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Higher End 13x40 Lathe Advice

Jud96

Jud96

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After much consideration and research, I've decided to fix my current Rockwell 11x25 lathe and save up for a couple years and get something nice. I am accustomed to nice manual lathes, I don't want to jump into something that feels cheap or that I'm not happy with and regret. Maybe by then I will have a shop to put the lathe in vs my basement haha. Having said that, I would like a nice 13x40, or similar size, lathe for gunsmithing and tinkering at home with. I have been doing some research and have been looking into Acra, Acer, Kent, Sharp, and the Harrison M300/ Clausing 2500. Has anyone compared these lathes or have experience with some of these? The Acra, Kent, and Sharp all look very, very similar and they're all priced within ~$2500 of each other. The M300 is the highest priced, and the Acer is towards the lower end of price, but still double what most hobbyist lathes cost. From some researching, and talking with an M300 owner and Acra 1340 owner, the lathes listed above seem to be a step above the Precision Matthews Taiwan made lathes, and the price reflects that. We have a Clausing Colchester at Pierce and I love that lathe. I also learned how to run a lathe on a newer Clausing 2500 when in trade school. The M300 is most similar to those, and what I am leaning towards when the time comes, but I am considering the others mentioned. I would rather save for a little longer and get a really nice machine that will make me happy. Any help and input is appreciated. Thanks!
 
If I could have anything I wanted for gunsmithing I would buy the M300. I was able to use one while visiting a well known gunsmith years ago. Many notable gunsmiths use them. Alex Wheeler is one. Pete Pieper out of Texas has two. I'd have one if my current Rockwell wasn't already here and perfectly suitable. It's just not practical for me to spend the $$$ on something I don't use enough to justify the cost of the M300. If a deal came along though I'd be all over it.
 
Jud96 said:
After much consideration and research, I've decided to fix my current Rockwell 11x25 lathe and save up for a couple years and get something nice. I am accustomed to nice manual lathes, I don't want to jump into something that feels cheap or that I'm not happy with and regret. Maybe by then I will have a shop to put the lathe in vs my basement haha. Having said that, I would like a nice 13x40, or similar size, lathe for gunsmithing and tinkering at home with. I have been doing some research and have been looking into Acra, Acer, Kent, Sharp, and the Harrison M300/ Clausing 2500. Has anyone compared these lathes or have experience with some of these? The Acra, Kent, and Sharp all look very, very similar and they're all priced within ~$2500 of each other. The M300 is the highest priced, and the Acer is towards the lower end of price, but still double what most hobbyist lathes cost. From some researching, and talking with an M300 owner and Acra 1340 owner, the lathes listed above seem to be a step above the Precision Matthews Taiwan made lathes, and the price reflects that. We have a Clausing Colchester at Pierce and I love that lathe. I also learned how to run a lathe on a newer Clausing 2500 when in trade school. The M300 is most similar to those, and what I am leaning towards when the time comes, but I am considering the others mentioned. I would rather save for a little longer and get a really nice machine that will make me happy. Any help and input is appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...
I like the M300, but I know a few folks that do top notch work on their Rockwells. Dwight Scott uses an

Emco Maier​

He has done many many barrels for the top shooters in the World.
 
butchlambert said:
I like the M300, but I know a few folks that do top notch work on their Rockwells. Dwight Scott uses an

Emco Maier​

He has done many many barrels for the top shooters in the World.
Click to expand...
Thanks Butch. I think this Rockwell will do good once I get the kinks worked out. I bought it with the impression it was going to be good to go according to the previous owner, well it needs work. Oh well. I’ll see how it does once it’s all done. One day I’d like a brand new lathe that’s nice though
 
I’ve messed with a few new lathes lately
They were 16-20” swing though
My buddy that has an electric motor shop only buys Kingston and wachachean lathes
They are mori seki copies and about the nicest manual machines you can get
Friend bought a new heavy duty victor 14” and it seems pretty nice too
 
Out of curiosity what is the M300 coming in at for price?

I don’t know if it will ever happen but if I could have just a dedicated manual lathe for gun work I think I would get a Takisawa TSL-800. I’m not sure if there is even an American import for them, never looked.
 
tac284 said:
Out of curiosity what is the M300 coming in at for price?

I don’t know if it will ever happen but if I could have just a dedicated manual lathe for gun work I think I would get a Takisawa TSL-800. I’m not sure if there is even an American import for them, never looked.
Click to expand...
MSC has the M300 listed for $20k
 
I have an acer 1440 and it is a great lathe but it does need some work to make it really good. The way they bolt the compound to the crosslide is the most major one. Our 30 degree set ups put one of the two bolts right into the hole where you drop in the t nuts, I drilled 4 separate holes in mine to get it bolted down solid. I can’t measure any runout in the spindle. The gap bed is also unnecessary in our trade and I also would like a lathe without that.
 
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