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M-Head Installed Photo by Kay Fisher

Quill Worm Feed Hand Wheel - Before Photo by Kay Fisher

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The old quill worm-feed hand wheel was painted black and had a dark red patina. I removed the paint and
patina with a wire brush and polished it.

Quill Worm Feed Hand Wheel - After Photo by Kay Fisher

The belt housing was the most rewarding part to refinish. I started on it before anything else on the mill and
finished it almost last.

Belt Housing Before Photo by Kay Fisher

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My first problem was that one of the two motor housing ring studs had been broken out of the housing and a
larger stud had been threaded in. It was a mess.

Belt Housing Polished Photo by Kay Fisher

When I gave my Bridgeport mechanical longitudinal power feed to friend and fellow NEMES member Dave
Mahoney, he returned the favor by giving me his undamaged Bridgeport belt housing. Dave also put two new
bearings in the unit.

Belt Housing Polished - Oblique View Photo by Kay Fisher

At this stage I wanted to retain the serial number plates so we swapped them back. Switching those darn
plates was really tiresome. They were slightly different sizes, so I had to drill 8 new holes and tap them to
mount the ID plates.

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Belt Guard Installed Photo by Kay Fisher

I had never done any large polishing before so that was quite a learning experience. I am quite happy with the
way it looks.

The belt on my old M-Head was badly worn and about to fall apart. However is was in just good enough
shape to make out a number on it that the local AutoZone store could look up in their chart. It is a 3L 3/8-inch
belt 29 inches long. The replacement Kelly Springfield Utility Belt number is 84290.

I enjoyed refinishing the parts that had raised brands and logos on them. The door looked pretty bad but with
a few hours labor I was able to make it quite nice.

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Door Before Photo by Kay Fisher

Door After Gray Paint Photo by Kay Fisher

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Door After Photo by Kay Fisher

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Door Installed Photo by Kay Fisher

The shelf was a pleasant surprise. It was painted gray and had swarf embedded in it. I decided to remove
everything with a nice big belt sander.

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Shelf Before & After Sanding Photo by Kay Fisher

Then a couple of coats of urethane and it started to look pretty good.

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Shelf Done Photo by Kay Fisher

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Shelf Installed Photo by Kay Fisher

The motor worked, but the mounting slot on the right side of the motor flange was torn apart. Since I planned
to power this with a VFD and not change belt position often it was not necessary to repair it, other than the
fact that it didn’t look nice.

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Motor Before Photo by Kay Fisher

The Cutler Hammer forward reverse switch on the side of the motor would become a housing for the controls
for a VFD. The guts of the switch were thrown away.

Motor Mount Damage Photo by Kay Fisher

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Forward/Reverse Switch Photo by Kay Fisher

Motor After Cleanup Photo by Kay Fisher

Most motors have a wiring chart on their label. This is what it said on mine:

Low Voltage (208-240)

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Motor Primed & Spotted Photo by Kay Fisher

Motor Parts Primed & Spotted Photo by Kay Fisher

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Motor Painted Photo by Kay Fisher

Motor Parts Painted Photo by Kay Fisher

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Motor Installed Photo by Kay Fisher

With the motor installed, it was time to make it run without installing three-phase power to the shop. I asked
around and snooped on the web for the cheapest variable-frequency drive (VFD) that I could find. This was
disappointing research because the cheapest drives were from offshore eBay dealers. Prices were much
higher from USA dealers. To complicate matters there were a lot of tales of radio frequency interference and
many folks advised using a special filter so that your neighbors don’t loose their television or radio
broadcasts.

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VFD Showing 24 Hertz Photo by Kay Fisher

After much Internet searching and frustration I finally ordered a VFD from Clapool Controls in Livermore
CA (925) 294 5915.

VFD in Junction Box Photo by Kay Fisher

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Ron Kemp, of Clapool Controls seemed very knowledgeable about VFDs and sympathetic to my cause.

The unit I picked out was a Genesis KBE2-2101-PF. This unit is made by

KB Electronics, Inc.
12095 NW 39th Street
Coral Springs, FL 33065-2516
(954) 346 4900
www.kbelectronics.com

This small unit includes an RFI filter and costs $188 plus shipping. I also tried Electric Motor Service in
Fremont CA (510) 651-2706. They returned my call 2 weeks later with a message from Lee that the same
unit was $177.02. That’s a better price but it was too late.

VFD Control Box Photo by Kay Fisher

Almost all VFDs allow for external controls. I mounted two toggle switches and a potentiometer inside the
old Cutler Hammer forward/reverse switch housing. To insure that the vent holes of the VFD did not ingest
some swarf I mounted the control unit in a standard electrical junction box. I replaced the junction box metal
front panel with Plexiglas. Not only does this protect the VFD but it also makes it silent. Before I put it in the
junction box you could hear the little cooling fan inside the VFD. It is comforting that the motor, belt, and
bearings of the mill are so quiet that the VFD fan could be heard.

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Junction Box Photo by Kay Fisher

The junction box must be large enough that the VFD can circulate air and not overheat!

Junction Box with Plexiglas Photo by Kay Fisher

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I used rub on dry transfer labels for the front of the control unit. You can set the high and low frequency
limits as well as things like the maximum current before overload protection on this VFD. This unit is rated
for 1-horsepower but since I have a ½-horse motor, I adjusted the overload protection lower. You can also
program the acceleration and deceleration time of the motor. I set mine to a minimum of 16 Hz and a
maximum of 80Hz – which means I can run the old motor 33% faster than rated speed.

VFD Controls Photo by Kay Fisher

To remove collets, Ken Malsky, the mill’s previous owner, told me that you have to back off the drawbar nut
then whack them out with a hammer. Sure enough, they sell special drawbar wrenches which in addition to a
¾” wrench also have a brass hammer. Yet, it seemed to me that the drawbar should eject the collet without a
hammer.

When I tried to remove my first collet, I could not simply eject it with the drawbar as I had hoped. I had to
whack it out with a hammer. I removed the drawbar assembly and took it apart. It was made to self eject. I
tried several other collets with this draw bar. Some the drawbar could not even reach. Others it would just
barely grab.

This drawbar measured slightly shorter than the published length in the “High Quality Tools” catalogue. High
Quality Tools lists 3 different drawbars for M-head Bridgeports. Only two had 3/8 x 16 thread but one of
those was one inch longer than the other. So my assumption is you get a different drawbar with your M-head
depending on if it has #2 Morse taper, #7 Brown & Sharp taper, or B-3 taper. Perhaps this M-head drawbar
was replaced with the wrong one. Perhaps at one time it was something other than a #2 Morse taper and the
spindle was replaced.

I called Rice Machinery and got a quote on a replacement drawbar - $78.65. Wow – having a lathe and
working mill I ought to be able to repair or remanufacture a drawbar. So I tried to figure out how I was going
to stretch it.

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Drawbar Parts Photo by Kay Fisher

The 3/8 x 16 threaded end of this drawbar is brazed into a bored out end of the drawbar. I heated it to glowing
cherry read with a MAPP gas torch and was able to force the threaded stud out with a few washers and a nut.

Drawbar Threaded Stud Photo by Kay Fisher

I cut the head off a bolt that was one inch longer than the old threaded stud and turned the end to the same
diameter. Then I heated the end of the drawbar and new stud to cherry red and hammered it back together.
Now when you back off the drawbar knob it ejects the collet with little effort.

After two and a half years and one move across the country it is finally done.

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Completed - Left Side Photo by Kay Fisher

Done is relative of course. Someday soon I hope to add a digital indicator to the quill and perhaps a power
drive for the Z-axis.

Completed Top View Photo by Kay Fisher

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Done At Last Photo by Kay Fisher

The photo above is me with my Bridgeport hat, my Bridgeport shirt, my Bridgeport belt buckle, and my
newly finished 1947 Bridgeport. My Bridgeport coffee mug did not survive through the rebuild!

Completed - Right Side Photo by Kay Fisher

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Completed - Front View Photo by Kay Fisher

My email address is KayPatFisher@gmail.com.

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