I am thinking about buying a small lathe. Nothing to do barrels with but smaller stuff. I looked at the small Harbor Freight offering today, and was not impressed. I plan to use it to make modified cases, bushings to text, mandrels, etc. I'm looking at the latest Grizzly Catalog, and it looks like a couple of nice offering there, 8x16 Variable Speed Model G0768? Any comments or ideas? (40 years ago I ran a 20' LeBlond turning Acme treads on 12" dia tie bars. So I know the basics.)
Thinking about a lathe
- Thread starter fgcook
- Start date
A Hardinge tool room lathe would be perfect for that. Used ones are not hard to find, but might be more money than you want to spend. Many come with a lot of tooling. Do not overlook or under estimate what the tooling will cost you.
It's a shame when I sold off my buddy's gun stuff we thought we had a buyer for his south bend ,it fell through and the family ended up throwing it away without me knowing it .
paperpuncher
Gold $$ Contributor
My .02 I would buy something more substantial. I am not going to crap on the small HF lathe but it is what it is.Sound like you already have part of the learning curve down and that is the only justification I could see for such a machine. If you are like many that pursue this hobby you are going to find more uses for your lathe and the one you suggest will severely limit your options.I am going to send you a pm with some contact info this guy is near and can probably help you out it is worth a call at the very least
Absolutly nothing wrong with belt drive lathes. Especially with the new electronic speed control. Nearly all CNC lathes are belt driven.
TAJ45
Silver $$ Contributor
If you can swing a bit larger machine I think the PM 1022 V is a huge step up. You get more travel in the tailstock quill, more powerful motor, wider bed, larger work envelope, and maybe the most important is the AXA sized quick change tool post. On the Grizzly you get the fiddly little 4-way tool post that's a huge pain to set correct tool height. You can buy a quick change for the Grizzly but it will cost you some dollars, and tooling that goes with it isn't near as common as the AXA stuff. Another thing to look at is overall weight. The Precision matthews unit is about 3x as heavy as the Grizzly which will give you more rigidity and better surface finishes (but harder to move around the shop). Also keep in mind the 8x16 Grizzly only has 16" between centers. If you have a 3-jaw chuck on the spindle and a chuck/drill bit in the tail stock you have very little room left for your part. Going with a 22" lathe gives you a bunch more capacity.
Grizzly does make a 10" variable speed with similar specs and price to the PM. But it has less quill travel, a less desirable threaded spindle mount, and no quick change tool post.
All these small lathes are going to be coming from China so don't expect the fit and finish to be too amazing. Like Bamban said, you gotta go way up in size and price before you start seeing the better Taiwanese machines.
Grizzly does make a 10" variable speed with similar specs and price to the PM. But it has less quill travel, a less desirable threaded spindle mount, and no quick change tool post.
All these small lathes are going to be coming from China so don't expect the fit and finish to be too amazing. Like Bamban said, you gotta go way up in size and price before you start seeing the better Taiwanese machines.
JSH
Gold $$ Contributor
I was looking at pretty much what you are a few years ago. I did a lot of looking and reading. I ended up with an older larger than I planned.
What I know now I would go with a new Precision Matthews and not look back. I won’t name names on the “others” but the support from PM is over and above. The PM are spec’d out way better.
You want this to start or finish projects, not have another project right out of the crate.
What I know now I would go with a new Precision Matthews and not look back. I won’t name names on the “others” but the support from PM is over and above. The PM are spec’d out way better.
You want this to start or finish projects, not have another project right out of the crate.
Seems many are recommending machines that you clearly stated you don't need, or want...
You don't need a gunsmithing lathe to do case prep...
If you want better quality/accuracy than Chicom, then the Taiwanese lathes are your only choice (in these smaller sizes,anyway).
The PM brand is well made, any of their smaller benchtop lathes will work fine. I'd personally go with PM over Grizzly regardless of model.
You don't need a gunsmithing lathe to do case prep...
If you want better quality/accuracy than Chicom, then the Taiwanese lathes are your only choice (in these smaller sizes,anyway).
The PM brand is well made, any of their smaller benchtop lathes will work fine. I'd personally go with PM over Grizzly regardless of model.
Go on made in china .com, you can buy the Grizzly machines and the Mathews machines direct from the manufacturer at about half the price, I have directly imported several machines the cost saving is eye watering and very straight forward. I was even offered the Grizzly machine with Grizzly written on it.
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
And theres why we gotta quit having our stuff made there
SOME of the Matthews machines. Many are made in Taiwan.
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