Bridgeport Series 1 or Ajax AJT1

[Tengtooltom]

Hi everyone. I have been looking at two milling machines - a Bridgeport (it just says "series 1" on the head) and an Ajax AJT 1. The machine is just going to be used for general work in my shed. Which one should I go for?

 

[oilcooled :)]

id go for the bridgeport if its not worn out. belts go in them now and again, series 1 is the best quality, them ones semco produced for bridgeport pure dung. cant comment on other make never heard of it

 

[graffian]

Ajax are pretty common. The Ajax mills were more expensive than the Bridgeports in the 1990 Buck and Hickman catalog. As to which is better I have no idea.
You should go for the one that is in the best condition.

 

[gavuk]

post some pictures or links,may jog memories ,at least mine .i've used both manufacturers but wouldn't remember which models...

 

[Shox Dr]

A good site to read up on is www.lathes.co.uk, it has loads of info on Milling machines, Lathes etc etc etc

 

[stormin]

The Ajax was a bit heavier and more rigid copy of the Bridgeport style mill. As to whether parts are still available (reasonably priced) for these import copies is questionable.
Unless you need the slightly heavier build and rigidity I'd go with the Bridgeport of the two, purely on spares availability.

You may take the view however that if both machines function well now and your use is limited, you're not going to wear either out or require parts.

My preference for this size / style of mill is the Beaver. A friend has recently aquired one at a very good price I'm trying to persuade him to part with. He's due to emigrate to Canada soon so it will be mine at some point I'm sure

It's all usually down to availability as transport cost tend to run close to the price these machines are actually worth, especially if your in a remote area or machine tool desert.

 

[brookie456]

Ajax are pretty common. The Ajax mills were more expensive than the Bridgeports in the 1990 Buck and Hickman catalog. As to which is better I have no idea.
You should go for the one that is in the best condition.

..and the most tooling The little things add up sooner than you think. Ajax are a good machine - until you bung a slot drill through the bed, Dad was really chuffed with the bloke who did it, £32k and less than a week old

 

[awemawson]

...and this chap then worked where next week .... ?

 

[jugs]

If they are in similar condition
Go for the ajax,
approx same size machine but

4cwt heaver than BP- makes it more rigid .
3kW motor - BP only has 1.5/2kW -so less stress
spindle bearings are bigger than BP
Head/ram stronger design than BP

Most ajt1 had R8 taper same as BP, but some had int30

check for wear in head/spindle (expencive & difficalt)
dont worry about wear on leadscrews (cheap & easy)

 

[scott0031]

The first consideration is the type of work you want to do. Both machines have positives and negatives. I don't agree on all the advice you have been given in some cases. Bigger and more weighty is not always the be all and end all, although in many cases i agree it is a major consideration that has many benefits. Its a horses for courses situation per usage.


The bigger heavier Ajax is just that, bigger and heavier construction. Good for blocking out and heavier usage. Not very good for smaller fine work, drilling/ reaming of small holes. Reason is, due to being a heavier machine they are heavier on the slides and an often feel heavy including the quill, which often means a lack of feel. Feel is everything when doing higher tolerance work/ small holes. It does not mean the machine can not do the work, It's just not as nice to work with.


The lighter Bridgeport, same machine construction same universal knuckle style head, but lighter built, still very capable and really in my view more suitable for general work. You get the feel with a Bridgeport you don't often get with heavier machines. Yes it has a smaller HP spindle motor but still more than up to the job within the machines capability. You can still take a 3mm cut or more in steel and more in ally. Tooling does have a lot to do with it. Wrong tooling can give machines bad name. ultimately its comes down the the guy using it and selecting/ buying the right tools for the job and machine.


If i had a lot of blocking out heavier milling and larger holes to do, I would use the Ajax. If i had smaller work to do and smaller accurate holes, I would the Bridgeport. The Bridgeport is more than capable of blocking out and doing heavier work/ larger holes, but it wont be as nice as the more ridged Ajax.

One good point with the Bridgeport is the remaining guys from the uk Bridgeport manufacturing plant still exists, so spares, rebuilds and highly experienced advice is still available. They also do spindle re-builds and are in fact very well priced indeed.

The down side of the Ajax 'could' be spares and also something like a spindle rebuild would have to go to a spindle re-builder and they charge heavily even for a simple spindle the cheapest quote i had was 1500 quid as where the Bridgeport guys did one of mine for £250 including bearing, those alone are 160 quid.


So horses for courses, takes ya money and takes ya choice.

All Bridgeport work so nout wrong with them.


Kind regards,

Scott (Ward engineering)

 

[Tengtooltom]

Bridgeport vs Ajax

Thanks for all the advice,guys. The two machines were in a unit that needed clearing out so:
I now have TWO machines on my trailer and in my shed.
The beds on both need a good clean (surface rust)
The Bridgeport was made in 1992, the Ajax in 1998.
Both have the same make of chuck (I do not know the different types)
I do not know how to add pics on here

 

[brookie456]

Congratulations...doubt you would go amiss with either by the sound of it

 

[scott0031]

If you have not paid a lot for them and they have not been hammered you have probably done very well there. Those are for the ages you state very new machines in terms of manual machines.

Don't worry about the chucks for now, various tooling is needed to use a machine to its best capacity.


Be nice to see some pics.


My kind regards,


Scott (ward engineering)

 

[Tengtooltom]

Here are two pics - I hope!!!

 

[Tengtooltom]

I have found out that these machines are "R8" taper. I have the Knee handles for both machines. I will need to find the "y axis" handle (they all look the same) for the Ajax. I also need the rear part of the hi - lo black plastic box on the head ( the piece screwed to the head), the plastic piece on the front of head to show spindle speed and the lever for lowering the spindle (just the round shaft piece with the black knob on it) for the Bridgeport. Both machines are sitting on my trailer as I have no forks to unload until the weekend, I hope.