Gunsmithing lathe

[ronaldlee]

Where would you look for a good used lathe for barrel work and what kind and degree of precision is required for quality work? Thanks for your thoughts,-----Ron

[John Traveler]

Buying a good used lathe is sort a crapshoot unless you are an experienced machinist or are friends with one.  There are numerous inspection points and things to look for that can mean the difference between "good" and "wornout and hopelessly inaccurate" in a twenty, thirty or forty year old machine.

If you have the resources to buy a new lathe, you might consider the Grizzley line, where they advertise one of their models as a gunsmith special.  The owner of Grizzley is a rifle competition shooter, and aimed this model specifically at the gunsmithing market.
 
In general, your choices are: used American made iron, or newer Asian machines.  There are more expensive European machines of course, but their prices generally leave out the gunsmith buyer.

For gunsmithing work, you will use the lathe for mostly threading and fitting barrels to actions, chambering, crowning, and profiling barrels.  Accuracy is a function of lathe condition and setup, more than anything else.  Condition of ways, headstock bearings, crossfeed  and compound slides, tailstock alignment, etc all affect accuracy.  This is where an experienced inspection eye is essential.

The basic lathe requirements are: 10" or 12" swing, barrel length between centers (36"), quick change threading ability, powered lateral and cross feed, miniimum 1 1/2" spindle thru hole, 3-jaw and 4-jaw chucks, dogs, centers, steady rest, rigid toolpost, tailstock jacobs chuck, etc.  The more tooling the better.

Brand names include: Atlas, South Bend, Logan, Clausing, Rockwell, etc in the used domestic machines, and Grizzley, Enco, Jet, etc in foreign (asian) machines.  A fully equipped 30 year old Atlas fully tooled and well cared for is probably the best buy at $600-$1500.  You can frequently find them on EBay.  Accessories and parts are still widely available.  Lathes in this size are sought after by home machining hobbyists, and competition will dictate prices.

If you live in or near a major city, Craiglist is a good place to look.  You will often see machine shops and hobbyist lathes available.

Again, if you live near a major industrial center, the surplus machinery shops will be good sources.  Generally, the best buys are from individuals or shops closing down.
Where are you located?

HTH
John

[ronaldlee]

The closest large city to me is Phoenix AZ. I am not familiar with the craiglist.Is it a web site? I have been looking at the new Grizzly. They have two Gunsmith models. The bench model  G40003G is in my reach , but I know little about  lathes . I was hoping to find a used, high quality American made lathe for the same money,but it sounds a little risky. Ron

[iiranger]

Call Brownells or go online... brownells.com or something... They take questions and they will know what is acceptable in machine tools among their customers. The little I know, current top quality is coming out of Japan. Yes, we taught them --Japan-- all we knew and they were very good students. Beyond that, the older American products... Many, many high schools and junior colleges have machine shop classes and if you visit, you might find a helpful instructor. (They are paid thru your taxes and usually not too hard to live with). The possibility of Chinese junk thru a catalogue... I would want top flight recommendations before paying for something that must do precision work... Not Harbor Freight, Grizzly??? good question. luck.

[gunnut69]

It may be a good idea to get familiar with the local machinist. I have a friend who has owned a machine shop for years. He retired here from a major metro area and gave basically the same advice you've already gotten. I bought a used Atlas from a local gunshop that I was working for. They were moving up to a new Jet. I had it looked over and pronounce OK and with the tooling, palmgren vice, 3+4 jawed chuck, steady rest, tool holders etc ran $600. Add the mounting buffers and carbide tools and some setup accessories and you're in the range. I don't know if they still do it but the local high school used to have night classes in machine shop. It was a great place to learn the basics and techniques..

[trotterlg]

One of the 10 or 12 inch Atlas lathes will work fine for you.  If you are just doing hobby work you do not even need a quick change gear box.  As long as you can turn about 30 inches between centers and cut threads you will be fine.  I use a 6 inch Atlas lathe with a bed extension for barrel work, no problem at all, it just takes a little more time.  Larry

[30-30man]

One of the best places to look for really good old American machine tools is at millitary base surplus sales. He bought his in Sumter, SC. I don't know the details but my brother bought a large heavy lathe and milling machine that was once on a navy ship, at least that is what we were told. The lathe came with two chucks and has the belts to change rpms.  He can cut standard and metric threads and it has something like a 5ft bed.  The milling machine looked almost new; I do know they were very heavy.  We had to use pipe to roll it and a front end loader to get them in his shop.  He had to rent a Uhaul as our pickups could not handle the weight. He says they are better than anything he could have bought new.  I was there when he bought them and I think he payed around $350 for both.

[John Traveler]

craigslist.com is the website.  Seeyour state, select your city, and then select "tools".

An Atlas/Craftsman 12x36" lathe was listed just a week ago.  There are certainly more expensive, larger, and expensive lathes out there but  the Atlas was listed as the most readily available affordable lathe with accessories suitable for gunsmithing.
t
The available gunsmithing lathe listed in order of price & quality: Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese.I would not recommend Harbor Freight or the bottom-end Chinese made lathes.

Government surplus indeed is the way to bargain, large lathes and miills, but places extra responsibility on inspection and condition on a machinist friend.  There is little demand for the larger surplus machines, and if poorly stored, they may have only scrap value.

Taking a machine shop course or two is an excellent way to learn the ins and out of machinery inspection, and gain and understanding of what you want.  It's also a good way to make contact with people that are likely to know of good machines for sale, or people with siliar interests.

HTH
John

[greer]

 I have a Jet 13X40 lathe that I have no complaints with. I bought it new a few years ago. With the addition of a quick change tool post and a good 6 jaw chuck it has served me well building several rifles. The bore is big enough so most actions pass through ok and a home made spider on the back of the spindle works well to hold barrels. I wanted to bypass the hassle of tracking down  parts for an older lathe and this lathe should last me as long as I want to use it. Gunsmith work is pretty light duty work compared to most.  greer