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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Gunsmithing
Perfect Entry Level Lathe???
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<blockquote data-quote="J E Custom" data-source="post: 467142" data-attributes="member: 2736"><p>No problem , Like most I started doing it as a hobby and it grew and grew as I learned more.</p><p></p><p>The first lathe was a great little South bend with a 30 " bed and a 1 1/4" spindle and It was to </p><p>small to get a barrel tenon in it without turning it down .060 . (No big deal but I hated to take</p><p>any material off just to make it fit in my spindle). Also I could not place a normal length barrel</p><p>In it and work the hole length without setting up to work on each end separately Twice the setup </p><p>time and twice the chance of making an error. ( This lathe was a great little and cost me $450.00</p><p>at the time, Used.</p><p></p><p>The next lathe was a Lam with a 36" bed and a 1 5/8" spindle and worked better but like the </p><p>South Bend was a little light and still to short to work a full blank (28") without two setups.</p><p>this one cost $1700.oo dollars and was better, except the threading leavers/setting was the </p><p>old style calipers just like the south bend.They were both under powered and even light cuts </p><p>slowed them down.</p><p></p><p>So after using a much larger lathe from another member. I realized that I was spending to </p><p>much time working within the limits of my Lam, I decided to look for a lathe with all the </p><p>features that I needed at a cost I could afford. Some of the features that I decided not to </p><p>compromise on was a = larger spindle (2"), at least 3 Horse Power, 42 to 48" bed and a gear </p><p>head threading feature that would cut Standard Inch threads and Metric . with a taper bar for</p><p>cutting tapers/contours. and at least a 10" chuck. they ranged any where from $4000.oo</p><p>up. and I found one that was what I felt I needed at the time for $5400.oo and killed the </p><p>lathe account I had saved.</p><p></p><p>I found several that were $8000.oo that were recomended and I lusted after them but I had to come down to reality and bought one I could afford at the time ( 7 or 8 years ago).</p><p></p><p>I tried to make do with a small inexpensive lath and if I had known then what I know now</p><p>I would have gotten an even better lathe than I have now (They were much cheaper 20 to</p><p>25 years ago) and spent my money on tooling (The realy expensive stuff).</p><p></p><p>I would have loved to have the lathe that RoyB posted on back when I started but Now I </p><p>know that I would eventually decide to go larger for a all round machine.</p><p></p><p>Everyone's needs are different and I recommend that anyone thinking about getting into gunsmithing</p><p>think about what they need depending what they want to do and and do it one time.</p><p></p><p>You can't buy a lathe to big but you can buy one to small and make it hard on your self.</p><p></p><p>This is just my opinion for what it's worth.</p><p></p><p>J E CUSTOM</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="J E Custom, post: 467142, member: 2736"] No problem , Like most I started doing it as a hobby and it grew and grew as I learned more. The first lathe was a great little South bend with a 30 " bed and a 1 1/4" spindle and It was to small to get a barrel tenon in it without turning it down .060 . (No big deal but I hated to take any material off just to make it fit in my spindle). Also I could not place a normal length barrel In it and work the hole length without setting up to work on each end separately Twice the setup time and twice the chance of making an error. ( This lathe was a great little and cost me $450.00 at the time, Used. The next lathe was a Lam with a 36" bed and a 1 5/8" spindle and worked better but like the South Bend was a little light and still to short to work a full blank (28") without two setups. this one cost $1700.oo dollars and was better, except the threading leavers/setting was the old style calipers just like the south bend.They were both under powered and even light cuts slowed them down. So after using a much larger lathe from another member. I realized that I was spending to much time working within the limits of my Lam, I decided to look for a lathe with all the features that I needed at a cost I could afford. Some of the features that I decided not to compromise on was a = larger spindle (2"), at least 3 Horse Power, 42 to 48" bed and a gear head threading feature that would cut Standard Inch threads and Metric . with a taper bar for cutting tapers/contours. and at least a 10" chuck. they ranged any where from $4000.oo up. and I found one that was what I felt I needed at the time for $5400.oo and killed the lathe account I had saved. I found several that were $8000.oo that were recomended and I lusted after them but I had to come down to reality and bought one I could afford at the time ( 7 or 8 years ago). I tried to make do with a small inexpensive lath and if I had known then what I know now I would have gotten an even better lathe than I have now (They were much cheaper 20 to 25 years ago) and spent my money on tooling (The realy expensive stuff). I would have loved to have the lathe that RoyB posted on back when I started but Now I know that I would eventually decide to go larger for a all round machine. Everyone's needs are different and I recommend that anyone thinking about getting into gunsmithing think about what they need depending what they want to do and and do it one time. You can't buy a lathe to big but you can buy one to small and make it hard on your self. This is just my opinion for what it's worth. J E CUSTOM [/QUOTE]
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Perfect Entry Level Lathe???
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