When you speak of a Bridgeport clone with Vari-Speed are you referring to a machine like in the photo I showed in post 1 of this thread? Would that be the type that the Bridgeport (and clone) parts would fit?
I guess that the word "Clone" means different things to different people. And I am by no means an expert at mill construction and parts interchangeability - I'm not sure that anyone is. Even the people who sell parts routinely screw that up.
I looked at your first photo again more closely. It would seem to replicate the function of a Bridgeport VariSpeed Knee Mill, and therefore it is a Clone in that sense of the word. However, in this mill's case, I doubt that very many of the parts are actually interchangeable, and therefore it is not a true Clone in that sense of the word.
Here is a photo of a Genuine Bridgeport VariSpeed, and below that is a copy of your photo (for ease of comparison).
If you look closely, you can see that the housings have significant differences and many of the controls are in different locations. In my opinion, they are clones in the sense that anyone using them would be totally familiar with their operation and could use them seamlessly. But speaking as someone who has taken two of them apart, (but not dozens) I doubt that many of the parts of these two mills are interchangeable.
When you speak of being worried about the table, is that more the ways/sliding surfaces ot the lead screws/nuts?
Actually, both.
Almost everything in the head and even the head itself can be replaced or swapped out. But the table and knee can not.
All three pairs of ways wear and/or can be abused to the point of not being able to repair them.
The leadscrews and split nuts can be replaced but are expensive.
Another thing that can be worn out is the gibbs. Again, they can be replaced but are expensive.
Even a badly abused table surface can usually be cleaned up and repaired to some extent. In other words, table damage/wear is mostly cosmetic.
In summary, if I were looking for a BP or a Clone, my main concerns would be the condition of the ways, the leade screws and split nuts, and the Gibbs.
There are some expensive parts in the head too, but it's much harder to tell what is really wrong with the head until you get it apart. Everyone who buys a used knee mill takes that risk. It's always nice if you can run the machine before you buy. But even if not, you can usually put the machine in neutral and spin the spindle by hand to see if everything turns smoothly, and you can usually tell if it's totally pooched.
I'd say that bearings and the belts are the main wear items in the head, but they are just work to replace and are not outrageously expensive.
Last, but not least is the motor. You need to be aware of your power needs and compatibility. Motors come in both single and 3 phase as well as many different voltages. There are ways to accommodate almost anything but that process can add up too.
