• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

Gunsmithing Getting a lathe ..... now what?

M

mscott

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 10, 2007
1,417
11
Central Ohio
I'll soon be the owner of a SB Heavy 10 lathe. It comes pretty well equiped except for a 4 jaw chuck. I'll also need bits, boring bars, dial indicators, etc. Where is a good place to order from?
I also found the Practical Machinist forum, so I'll be doing plenty of reading there as well. I'm not going into business or anything, but would like to take care of my own work on rifles. I plan to do my own barrel threading and possibly a couple of form 1 supressors. Any thoughts?
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

MSC Industrial for indicators, tools, etc. Get on their mailing list and you'll have sale catalogs every week. Be careful though it's easy to buy everything in sight. You may find that practicalmachinist.com isn't very tolerant of elementary questions so it pays to search a lot and read a lot.
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

WOW!! I am so jealous .
I have been looking for a heavy 10 or similar maybe a Grizzly
I need pictures and condition 1 or 3 phase
There are several for sale on ebay but all to far away.
congratulations
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: oneeyedmac</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You may find that practicalmachinist.com isn't very tolerant of elementary questions so it pays to search a lot and read a lot. </div></div>
I already figured that out. They locked a thread because I asked about an Atlas lathe
laugh.gif
.

Thanks for the replies. I'll check out some of those suppliers. I read some of 300sniper's post as well. That spider is pretty nice! I'll be doing lots more reading and research. Seem to be plenty of videos on youtube as well.

What is preferred for cutting bits? HSS or the replaceable insert type?

Here's what I found
DSCF3285.jpg
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

I started of using HSS to learn on. Carbide inserts are expensive. Now that I know enough to be dangerous I ruin an insert about once or twice a month. Mostly they chip from either taking too much, not enough speed, too much feed or just banging into the work during the setup.
I also used the HSS bits to practice grinding a bit. After a while it became obvious that if I was going to use HSS I needed a dedicated grinder with better stones and good holders for grinding the angles, relief and a chipbreaker.
Beg borrow or steal as much round stock as you can in different sizes and start by learning how to cut a center, then turn a length and get your tailstock centered.
Buy a machinists level too and make sure your ways are level.
Beware, you will spend a fortune on tooling. And the first time you chuck up a $300 barrel blank you will get sweaty thinking about all the ways you could screw it up.
good luck!
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

mscott;

The quality of your work will only be a good as the machine you are running. Start from the ground up. Set your machine up to be as solid and as level as possible. 4-6" of concrete is a great start. once the machine is solid to the floor, level and square, then check everything for concentricity and runout. Check your gibbs, clean them if need be. Check your tail stock for true center. You have a great tool holder on their now so getting carbide insert holders will not be to expensive. Check MSC, and have them send you the Big Blue Book. Quality looking machine!
Chandalar.
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

Get on MSC email list. They will send you lots of emails but they will give you discount codes that can be really good.
Had an order the other day that was $380 then when I applied the discount code it was $269.
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

Enco is usually cheaper than MSC and will occasionally have a 20% off code that includes the stuff already on sale in their flyers.
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

i use enco a lot. lately it seems i need a tool quick so i order it from msc. they are almost always have a 40% off promo code and i get the item the day after i order it.
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

Carbide inserts for threading - there are a bunch of inserts with the correct shape and pitch, use these and your barrel threading is mucho easier. Basically measure diameter and everything else is correct.
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

Spend about a bazillion dollars on tooling, think you are done, and then spend some more.
shocked.gif
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

Congrats on your lathe. That's a pretty good lookin setup. Practicing with aluminum, plastic, can be expensive but very forgiving. Steel is nice and cheap. As previously stated carbide inserts are expensive but they are really a must have. I have only used HSS for drills/center drills. The best advice I could give you is that you never ever take something out of the jaws before you are done. Ask me how I know. It's a pain in the A** to get it centered again. Don't rush on a pass. Always check your size periodically if you think you are close. There is nothing worse than making a part an undersized piece of scrap. Buy the "Machinery Handbook" it's invaluable. Stainless likes coolant short/pecking for drilling or you might harden the part and make it realy difficult or damn near impossible to thread (ID). OD threads are slow, tedious, and take multiple passes.
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

I've been using HSS inserts and tools from A.R. Warner, cheaper than carbide very nice finish at lower speed when threading, for me anyway. And you can buy inserts in any quantity which I like since I don't hammer them that bad I need 10 at a whack. Nice find on that lathe, I've only found one within driving distance and it was thrashed!! A.R. Warner
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

Thanks for the replies. I have the machinery handbook on CD. I've gotten on a couple of mailing lists, so there goes my bullet money. Seems like Enco is the "Midway" of the machinery world. It sounds like bits with replaceable inserts are the way to go. I'll probably try those and some HSS just to see the difference for myself. The inserts seem like it would be best since they are already the correct angle? Is there any special requirement for different material (stainless, CM, aluminum, titanium) as far as bits go?
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

Yeah,
Enco was just kind of out there in 1974 when I first got a catalog. But in Sept 1999 I started paying for two shops to get set up for gunsmithing, and I have been reading the ENCO flyers ever since. The ENCO red hot deals flyers are much cheaper than the ENCO catalog, so some stuff you have to wait for it to be on sale. You can call ENCO and talk to the girls about when stuff will be on sale. They are cagey, but will give hints. There are also free shipping codes and discount codes. The forum for getting these is the user group rec.crafts.metalworking.

Sometimes I have to go to MSC, J&L, or wholesale tool.
Sometimes I buy stuff off EBAY.
Sometimes I get stuff from CDCO.
http://www.cdcotools.com/
CDCO is even cheaper than ENCO's sales, but they don't have much.


This guy makes an acme thread for his South Bend lathe:
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/south-bend-lathes/making-new-cross-slide-acme-screw-150571/

Oi, is that project over MY head
frown.gif
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 73 fastback</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Looks like a bed turret underneath the lathe cabinet, now that would be a cool accessory. </div></div>
That's included as well.
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

MSC has been good to deal with for me, very courteous and helpful when you call.. you ask them a question and they will get someone on the phone with you to get the right answer. Take your old barrels and cut them off and practice with them. When I got my lathe I did this. this is good practice for setting up the barrel in your lathe, dialing it in, cutting the tenon to match the end you cut off, threading it to match, and if you have the reamer you can practice this also. When you are done screw it on the gun to see how it works and if you make a mistake you haven't lost anything.
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

I practiced threads on plastic pipes.
Then Aluminum.
Then steel at .001" -.003" advance per cut.

Don't put some select match barrel in the lathe and learn thread cutting on it.

I practice on every new lathe I get before start destroying expensive stuff.

Before each barrel, I practice on scrap if I have not cut threads in a couple months.
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

Nice looking lathe. I have one just like it except mine is green. I prefer carbide inserts over every thing else. +1 on CDCO Tools. They have some real good prices on the items that they carry. Be sure to check them out. Enco is good. They are the cheap side of MSC. MSC owns Enco and J&L by the way. I buy most of the tooling for the shop I run from MSC. Good prices, good services, and next day shipping for no extra charge. I order most of the tooling for my personnel shop from ENCO and CDCO because I can save a little money that way. Good Luck and remember to enjoy it.
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

I don't see a threading dial????

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mscott</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: oneeyedmac</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You may find that practicalmachinist.com isn't very tolerant of elementary questions so it pays to search a lot and read a lot. </div></div>
I already figured that out. They locked a thread because I asked about an Atlas lathe
laugh.gif
.

Thanks for the replies. I'll check out some of those suppliers. I read some of 300sniper's post as well. That spider is pretty nice! I'll be doing lots more reading and research. Seem to be plenty of videos on youtube as well.

What is preferred for cutting bits? HSS or the replaceable insert type?

Here's what I found
DSCF3285.jpg
</div></div>
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Quick Karl</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I don't see a threading dial????

</div></div>
It's laying by the tool post. Here's another view.
DSCF3287.jpg
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

Damn, that's a sweet looking machine. I'm still trying to come up with a way to get a decent lathe into my basement. Inserts are nice, but I'm old school enough that I grind my own bits out of cobalt steel blanks. You still will probably spend as much moola on nifty accessories/tooling as you did on your lathe. Don't ask me how I know this.:-{
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

Nice lathe, doesnt look like its been used much.
 
Re: Getting a lathe ..... now what?

Got it home and in place today with the help of some friends. Sure is a heavy critter. I'm not sure that the turret attatchment will be of much use, but I like the idea of the collets. Now I need some cutting tools, a 4 jaw chuck, and a spyder for the outboard end of the spindle and I'll be in good shape.

sb1.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

tcole75
SOLD Grizzly 13.5x40 lathe sold
Replies
6
Views
870
Smokin7s
Smokin7s
LC 6.5 Shooter
SOLD Full gunsmithing setup for sale
Replies
6
Views
2K
LC 6.5 Shooter
LC 6.5 Shooter
wloudamy
SOLD Metal lathe
Replies
0
Views
877
wloudamy
wloudamy
Vasily
Gunsmithing Shopfox M1112
Replies
23
Views
1K
clcustom1911
clcustom1911
AnimalMother224
Gunsmithing My take on a chamber/barrel fixture - pics
Replies
9
Views
1K
mcfred
mcfred
Top Bottom
Back