Gunsmithing Gunsmithing Lathe

[Masked]

Recently put in for my 07, have my presses lined up and everything else - Last item on my list is a solid lathe.

There were some Harrisons for sale locally, but they're limited in a few aspects. - Gunsmiths around me warned me that I will see 50 cal barrels so, I need 2". - Not a big deal.

I was looking at the Grizzly G0776 with DRO, but they sold out and they're apparently not making it anymore. - I can't seem to find a used one for the life of me, either.

From what I understand, the Grizzly's are light and are import machines, but they turn out some amazing barrels.

I've been around lathes and CNC's for the past few years, unfortunately, I don't have 15-20k to spend on something heavy duty, or I would.

Anyone have any input? Advice?

Thanks.

 

[ZEROGUY]

Saw this come up on Gavin gear’s YouTube channel few months ago. I’m not shopping for a lathe myself, but this may fit the bill for you.

 

[fdkay]

Both PM and Grizzly import Taiwanese lathes.
Those are definitely the ones you want.
They also import mainland china lathes, which work quite well.
I have one (PM 12x36), I do wish that I would have waited another 6 or 7 months and bought the 12x36 taiwan lathe, but I didn't know it was coming. Of course, it would have cost another 1000, but it would definitely be worth it.

 

[padom]

I'm about to purchase a Jet 1440 Gearhead myself. Few thousand more than a Grizzly but I'm told it's an all around better lathe.

 

[Masked]

Another member is getting rid of a summit.

Problem is shipping - always shipping.

 

[47chevycoe]

I just purchased a nardini 14x40. So far I like it, seems to be a quality machine. Mine was shipped from Pennsylvania to Nebraska for about $800. Some regions have a limited used lathe market. I looked into the pm 14x40 but the nardini weighs 2x as much, and was quite a bit cheaper.

 

[carlsbad]

So you got your 07 before you learned to use a lathe?

fdkay's recommendation of taiwan is perfect. Everyone says their work is "amazing" and good barrels can shoot well below 1 moa with a crap chamber. to do it right you need a heavy accurate lathe, a good setup methodology that you understand, and a lot of practice.

It's hard to get a good lathe new for less than $20k.

--Jerry

 

[Masked]

So you got your 07 before you learned to use a lathe?

fdkay's recommendation of taiwan is perfect. Everyone says their work is "amazing" and good barrels can shoot well below 1 moa with a crap chamber. to do it right you need a heavy accurate lathe, a good setup methodology that you understand, and a lot of practice.

It's hard to get a good lathe new for less than $20k.

--Jerry

What?

I've been using lathes and CNC's for years...I was looking at recommendations for my own shop.

As luck would have it, a member is selling a Summit so, I'm buying it.

Wish I had the cash for a CNC lathe - Could do barrel profiling and everything, but I just don't have the positive cash flow right now.

Now, I'm looking for a laser engraver! - THAT is something I have 0 experience with.

 

[HDWRENCH]

Dumb luck on my part with this one . My old monster had a gear box failure and no more parts to be found for it . It was much larger tan I needed and I found this one used but just for 15 items they made figured out they needed a CNC and this sat . Picked it up with a bunch of extra tooling for 6000. Very nice machine and its very heavy With what I do I spin a bunch of stuff that is not balanced so the lighter machines Jet Grizzly etc are 800 + lighter in weight . The only thing I did not get was a true variable speed but I have not found the need for it yet . This one with items was just over 23,000 again I have several face plates 3 more heads for it keyless chuck etc etc . I have been working with thread cutting and thus far no real issues . New machine so you have to figure out a few things here and there . But shopping around this was a killer deal for me . As well had to build rotary phase as I do not have 3 phase but I did have two 5 hp 3 phase motors laying around so bought the box and wired it in .


Untitled by GMR Performance, on Flickr

 

[carlsbad]

HD wrench.
That is the same lathe I'm using for my primary machine. Not perfect but excellent lathe. Made in Taiwan. Great deal too.

Mine came with an american rotary phase converter and it is very quiet.

--Jerry

 

[HDWRENCH]

Mine is very accurate , happy with it , yes no noise and very smooth machine plenty of power . Great selection of speeds as well . I have been playing around with the taper attachment I got with it . Trying to get a few junk barrels to play with just for fun

 

[Rubicon Precision]

So you got your 07 before you learned to use a lathe?

fdkay's recommendation of taiwan is perfect. Everyone says their work is "amazing" and good barrels can shoot well below 1 moa with a crap chamber. to do it right you need a heavy accurate lathe, a good setup methodology that you understand, and a lot of practice.

It's hard to get a good lathe new for less than $20k.

--Jerry

Barrel fitting/chambering is not very demanding. You do not “need” a heavy or even a super accurate lathe to turn out extremely accurate rifles.

Rifles built on my 1200 lb Chinese manual lathe were just as accurate as one’s built now on my 6000 lb turning center. I get far better surface finishes, do things faster, and am able to include certain feature that were impractical on the manual, but accuracy on target isn’t necessarily better inherently because of the machine mass.

 

[Mr.BR]

So far am quite satisfied with Jet Gearhead lathe , had it all measured up to see what gives in terms of tolerances its supprisingly good. In any case gunsmithing related lathe work is not that high precision task people think it is and many lathes will do just fine.

 

[carlsbad]

Rubicon,
I have a 1000 lb lathe that can do a lot of things. I would not want it to be my only lathe. All my lathes are manual since I don't do production work. Instead I focus on precision projects for individuals.

A 1200 lb chinese lathe can be a good machine but you'll put quite a few hours (weeks) into tuning it. --Jerry

 

[HDWRENCH]

as I said not a gun smith but the 1200 lb units are of zero use to me they are just too light they lack the ability to spin a off balance part , as well with that said I am dealing with vast surface speed increase , a lathe can be many things to one person to the next . spinning a small item that is very close to center and not off balance can make a machine seem ultra smooth they attaching an item that weighs 13 lbs with a few lb off set ha ha that is a whole new deal . I would some one that is far smarter than I do build a turning fixture with counter weights in it for 3 different items I will keep dreaming ha ha. not a great pic but this ia a head for a New M8 harley its extremely off balance I would love to cut this in the lathe as its just faster and more easier cut more accurately then on the mill . Untitled by GMR Performance, on Flickr

 

[HDWRENCH]

here is another part I have to machine the base on This one is broken did not have another pic phone to load but on avg the cut is .017-.022 not huge by any means but I need a specific RA on this to not have leaks with the base gasket that part weighs 11 lbs ish and you can see very out of balance


Untitled by GMR Performance, on Flickr

 

[Masked]

A machinist on the forums is actually shutting down his shop so, I grabbed his Summit.

My next project is finding a mini-cnc.

Everyone told me that I should get a CNC lathe - Maybe down the road, but I'd rather get things started by hand...Then move to cnc, you know?

 

[HDWRENCH]

A machinist on the forums is actually shutting down his shop so, I grabbed his Summit.

My next project is finding a mini-cnc.

Everyone told me that I should get a CNC lathe - Maybe down the road, but I'd rather get things started by hand...Then move to cnc, you know?

I looked at a few as well and the biggest issue is coding . for me I need a rotating table for heads as well and a way to digitize a product so I can duplicate it . in my world easy to spend 150,000 + on that set up