New Lathe?

[NickB1075]

Well I have after a few years of saving I have finally saved what I think will be enough for a good lathe. I have saved about 4500 for the lathe and some tooling. Will this be enough to get started? I have been collecting some tools and reamers for the past few years so I have that department covered pretty good, (Micrometers/depth Micrometers/ Micrometer reamer holder/calipers/ thread micrometer/ dial indicators ect.) Obviously there will always be more needed and I expect that.

From my research, it seems I am in a good area to find quality used equipment.(Northeast) My real question is what spindle ID should be considered minimum? Many of the machines that I have looked at seem to only have a 1 3/8th spindle bore. Is that enough to do a 1.250 straight blank? Seems like it would be tight.

Also if I find the larger spindle bore do you really still need the longer bed? How much do you use the monger distance between centers? The only reason I ask is I have found some very nice machines that were in great condition and very well tooled but they were only 24" btc. The one I found that I really liked was a Monach 10EE. Are these machines used for this work? And another was an older Leblonde I think it was a 15" regal. Both machines were very clean well tooled and good prices. But they had the short distance between centers.

Sorry for the long post and many question, This is a big investment for me and I just want to buy once and be done. I am in no hurry and am willing to wait. Any assistance or opinions would be really appreciated. I should add that I am looking to pretty much just use this machine for barrels for me and friends as well as parts for things around the house and my buddies farm.

Nick

 

[JRS]

You might ask Butch Lambert about the Monarch. He has one, and if i'm not mistaken, they aren't something you would use for gunsmithing. You might also contact cigarcop here on this site. He has a nice little ENCO I believe he would sell.

 

[Erik Cortina]

1 3/8" spindle bore is more than plenty. That gives you .0625" all the way around the barrel, if you need more to do a 1.250" barrel, you have big issues with the barrel.

Mine is 30" between centers and it's just fine. The main thing you want is a short headstock. Mine is 20" which means I have to get creative with short barrels.

 

[missed]

I have a weakness for Monarchs. Especially 10EE's Clausing 14x40 is the hot ticket as a "gunsmith" lathe. short head great machine to run.

I have an old Monarch AA it works great, and as rigid as can be. 48" between centers, but the head is 30" so no working through the head.

Next machine on my list is a Romi Ezpath/teach CNC....

 

[EWaugh]

I have the LeBlond 15" regal. It’s a really nice heavy machine, but to thread/chamber barrels you will need to chuck up a spider in the 4 jaw, due to the wide headstock.

 

[NickB1075]

Thanks for the replies, they are helpful.

Erik: what lathe do you run? Have you ever needed the larger capacity?

I really liked the Monarch 10ee and it had the most tooling out of all the lathes that I have looked at. The machine was so quiet and smooth operating. I liked location of all the controls. Very little backlash in the controls but it did need a new paint job, which is the least of my worries. It was a sweet machine but just 24" between centers kinda has me worried.

The Leblond seemed like a really nice machine, definitely heavy duty. I think it weighed in just under 2000. but I did think the head stock seemed a bit large.

 

[Erik Cortina]

Erik: what lathe do you run? Have you ever needed the larger capacity?

I run a WEBB 14x30
It has a motor with low/hi range. In low range, it's 3 HP, in Hi range, it's 5 HP. I have never needed the 5 HP as 3 is more than plenty for what I do.

In this video I'm taking a descent cut and it is by no means straining the machine.
https://youtu.be/tcJjmpt-Jus?t=4m40s

I will do a "chip control" video soon to find the correct speeds and feeds for that tool and at that point I'll push the machine. I have took .250" on the diameter with this tool and it worked great. For barrel work you will never need to take a .125" DOC though.

 

[Hal]

The Monarch 10 EE is a great machine. Most had 20" between center . The 30" between center are a lot rarer. They have a long headstock. To do barrel work through the headstock you would need to make something to hold the barrel inside the headstock.

The drive system can be trouble. Find out the year of the lathe and the drive system.
The Practical Machinest forum is THE sorce of help with Monarchs and a cult like following hangs out there.

There are better gunsmithing lathes.

Hal

 

[NickB1075]

Thanks for all the replys, they were all very helpful. I guess my search will continue. Like I said I am not in a hurry just want to buy a good one the first time.

Nick

 

[Erik Cortina]

Thanks for all the replys, they were all very helpful. I guess my search will continue. Like I said I am not in a hurry just want to buy a good one the first time.

Nick

That's the best way. I looked for about 4 months until I ran across my lathe. My mill took about a year but I ended up with a good one as well (Lagun FTV-2S)