Starting research on machine lathes

[Minesweeper3433]

I have done some basic work on my friends lathe and mill and was looking to doing research into what brand, type, accessories, abilities, features, etc. that I would be looking for in purchasing a used one for myself. I have very little to no knowledge on the subject but can do several operations on some machines and have access to both my friends and fathers knowledge as both are machinists in two separate fields. However my fathers experience is extensive in CNC and my friend has been using one brand of machine at work and one at home so he only has experience with 2 brands/setups.
I guess what I am asking for is guidance on were to start reading/researching what I need for my purposes. I know that many parts of this are a Ford vs. Chevy debate but what I am looking for is the bad and the ugly for things to avoid while shopping for a mill and lathe.
Anyway post here or PM works for me and if you have books on the subject you are willing to part with I am always interested in good reference material as I use it while working on just about anything machining or not.

 

[Larryh128]

A lot of it depends upon how many $ you are working with. If you're in the midwest, I would be looking at one of the places that re-condition & re-sell equipment. With all of the shops closing, there is a glut of "low Tech" equipment out there for sale. Most of the shops are mainly CNC units now & the manual stuff commands slightly more that scrap price at auctions. On mills, I wouldn't buy anything but a Bridgeport strictly because parts will always be available. Lathes, there are a lot of good ones & personally, I wouldn't own one made in China. Taiwan is a different story.It weill be a chocolate & vanilla deal with everyone having a favorite. Many times the correct tooling will cost more that a used lathe that's decent.

 

[hotrodlouie]

Look at Grizzly GunSmith lathe 12x36, this lathe best for the money you can buy.
I purchased one and very pleased, .0003 taper in 6 inches without a tail stock.
Good condition used lathes you will pay more money and probably have more taper.
American lathes are the best but they do cost, I ran just about every brand, for a new lathe
you can't beat the price and quality.

 

[butchlambert]

Well,
I can see you are going to get a lot of opinions. If you need a lathe for chambering primarily, What difference does it make if it has .001 taper in 6"? A tenon is 1.125 length only in most cases. The critical part is the shoulder needs to be square to the bore. think of this or ask your friends, if the tenon is out .0002, which is about .001 in 6", what are you giving up? If you do your chamber properly, drill, indicate the throat area, and taper bore to that point, your reamer will follow the bore hole which is coaxial to your lathes spindle. Saying that, I can do a great chamber with a lathe with worn out ways, but would rather have one that wasn't worn out. As far as used lathes are concerned, the Rockwell and Southbend Heavy 10 are great. New machines can run from not much to a lot. Your actual tooling expense will end up being a large expense regardless of the lathe.

 

[MrMajestic]

Size matters! What do you want to do/make, need dimensions? For aligning a 4 jaw chuck on both ends of the headstock will make runout/truing a barrel quicker and easier. It will also reduce whip when running. Do you need a tailstock? Single phase or three phase? As far as 'Used Equipment Dealers" they make used car guys look like Saints!(I'm in the industry) As was stated previously, tooling and chucks can cost you more than the lathe!

 

[Minesweeper3433]

Sorry I forgot to mention what I will be using it for. Although the majority of my work on it will be firearms oriented I also want to have the ability to repair of remake parts for things around the house up to parts for small gas motors. I know that adapters can be made for special projects like re-boring an old worn out motor head and such but want to be able to fit adapters such as something for turning the can off of a Volkswagen engine.
I have heard of Bridgeport before and in fact the base near me hasn't been able to get rid of several the have tried to sell recently. They are so heavy that nobody wanted to haul them off for scrap so my machining friend bought them to pull spare parts out of them and scraped anything that was broken on them. He has enough spare parts to build a complete machine sitting in a shed out back but he has been adamant about not selling them or trading them every time I ask.
I am planing on moving out to the midwest but didn't think to look out that way for machines so might check that out. I was planning on picking up machines in florida and bringing them with me when i move but that gives me something else to think about. On buying tooling I will just purchase on an as needed setup. I am not hard pressed for money but I am a huge fan of the way those old machines look with their cast iron housings and how every part can be made for them the hard way. I do not like sheet metal panels and extra safety shields every were which is why the grizzly machines are low on my list. Yes they would work but it wouldn't be any were near as fun and I wouldn't learn as much having everything work for me from the start. I guess what I am looking for is a machine that I can repair/fix myself and that once it is in perfect working order I can powder coat the parts and have a small piece of history use as it was originally intended. Sorry if I get a little nostalgic but all the machines I have worked with have been old enough to be my grandfather and in some cases great grandfather so I have a soft spot for them.

 

[butchlambert]

Well,
I started working on VWs for a living in 1968. I don't understand your terminology as to reboring old motor heads and turning the can. If you are talking flycutting beetle heads, a Bridgeport has served me to do a lot of them. I have drilled and tapped the cases for threaded inserts and also opened the cylinder bores for oversize big bore kits. I can't think of anything off top of my head that you would do on a lathe on the air cooled bettle motors.