Hardinge files for Chapter 11

[Brian]

this happened in the summer on 1980.
I thought he was nuts to do that to a brand new mill

Yeah, I bet that was kinda fun to watch!

[gcode]

Haven't thought about that control in a long time.  spent 6 months programming one by hand.  Those little red light were burned into my memory.

we finally had to get rid of that machine cause it was eating us alive.
they quit making the control and it had a board that popped a lot.
The control plugged into a 110v wall socket and I had the really good surge protector/UPS
but it didn't do any good.
If you lost power, the board popped every time you started the control.
You could only buy refurb boards @ $1000 each.
After popping the board twice in the same week we gave up, stripped off the control and
sold it as a manual machine

[gcode]

Yeah, I bet that was kinda fun to watch!

I didn't see it,
He drove to LA and got rid of the machine
I stayed behind slaving away in his sweat shop.

I was shattered... at the time I had the machining fever and I wanted that mill bad,
Had you given me the choice of that machine or a Corvette and a hot blonde.. I'd have taken the machine.
I always hoped he was talking shit and didn't really shove it off the back of his flatbed, but I never knew for sure.

[Brian]

I was shattered... at the time I had the machining fever and I wanted that mill bad,
Had you given me the choice of that machine or a Corvette and a hot blonde.. I'd have taken the machine.

Ha! I remember feeling that way, too! I still like it for the most part-it's just all of the other nonsense that comes with it that's sort of a drag. And the Corvette and the hot blonde are both depreciating assets, so to speak, so we might all be luckier than we realize to have "missed out" on those as well. (Ever go to any HS reunions? Am I right?)

[gcode]

And the Corvette and the hot blonde are both depreciating assets, so to speak,

and the more they depreciate, the more they cost to maintain.

Ever go to any HS reunions?

No I went to 5 different high schools in 3 years so there was never any desire to go to a high school reunion

[Bucky Cornstarch]

I didn't see it,
He drove to LA and got rid of the machine
I stayed behind slaving away in his sweat shop.

I was shattered... at the time I had the machining fever and I wanted that mill bad,
Had you given me the choice of that machine or a Corvette and a hot blonde.. I'd have taken the machine.
I always hoped he was talking shit and didn't really shove it off the back of his flatbed, but I never knew for sure.

Bridgeport would have had more horsepower than a 1980 Corvette so yeah, that makes sense.

[gcode]

Bridgeport would have had more horsepower than a 1980 Corvette so yeah, that makes sense.

Yes... they made some pretty worthless cars back then.

[Jeff]

Yes... they made some pretty worthless cars back then.

None as worthless as the 1983 vette. 

[Bucky Cornstarch]

None as worthless as the 1983 vette. 

My uncle had a red '83 in 1985 when I was 16. I remember driving it and thinking, "this isn't much faster than my '71 Datsun 510." It certainly handled worse.

Pops had a '65 roadster with a 365hp 327, 4-speed manual. That thing was fast and fun. Still handled like shit though. We toyed with the idea of putting some real suspension on it and taking it road racing, but gave up the idea when we realized the M3s we were tracking at the time would still handle better. 

[gcode]

Pops had a '65 roadster with a 365hp 327, 4-speed manual. That thing was fast and fun. Still handled like shit though.

Looking back, those cars were death traps.
Jump on the gas with a big engine and you were going sideways in the blink of an eye.
I always ran with a couple of sandbags in the trunk of my '70 Mustang to put a little weight on the back wheels.
Somedays I think back of stuff I used to do and I'm amazed I actually survived it all.
I sure had a lot of fun though !!

[Jeff]

My uncle had a red '83 in 1985 when I was 16. I remember driving it and thinking, "this isn't much faster than my '71 Datsun 510." It certainly handled worse.

Pops had a '65 roadster with a 365hp 327, 4-speed manual. That thing was fast and fun. Still handled like shit though. We toyed with the idea of putting some real suspension on it and taking it road racing, but gave up the idea when we realized the M3s we were tracking at the time would still handle better. 

Wasn't 1983 the only year they didn't make any? Only 300 made and never sold to the public I thought.

[Bucky Cornstarch]

Wasn't 1983 the only year they didn't make any? Only 300 made and never sold to the public I thought.

Could be, considering the '84 was a total redesign. I remember it was early '80s, plastic bumper, auto trans, and sloooow.

[Leehound]

I'll take either one.

[gcode]

I'll take either one.

I am too immature to own either one of those cars
I'd either lose my driver's license or my life... or both.
I've also come to realize I no longer have the reflexes to drive a powerful car fast.
Nowdays, I just putt down the road like an old man 

[Newbeeee™]

I must read this....
https://www.lathes.co.uk/bridgeport/page10.html

So....in reading this....

Also in the early 1980s, Bridgeport filed a claim with the United States International Trade Commission charging more than twenty Korean, Taiwanese, and U.S. machine tool builders with trademark and copyright infringements. Bridgeport pursued the case for over two years but in 1983 the International Trade Commission unanimously rejected Bridgeport's plea, although it did note that it found blatant copying of the company's promotional materials.