Lathe size

[johnfred1965]

I have neither the space nor the cash for a fullsize gunsmith lathe. If I am not going to work on barrels, how big a lathe would I need for blueprinting actions and such?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Any lathe will do that besides a mini. Mass is your friend here.

 

[johnfred1965]

Any lathe will do that besides a mini. Mass is your friend here.

I was thinking that would reduce vibration. I have a brother and brother in law that are machinists, but they don't recommend anything less than a ton!

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I was thinking that would reduce vibration. I have a brother and brother in law that are machinists, but they don't recommend anything less than a ton!

To a machinist heavy is good. A 16x80 is just about right to face off a screw but not much more

 

[boltfluter]

I have a 13 x 40 that is just about perfect to my way of thinking.

Paul

 

[Cloudrepair]

A Taiwan 12x36 is as small as I would want to go.
I can't imagine doing actions and not doing barrels.
It took some time but I found a Taiwan 12x36 in good shape for 2,500 (needed some small repair). I think you may still be able to find one.
I can move mine around with a cherry picker engine hoist and lifting straps.
I almost tried to go smaller but I'm glad I didnt.
I'm sure there are some guys around here that have and made it work maybe they will help.
Good luck
I don't know how I got along without one now.

 

[msinc]

One thing not mentioned so far is the headstock bore. So-called "gunsmith" lathes typically have one that is a little larger. I have a 12X36 with an 1 5/8" bore. The point being that you can do some work on longer things like barrels if you have a big enough bore. No, you cannot taper or finish the outside of a barrel if you cant get it between centers , but you can do just about everything else. I get the space restrictions and I get spending the extra money, but the second you get this thing set up you will regret having a lathe you cant do barrels on. Reminds me of that sinking feeling you get when you realize those two Mexican hookers are just not gonna........

 

[Johnny_V]

It's kind of like when you think the shed or garage you're building is big enough, only to find out after it's done there is less room than you need. I vote for as large as you can go. When I bought mine I thought "what am I going to do with this monster ", but find myself needing something larger every once in a while.

 

[rgc54]

Look for a small standard modern 11 x 20, 13 x 20. Or 13x33 nice machines. I have the 13 x 40. Lots heaver. In the end you will want a larger machine tho

 

[Grimstod]

So its preferred to get something as heavy and precise as you can. Taiwan lathes are very good. This one is as small as I would want to go. You can get cast iron cabinets for it too that really help.
http://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-1340gt/

If your on a really tight budget though there is this one. It has a 1.5in spindle bore that will let you do everything as far as chambering a barrel.
http://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-1127vf-lb/

 

[akajun]

Look for a used southbend heavy 10 with 24” centers
That’s about a small as I would go and you could still chamber through the headstock just don’t plan on doing any barrel profiling over 22” or so without multiple setups.
As stated before you need a spindle bore at least 1 3/8” and weight and mass is your friend

 

[Bamban]

I have the 1024 version dedicated for chambering AR 15 barrels. The spindle bore is only 1.0625, but I get the blanks close to 1 inch, so no big issue. My baby Jet is fully decked out, VFD, proximity sensor, no DRO, just dial indicators. It will have a TravAdial soon.



Here is a good example of what you need to look for.
https://cnj.craigslist.org/tls/d/jet-belt-drive-lathe-model/6629917346.html

 

[paperpuncher]

OP I have a 10x24 jet i would like to sell pm if that is something you are interested in

 

[Shrek]

https://clarksville.craigslist.org/tls/d/south-bend-lathe/6635464499.html

Don’t really know how far this is but it would certainly be worth a look. I’m not positive it’s a Heavy 10 but it sure looks like it.

 

[X Ring Accuracy]

I was thinking that would reduce vibration. I have a brother and brother in law that are machinists, but they don't recommend anything less than a ton!

A ton is a "light" lathe : )

 

[TerryH]

Y'all are killing me with these Craig's list links. This stuff either doesn't exist, is wore slap out, or is gobbled up in 2 minutes from the initial posting where I live.

 

[Shrek]

Y'all are killing me with these Craig's list links. This stuff either doesn't exist,k is wore slap out, or is gobbled up in 2 minutes from the initial posting where I live.

I looked a long time to find a good lathe and I didn’t find anything that looked that good in my many months of searching that was anywhere near me. I’m hunting a Bridgeport currently and it’s all been rusty junk at premium prices so far. It can be very frustrating !

 

[TerryH]

I looked a long time to find a good lathe and I didn’t find anything that looked that good in my many months of searching that was anywhere near me. I’m hunting a Bridgeport currently and it’s all been rusty junk at premium prices so far. It can be very frustrating !

Pretty much ditto to all of that. I did eventually find a very nice RF-30 mill that I bought from the original owner for $500 but the whole lathe thing is still a major frustration. Either sky high or junk. With the new tariffs the new Chinese lathes are way higher as of today just to ad insult to injury.

 

[johnfred1965]

I can't imagine doing actions and not doing barrels.

As far as doing barrels, I was thinking of all the extra tooling(reamers) for them. Looking at REM/AGE barrels on trued actions. I only need the tooling for the actions.
As far as tooling, I mean gunsmith specific. I can get carbide or HSS cutting or threading tools from my brother. For that matter, If I begged and pleaded with him and gave him a fifth of good whiskey, I could get him to make me an action bar and bushings! Really good whiskey.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

As far as doing barrels, I was thinking of all the extra tooling(reamers) from them. Looking at REM/AGE barrels on trued actions. I only need the tooling for the actions.
As far as tooling, I mean gunsmith specific. I can get carbide or HSS cutting or threading tools from my brother.

If you true the action then the prefit barrels dont fit. It all goes hand in hand (the rabbit hole that is)