Gunsmith Lathe with DRO

[X Count]

I have the chance to work on one of these daily:

TM1960G Centre Lathe - Machineryhouse

Become a Machineryhouse Mate! New Zealand's leading supplier of Engineering, Metal & Wood working machinery. Buy online or in-store.

www.machineryhouse.co.nz

take a look at their range and you might recognise some of the lathe they sell.

the brand dashin is an exact copy of the old Colchester lathe from the UK, probably some of the best machines ever made.

I have a Colchester master 2500 and like it a lot. Very rigid but still small enough to do barrels through the spindle. Finding one in good condition is the hard part.

From what I've seen the dashin is a copy of the Colchester triumph which was their 16" swing and will be bigger in the head. Again nice but that size is too big to fit barrels through the spindle.

 

[Larry Koch]

A Hitachi 2.2kw VFD is less than 400 bucks but it’s a real project to re-wire most of the lathe, tune the motor, replace contactors, order a bunch of parts… it’s not plug and play.

If you purchased a 3 phase lathe there is no re-wiring necessary. It’s all done at VFD. Single phase in 3 phase out.

 

[LVLAaron]

If you purchased a 3 phase lathe there is no re-wiring necessary. It’s all done at VFD. Single phase in 3 phase out.

Must be a different kind of VFD than I have. The type I am familiar with are motor controllers. They don't provide constant/steady 3 phase output. All of the lathe switches, safety interlocks, fwd/rev controls all need to be wired to the VFD, and the VFD programmed and tuned for your motor.

 

[urbanrifleman]

He says he cant get a PM lathe

I can next summer.

 

[Larry Koch]

Can a VFD Convert Single-Phase Power to Three-Phase?https://vfds.com › Home › All posts

 

[Larry Koch]

Must be a different kind of VFD than I have. The type I am familiar with are motor controllers. They don't provide constant/steady 3 phase output. All of the lathe switches, safety interlocks, fwd/rev controls all need to be wired to the VFD, and the VFD programmed and tuned for your motor.

I can next summer.

Talk to Mike at PM he can help you with your decide. If he can't help he will get you to Matt, I think you can order one with no down payment if its on backorder. And if you find something better you can cancel with no loss of deposit.

 

[itchyTF]

A Hitachi 2.2kw VFD is less than 400 bucks but it’s a real project to re-wire most of the lathe, tune the motor, replace contactors, order a bunch of parts… it’s not plug and play.

I agree it’s not plug & play but I didn’t find it that difficult. I added a pot on the lathe between the coolant switch and jog button. I chose it to range from 30Hz to 80Hz.

My messy schematic

The forward/reverse switches are lower left.
The messy control box. I believe I took out everything except the transformer and added terminal blocks, a relay and a diode.

 

[INTJ]

A Hitachi 2.2kw VFD is less than 400 bucks but it’s a real project to re-wire most of the lathe, tune the motor, replace contactors, order a bunch of parts… it’s not plug and play.

That's why the best bet is to buy an upgraded control board from Mark Jacobs. He has this well sorted out and walks you through everything.

 

[INTJ]

The control board is complete, and the enclosure is simpler than it looks.

 

[Larry Koch]

Can't get any easier than that, plus it runs smooth as a babies bottom.

 

[Sniperhandle]

I was thinking about upgrading my main chambering lathe this year. I have a 14-in grizzly with dro gunsmithing late now (the biggest one they make). It is quite good, but I'm interested in upgrading to something that is even more precise and easier to use. Something that's more beefy and stiffer.

Honestly, I started my company and I have no idea what lathes I should actually have. I am no expert on these lathes by any stretch of the imagination. I probably do a lot more barrels than a lot of people and I need something that's a little bit more of a production level machine. Especially when it comes to the capability of the DRO in relation to the tool tolerance.

Only going to be doing chambering and threading with this lathe. I have my big Logan for contouring.

After going back to the first post, I don't really think you are going to be gaining much from the lathes you have been looking at as to what you already have, Unless you are looking at CNC, Which you already said you don't need.

 

[LVLAaron]

The control board is complete, and the enclosure is simpler than it looks.

I followed Marks write ups and did the same thing to my 1440. I have all the bells and whistles minus the prox sensor. I wouldn't want to build it again but if I had to I could do it in 1/10th the time.

 

[urbanrifleman]

After going back to the first post, I don't really think you are going to be gaining much from the lathes you have been looking at as to what you already have, Unless you are looking at CNC, Which you already said you don't need.

Why is that?

 

[butchlambert]

Must be a different kind of VFD than I have. The type I am familiar with are motor controllers. They don't provide constant/steady 3 phase output. All of the lathe switches, safety interlocks, fwd/rev controls all need to be wired to the VFD, and the VFD programmed and tuned for your motor.

You must have a real odd ball lathe. Didn't need that kind if mess on my 2 Bridgeports either.

 

[butchlambert]

I think what he is referring to is the fact that with a variable frequency drive you can slow the machine down to a crawl and thread right up to a shoulder easily.

He is threading away from the headstock. Doing it the way he is threading makes a vee groove relief if you call it that and threads to the right.

 

[Sniperhandle]

Why is that?

The stuff you are looking at isn't going to do anything better than what you are using now, The Grizzly is probably very close in accuracy to the PM you have been looking at, Most of these lathes are made in the same place and are just Re-Badged, Precision Matthews doesn't make anything. The Standard modern May be a step up, But you are getting good results now from what you are using, Why would you spend that kind of money to get something close to the same unless it was going to increase your production?

I have 2 lathes I use, I have this one here https://www.penntoolco.com/kent-manual-variable-speed-precision-13-x-40-lathe-trl-1340v/

and an older Taiwan lathe

The only thing USA about my Kent Usa lathe is the name tag, It is a great machine though.

 

[butchlambert]

The stuff you are looking at isn't going to do anything better than what you are using now, The Grizzly is probably very close in accuracy to the PM you have been looking at, Most of these lathes are made in the same place and are just Re-Badged, Precision Matthews doesn't make anything. The Standard modern May be a step up, But you are getting good results now from what you are using, Why would you spend that kind of money to get something close to the same unless it was going to increase your production?

Well, sometimes it is nice to tell folks that you don't drive the Fiat anymore and have stepped up??? to aVW.

 

[INTJ]

Well, sometimes it is nice to tell folks that you don't drive the Fiat anymore and have stepped up??? to aVW.

LOL!! A Taiwan built Precision Matthews is indeed a step up from a Chinese built Grizzly. That said, if I had a Grizzly and was getting good results and needed something more, I think a Haas would be the next significant step.

As to VFDs and three phase, it's not hard to setup if you have some guidance and works well to run three phase motors off on single phase 220.

 

[butchlambert]

LOL!! A Taiwan built Precision Matthews is indeed a step up from a Chinese built Grizzly. That said, if I had a Grizzly and was getting good results and needed something more, I think a Haas would be the next significant step.

As to VFDs and three phase, it's not hard to setup if you have some guidance and works well to run three phase motors off on single phase 220.

Yes, my Clausing was built in the old USA as was my Monarch 10EE. For some reason my Monarch ran off of 220 single phase, but the coolant pump was 3 phase. I'm not the biggest fan of my 0709 Grizzly, but it fills a hole that I felt that I had in my shop.
At 80yrs old I might not buy another, but if I were 10yrs younger I would buy a Haas like Mr. Tooley has and would entice him out west to teach me where the on off button happened to be.

 

[DaveTooley]

Well, sometimes it is nice to tell folks that you don't drive the Fiat anymore and have stepped up??? to aVW.

I stepped up over the weekend. Must have lost my mind but did have much to loose. 335i with a Dinan stage 3 package.