Experienced lathe operators please help me.

[sdean]

If looking at new the Eisen 14x40 is the one I've been thinking about.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

if I was going to stray away from a used south bend I cant imagine buying something other than one of the gunsmithing lathes from grizzly for chambering barrels.

 

[Intheshop]

You might ask around your area about folks who have lathes. Try your local community college..... pro welding supplier.... or possibly a gun store.

I'd also look for any used machine dealers in your town or city,and even travel to nearest.

You need to go look at them,ideally finding someone to help you understand the differences.... and look at as many models as possible. Generally, the 12-15 inch sizes are in the most demand cause guys can move them into their shops without a crane service(only partly tongue in cheek). Find a bud with a rollback car carrier and with patience, they can dang near put one about anywhere in a typical garage.

Be EXTREMELY careful using forklifts. Most guys just are in too big a hurry. One of the last lathes through here for major repairs was a 14" Clausing that slipped off some forks and did the usual "faceplant". That was a 2k$ + lathe that I got for 400$. Lathes like mills have factory approved rigging methods, best to find out what they are. This is one more reason to go look at some,and talk to guys.

If buying new,gonna be hard to beat the Grizzly "gunsmith" models..... IF,you have the cake($) and don't want to do any legwork or research. They also are the "fast lane" if you are in a "no machine zone",geographically speaking.

 

[carlsbad]

if I was going to stray away from a used south bend I cant imagine buying something other than one of the gunsmithing lathes from grizzly for chambering barrels.

Grizzly's Taiwanese line is badged Southbend. I am using one and it is good but not spectacular. It is a huge step up from the Chinese line.

 

[ebb]

My friend that is a machinist lets me use his lathe every now and then. He sets the work up and tells me what to do to get close and helps me finish. I know nothing about lathes but I really like his lathe, it's a Monarch. I don't know it its a good lathe or not but I love it. I have a 14x40 Millport lathe that I am learning on.

 

[BR7.62]

I just went through a similar situation.
Kind of outgrew my Logan 200.
Picked up a pm1340 Gt a couple months ago I am loving it.
Sometimes I wish I had some classes or something but you could buy books and put them into practice on your own lathe or like mentioned you tube is great.
Grizzly sells videos by gordy gritters, I think are worth the money.
I would have like to have found a older u.s. made lathe but after looking a couple years fairly seriously everything I came across I passed on for one reason or another.
I'm in the north east which is a decent location to look for used equipment even.
There are parts of the country that are deserts as far as that goes.
Grizzly makes decent stuff I looked at the pm made in Taiwan as a step above the Chinese made.
Maybe not as nice as the ones grizzly is branding south bend idk...
Make sure and budget for tooling though!
You can easy spend as much as you did for lathe lol

 

[ridgeway]

Please make sure you remember to take that chuck key out! How many times have you thrown it across your shop?

 

[savagedasher]

I just went through a similar situation.
Kind of outgrew my Logan 200.
Picked up a pm1340 Gt a couple months ago I am loving it.
Sometimes I wish I had some classes or something but you could buy books and put them into practice on your own lathe or like mentioned you tube is great.
Grizzly sells videos by gordy gritters, I think are worth the money.
I would have like to have found a older u.s. made lathe but after looking a couple years fairly seriously everything I came across I passed on for one reason or another.
I'm in the north east which is a decent location to look for used equipment even.
There are parts of the country that are deserts as far as that goes.
Grizzly makes decent stuff I looked at the pm made in Taiwan as a step above the Chinese made.
Maybe not as nice as the ones grizzly is branding south bend idk...
Make sure and View attachment 1081358 budget for tooling though!
You can easy spend as much as you did for lathe lol

Tooling is what it’s all about
A good lathe will only give great results with good tooling
A great lathe will give bad results with bad tooling

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Please make sure you remember to take that chuck key out! How many times have you thrown it across your shop?

Newer operators need to use the spring loaded chuck keys for their own protection. People that have been around and got trained in machine shops know to never take their hand off of the chuck key unless its laying on a table

 

[Ledd Slinger]

If you’re looking at new, I would look at Precision Matthews over Grizzly.

I received this same advice when I was looking to buy a new milling machine. I went with the Precision Mathews and couldnt be happier. The Mathews machines cost a little more, but you get much better build quality than the Chinese made Grizzly. Better warranty too.

 

[ridgeway]

Newer operators need to use the spring loaded chuck keys for their own protection. People that have been around and got trained in machine shops know to never take their hand off of the chuck key unless its laying on a table

I know another way to make it sink in. Attach a chain and wear it around the shop for a few days, lol

 

[butchlambert]

I've asked this before on the forum. What is critical to a great chambering job that is important in your lathe?
I'm not talking about turning a piece of stock and wanting it to be, even, .001 in 12"
I want you to think about what is necessary to do a "BR" quality chamber.
Sorry I'm off the internet until in the morning. i need to watch OU beat Alabama. If you love Alabama I still love you.

 

[338 Mollett]

If looking at new the Eisen 14x40 is the one I've been thinking about.

I've been using one for a few years now and the spindle bore stills shows less than .0001 runout.I highly recommend one.

 

[Cloudrepair]

I've asked this before on the forum. What is critical to a great chambering job that is important in your lathe?
I'm not talking about turning a piece of stock and wanting it to be, even, .001 in 12"
I want you to think about what is necessary to do a "BR" quality chamber.
Sorry I'm off the internet until in the morning. i need to watch OU beat Alabama. If you love Alabama I still love you.

A spindle with better than .0002 runout and an operator that can dial a barrel in within that .0002 without stress?
Then you still have to chamber it true to that 2 tenths?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

A spindle with better than .0002 runout and an operator that can dial a barrel in within that .0002 without stress?
Tgen you still have to chamber it true to that 2 tenths?

What happens when you dial a barrel in to absolute zero then use a floating reamer holder or pusher? Lets just say you have a pipe with a hole in it and you indicate it in to .001 runout then bore it. Everybody says go check your work- if you have a decent lathe would that hole now measure 0 runout on the section you bored? What if you pushed a floating reamer in there and took off a few thou- would your indicator read .001 runout or zero?

 

[Cloudrepair]

What happens when you dial a barrel in to absolute zero then use a floating reamer holder or pusher? Lets just say you have a pipe with a hole in it and you indicate it in to .001 runout then bore it. Everybody says go check your work- if you have a decent lathe would that hole now measure 0 runout on the section you bored? What if you pushed a floating reamer in there and took off a few thou- would your indicator read .001 runout or zero?

If i indicate a pipe to .001 and bore it it will be true to the axis of the lathe but still have the runout of the lathe when measured in the section that was bored and ecentric to the section indicated for the bore whatever it indicated to.
If you dial in a bore to .000 and push a reamer in there with a good floating reamer holder you have a good chance of getting at least .0001 runout in the chamber because there are other factors affecting it.
The bore of a barrel isn't strait so it is pretty hard to get a long enough section of the barrel dialed in that well.
Then the bore will influence the reamer pilot.
Then you also have to take into account the method used for chambering. Dusty i think that was a trick question

 

[Cloudrepair]

Now if you dial a pipe in to .001 and bore a section it will be true to the lathe then you run a reamer in to that hole and take a few more thousanths with the reamer it will be true to the lathe also if not influenced by the pilot. But it will still be out of concentricity with the section dialed in watever it dialed in to.

 

[338 Mollett]

Also the reamer bushings rotate so there must be slop for that to happen which transfers to the end product.And how much does this really influence accuracy.I've done barrels that were the most technically correct I know how to produce that would not shoot worth a flip !Then I've re barreled rifles that have beaten my butt by big named smiths where the craftsmanship was terrible. How do tell a guy with a 30yd slice that shoots even par every time his golf swing sucks ?

 

[Someoldguy]

You can learn a heck of a lot on a used South Bend or similar lathe for under $2K in machine and tooling. Stupid mistakes like leaving the chuck key in or not dialing the tail stock in result in the same failures no matter the cost of the lathe.

Now, if you are just interested in braggin' rights, I can't help you. I'm too poor to play such games.

 

[tmwinds]

I've asked this before on the forum. What is critical to a great chambering job that is important in your lathe?
I'm not talking about turning a piece of stock and wanting it to be, even, .001 in 12"
I want you to think about what is necessary to do a "BR" quality chamber.
Sorry I'm off the internet until in the morning. i need to watch OU beat Alabama. If you love Alabama I still love you.

You could have gotten back on the internet after the first quarter.