you’ve ever known is CNC are you as well prepared for what comes along as someone who learned manual machining first, then stepped up to CNC? One could make the argument that something like 5-axis CNC is so different from manual machining that there isn’t much to transfer over and in fact the manual mindset may actually be a hinderance. Dunno.

[@musclecarfan74]

I learned to use one in high school, and then learned G code. My uncle worked on a Hurco for 20 yrs.

[@schwellenzaehler4564]

It depends what your trade is, a job shop, truck mechanic..... and you can make money. Production....... if you only have to bore 4 holes in a flange, and its all you do your lifetime long..... perhaps you can make money. If you have more complex parts, countersink, facing, threads.......the only way is cnc, especially when you have more parts. Worked 40 years ago in a shop with only manual mills and lathes, 6 years after i left this shop, not 1 of more than 10 workers was left, 1 cnc lathe and a cnc mill get their job. The shop owner and his dad, are done the complete business. Thats the reality.

[@GeneralChangFromDanang]

A 2-axis CNC Bridgeport can make you a lot of money in the early years of a shop.

[@Enrios]

I run a bridgeport and a conventional lathe only full time in a iob shop. Never CNC.

[@courierdog1941]

My only problem is learning the CAD software is a real Bear.

[@joshschneider9766]

bridgeport for small batch or solo piece work cnc for batch work. Simple truth.

[@TheToolandDieGuy]

Not quite so simple. What if your "solo" piece has 200 holes in it and several pockets? What if your "solo" piece has an 18" radius on one side?

[@charlescartwright6367]

Aloha I didn't want to comment here, but I can find no other way, I ordered your decimal wall chart and paid January 28 this year and haven't heard a thing??? Are you still waiting for the printers?

[@kellygipson8354]

I would love to have a new Haas VF. The shop I currently work in is killing themselves for nothing. One part at a time cutting dove tails for 5-axis prep. Heck one part at a time on the 5- axis too. A couple of fixtures and I could a week's worth of parts in a day.... But I'm the new guy, with no experience, facing guys who have been doing this for 20 years. Not saying they do bad work, just inefficient.

[@GeneralChangFromDanang]

"But this is how we've always done it."

[@KillItandGrillIt]

I inherited a bridge port mill and a 5440 Clausing lathe with a 6 jaw scroll chuck from my father. Do you think it's worth it to convert them to cnc with a kit? I found one that seems worth it compared to the price of a new machine.

[@rossilake218]

Hi, I have a Corp job, don’t need to hustle for jobs. Most everything I do is one off’s or replications.Fusion 360 via a CNC is the way To go with $100,000 machine.Tooling will kill the hobby guy. Most of us are familiar with G-code (TOT) and the computer applications to enable easy machining. I can go to my garage and make Most any part, I get it, it takes time. BP power feeds are (cranking handles is for losers) the answer. When I turn off the garage lights, it’s an asset, not a liability that keeps burning dollars. Most of us are Hobby Machinists. My 2 pennies.

[@craigsbully]

I make money every day with my manual bridgeport, Not everyone can spend $100K for a CNC machine, and I'm not convinced that the ROI on a CNC is better than a manual mill. My shop rate is $187.50/HR I am busy at least 8 hours a day that's $1500.00+/day 6 days a week. I can see if you are doing a boring production type of job (and the monkey hits the button type of soul crushing work) a CNC may be the way to go. I do prototyping, real machine shop work. I am scheduled out 4 months for jobs. so I disagree with your assessment that manual shops make no money.

[@komoru]

An entry level HAAS mill and lathe can be had for approximately $1000 a month with business financing. You don't need a top of the line CNC to get started. There's also Tormach. I think if you had one of these machines (and spent some time getting acquainted with it), you may no longer be Scheduled out 4 months for jobs. You may be caught up or be able to take on more work in the same amount of time.

[@opieshomeshop]

If you're relying on jobs from other people or companies then I can see going CNC. Im not in my shop. So the Bridgeport is going to be A ok!!!!! I don't plan on ever getting into CNC and it has nothing to do with learning code.

[@Freetheworldnow]

Dude you are not answering the question!

[@timnelson-ku5zc]

Dying trade And manufacturing/toolshops complain. Everything has been outsourced to China. Last place I worked had it"s molds made in China!