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Bridgeport Power Feed Photo by Kay Fisher

This massive and heavy assembly also came with no motor. I didn't care because I never intended to keep it
anyway. Fortunately for me Dave Mahoney (my friend and fellow member of NEMES) wanted the parts
inside the old power feed and was willing to trade me a much-needed belt housing and put new bearings in it.
My old belt housing was usable but had some cosmetic problems.

I had a Harbor Freight power feed that I had installed on my Clausing for years and liked it a lot. It was
difficult to install on the Clausing because the unit was designed to fit a Bridgeport. I knew I would have to
work some magic because the power drive is designed to replace the manual crank and not the large heavy
Bridgeport longitudinal power feed assembly. But I was able to succeed on the Clausing so I figured I could
succeed on the Bridgeport. I sold the Clausing with the drive installed and ordered a new one from Harbor
Freight for $179 - item number 34237-6ACA. This is their lowest powered unit; it has 135 ft. lbs. of torque.

Harbor Freight
3491 Mission Oaks Blvd.
Camarillo, CA 93011 6010
(800) 423 2567
www.harborfreight.com

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Custom Bushing and Bearing Race Photo by Kay Fisher

The custom bushing (the left item in the above photo) was the only part I had to manufacture. The item on the
right was the bearing race that came with the power drive. The bushing inside diameter is for a sliding fit
over the longitudinal feed screw. The large outside diameter was some random scrap diameter. This is only
needed to give a shoulder to the smaller end, which is a sliding fit with the supplied bearing race.

Custom Bushing and Bearing Race on Photo by Kay

Shaft Fisher

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Bushing and Bearing Race Slid Home Photo by Kay Fisher

The length of the bushing was such that the end result of the placement of the new bearing race was in line
with the end of the roller bearing in the power drive as shown in the next two photos.

Power Feed Mounted Photo by Kay Fisher

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Bearing Aligned with Race Photo by Kay Fisher

At this point in time I had a mounted power drive but needed to add two keyways like the original shaft
except closer in.

Feed Screw with Dial Installed Photo by Kay Fisher

In the photo above I mounted the brass bevel gear, dial, and dial lock nut so that I could make a mark on the
shaft with a felt tip pen to determine where I would cut the first keyway.

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First Keyway (On Left Above Yellow Photo by Kay

Label) Fisher

I cut the keyways with a cutting wheel on a Dremel tool. It was crude but it worked. I would have liked to cut
it with my mill but I sold my Clausing and had to get my Bridgeport running before I could do any milling.

Ball Crank Handle Mounted Photo by Kay Fisher

Next I mounted the ball crank handle so that I could again mark the location with a felt tip pen and cut the
next keyway.

Next comes the moment of truth where I finally cut the end of the feed screw off with my hack saw. There is
no turning back now.

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Shortened Feed Screw Photo by Kay Fisher

If I had a lathe large enough to handle the long feed screw, I would have used it to cut the threads. I didn't, so
instead I cut threads the hard way.

Filing Feed Screw Photo by Kay Fisher

I filed the end of the longitudinal feed screw down by hand until the outside diameter was appropriate for
cutting threads for the nut that holds on the ball crank handle. I used a machinist clamp for a file guide. I
would take 10 strokes with a file then rotate the handle 40 thousands on the left dial then take another 10
strokes then rotate... All the while I kept checking the diameter with a micrometer As I approached the
desired diameter I took less strokes and rotated the handle 20 thousands per filing cycle.

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Feed Screw Filed for Threads Photo by Kay Fisher

To thread the end I simply used a manual die and was very careful.

Threading Completed Photo by Kay Fisher

Below is a picture of the completed installation. When you put the nut on the shaft this is the first time you
will actually compress the bevel gear against the gear in the power feed assembly. At this time you will have
to add the supplied washer/shims as appropriate to get a nice freely moving mechanism. Not enough shims
and the handle will take considerable force to turn and the gear will make bad sounds. Too many shims and
the gear will feel really loose with too much backlash. This also adjusts the spacing that you see between
power feed casting and the indicator dial. Note that the black spacer between the brass bevel gear and the
handle is supplied with the power drive kit and is necessary for the handle to clear the power unit below it.

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Handle Installed Photo by Kay Fisher

Limit Switches Installed Photo by Kay Fisher

The installation of the limit switches was simply one of bolting them in place. It was a lot harder on the
Clausing.

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I didn’t take the M-Head completely apart because the previous owner had recently replaced the bearings.

M-Head Before - Right Side Photo by Kay Fisher

M-Head Before - Left Side Photo by Kay Fisher

I drove out the pin to remove the quill feed worm. Then I had to fasten a vice grip pliers to the shaft and hit it
with a hammer. The secret to removing the quill feed pinion is to remove the set screw from the rear of the
head. I sanded the fiber washers to abrade the surface.

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Bare M-Head Before - Right Side Photo by Kay Fisher

The clutch worked but I had to really tighten the clutch knob to engage it without some slipping. I cleaning
this up and lubricated the shaft hoping this would make the clutch work easier. I used with moly grease
(wheel bearing grease from the auto parts store that contains Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2).

Bare M-Head Before - Left Side Photo by Kay Fisher

One tricky thing about removing the head was removing the big aluminum belt housing. I took out the only
bolt that holds it on but it wouldn’t budge. I hammered a big screwdriver into the slot and voila – it slid off
easily.

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M-Head with Bondo - Right Side Photo by Kay Fisher

I did take out the clock spring. It was tricky to get it back into the hole and hook it on the shaft. I suggest you
wear gloves for this task.

M-Head with Bondo - Left Side Photo by Kay Fisher

Next is an explanation of the process of disassembling the M-Head. Part numbers mentioned below are from
the manual available on CD mentioned earlier.

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M-Head in Spotting Putty - Right Side Photo by Kay Fisher

Remove the motor. Remove the belt guard housing (18). Remove the micrometer screw (66) by first
removing the set screw (68) on the bottom right and the brass plug (67) behind it – then screw it out the
bottom. The micrometer nut (60) and micrometer lock nut (62) will come out at this time. You have to spin
them all the way off the top of the micrometer screw as you remove it.

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M-Head in Spotting Putty - Left Side Photo by Kay Fisher

Remove the micrometer stop (56) that is attached to the quill with a large Allen screw. Remove the quill lock
bolt handle (65), then the quill lock bolt (64), then the quill lock sleeve, drilled (63).

M-Head Painted - Right Side Photo by Kay Fisher

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Now you can crank the quill up past the top stop and remove the brass quill skirt (29) – carefully! Mine is not
brass? Now you can crank the quill all the way down and out of the head. Last, remove the quill lock sleeve,
taped (69) from the bottom of the hole.

M-Head Painted - Left Side Photo by Kay Fisher

Reverse the steps for reassembly but before you insert the quill, crank the clock spring 3.5 turns with the long
rack feed handle.

M-Head Reassembled - Right Side Photo by Kay Fisher

I ordered a Quick Adjusting Quill Nut from ENCO for $24.95. Everybody sells them. In the High Quality
Tools catalogue they are called the Educated Nut. It seems very well made and I am happy with my purchase.
I used to crank the “slow” adjusting quill nut on my old Clausing back and forth till I was blue in the face.
This should be a nice change.

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M-Head Reassembled - Left Side Photo by Kay Fisher

M-Head Quick Adjusting Nut Photo by Kay Fisher

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