Lathe

[Trapshooter12]

If you wanted to do just barrel work what Lathe would you buy.

My nephew is about to finish Electrical engineering school and I'm trying to talk him into learning how to turn barrels for family use.

 

[Makinchips208]

Grizzly makes one called a “gunsmith lathe” and is decent for light work like that. Can send pics or model later. Threaded a lot of barrels on it.
Another is Ganesh.
Haas tool room lathes are pretty cool also. Used ones if found are affordable and can be operated like a manual or also cnc.
Those are what I’ve played with on the low end, and you probably don’t care about the big cncs.

 

[...]

ProTip: find the lathe you want...then buy the next size larger...

by the time you add chucks and tailstock tooling, that space gets eaten up quick.

 

[Makinchips208]

What mcameron said.

 

[_Windrider_]

Precision Matthew’s is making really nice lathes these days in Taiwan.

 

[fdkay]

PM has a new Taiwan made 12x36. But, to be sure, many a barrel has been spun and action trued on the grizzly 4003G.
I have the Chicom PM 1236, if the Taiwan made one would have been available, I would have gotten that one.
No complaints with mine, except the leaking oil. Not terrible, just annoying.

 

[Mordamer]

Precision Matthews Taiwan made lathe. 12x36 is big enough for pretty much all barrel work, but bigger is better.

 

[acudaowner]

slave labor , you are good sir .

 

[missed]

Mazak Integrix i420 or Quick Turn MQY 10"

One of the biggest things is to have enough spindle bore to work in. My second manual machine Leblond dual drive 16x38 had a long headstock, but had a 2.5" spindle bore which made barrel work much easier. My first machine was an odd small Monarch that had a small spindle bore that was really a pain in the ass for barrel work.

 

[akmike47]

Pretty sure my buddy has a grizzly, seems to work great.

 

[SmartDonkey]

After lots of searching I went with the PM12x36 Taiwan.... On paper it seemed like the best deal and didn't want a china machine. But-- be prepared to wait-- the delivery date keeps getting moved back. Not regretting the purchase at all (and sure they would give me a refund if wanted) but if you want to get your hands on it quickly it may not be the best option.

Everyone is having supply issues- but some of the grizzly machines are still available immediately.

 

[Easy_E]

My first lathe was a worn clapped out Sheldon lathe bought from a friend . It worked built a many nice shooting rifles . Looked around for something nicer American made nothing was in my price range unless it was beat to shit . Bit the bullet ordered a PM1440GT after looking at the reviews .

 

[Slickrick0999]

Ours

 

[Steel head]

I’d look at a Taiwanese PM or a used older lathe.
I use a Hardinge HLV, a bit small for the bigger barrels but it’s fantastic for threading.

 

[_Windrider_]

My first lathe was a worn clapped out Sheldon lathe bought from a friend . It worked built a many nice shooting rifles . Looked around for something nicer American made nothing was in my price range unless it was beat to shit . Bit the bullet ordered a PM1440GT after looking at the reviews .

1440 is a solid machine. I’d like to have one or the 1660 would be really nice so if I ever ran the tru bore system I wouldn’t give up as much work area.

What I don’t like though is that for the prices a DRO isn’t standard.

 

[tate1976]

Find ultimate reloader on YouTube. He has a badass lathe. He does a full overview of it

 

[_Windrider_]

Find ultimate reloader on YouTube. He has a badass lathe. He does a full overview of it

Yeah that’s the one I just mentioned. He as a 1440 and a 1660.

 

[Ledzep]

I’d look at a Taiwanese PM or a used older lathe.
I use a Hardinge HLV, a bit small for the bigger barrels but it’s fantastic for threading.

Hardinge HLV is what I'd like to end up with some day. I'm so spoiled at this point from the ones where I work that I'm not sure I could thread on a half-nut again without fucking it up once.

 

[fdkay]

One of the things you should consider is this: how many barrels a year? 2 or 3, or more?
I sometimes wish that I had just gone with the PM 1228 LB. it is absolutely capable of doing several barrels a year, it is a fairly small footprint with 1.5" spindle bore. It is a change gear type setup, but if your just doing barrels and actions, you won't need to change from a basic setup.

 

[Easy_E]

1440 is a solid machine. I’d like to have one or the 1660 would be really nice so if I ever ran the tru bore system I wouldn’t give up as much work area.

What I don’t like though is that for the prices a DRO isn’t standard.

I went back and forth between the Grizzly and the Precision Mathews for a long time . One thing for sure I've never been happy cutting corners or going the cheaper route . Buy once cry once is what they say .
Bit the bullet and bought four jaw , three jaw and collet chuck even bought the upgraded scales and display. Very happy with the setup it turns out some really nice work . Last night I opened up some 6.5 brakes to 9mm for a customer using one boring bar .

Edit to add Gordy had the 1440 in his setup before our class so getting to run it before buying sure helped.