[Chris P.]

Yes, Bridgeports are beautiful machines. I have a Grizzly belt drive mill/drill and it gets the job done, but it DOES have some drawbacks. The Bridgeport is what you call a "knee" mill because the table moves up and down. Mill/drills are not knee mills - the head moves up and down instead. The Enco / Grizzly / similar mill/drills are made in such a way that when you loosen the head to move it up or down, it also can pivot side to side (which WILL happen), so you have to plan ahead for each chucking operation so you have room to change tools. Otherwise you'll have to move the head up and lose your zero. Also, the lead screws wear pretty fast. Also, don't count on the angle of the head to the table being as close to 90deg as a Bridgeport. (you'll notice this when you face a surface)

If you just need a mill to make parts now and then and don't mind taking a little extra care to get .001" accuracy (which is VERY possible with these machines), then I think it is a good bargain. If you don't mind stretching a little more over $1000 for a used Bridgeport, I would say do that instead - they run smoother, quieter, more accurately, and more consistently. I have used both, and there IS a difference. Put it this way, I am going to be building my own car and I plan on doing it with my Grizzly mill/drill. I would rather be doing it on a Bridgeport, but that ain't gonna happen...