# lathe for home gunsmithing?



## Bamafan4life (May 20, 2010)

Hi,
Me and my family are moving to a house in the country that has 7 acres and a garage that i think is 60 by 80 if not larger. the guys father built race cars there back in the 80's it has electricity running water and a bathroom in it. Well anyways i can finally have room for a lathe and a mill. i like working on my own guns (i will not do this for other people this is just a hobby) and am going to set it up for everything i need to work on my vehicals, guns, leather working and wood working. i plan on taking a machine course here in a few years. I dont know much about lathes but i plan on owning one and its one of the things i always wished i could work with. so my question is what is a good begginers lathe for my needs i just plan on using it to work on barrels and other gun parts and i know these things are expensive but never really priced one. where can they be bought at in the southern states? im just needing a bit of knowledge.


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## Wiskey_33 (May 20, 2010)

I'd look on craigslist. With the way the economy is, I'm sure there are more than a few businesses closing their doors and may be willing to move one for a good price.


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## stj7780 (May 20, 2010)

You can get away with a smaller lathe depending on what you are doing. If you want to build or work on rifles then a larger lathe will suite you best. Before I bought mine a friend told me to think of the largest work that I may need to do and size a lathe based on that. I ended up with a 13x40 Southbend. I wouldn't trade it for the world. 
Also old iron is better than the new stuff for the most part. I am a big believer in older USA made machines. I had a smaller chinese machine before the Southbend and hated it. They are not very accurate for the most part and not well made. There are good foreign made machines out there but the price is consistent with the quality. Older machines have the quality but the price is much lower. I paid $1500 for my lathe. The same size lathe, new, good quality would be double that or more.
I second Craigslist, that is how I found mine. Put a want ad out and someone will contact you. Hope that helps. 
I you have any specific questions shot me an email, I have the 13x40, Bridgeport series 1 and all of my other machining tools stuffed into half of my two car garage. 
Steve


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## Gunplumber Mike (May 20, 2010)

Its not hard to find a good lathe fairly priced.  Many places are moving to computer controlled machines and dumping old fashioned machines.  Be patient.  Get one big enough to handle the biggest job you want to do.  A large pass through is good as is the ability to turn threads.  Older American made machines are usually better than Chinese made ones.  Don't be put off by fifty years of grime if the machine is still tight.  I have one five year old machine, but my best lathe was made in the 1960's.  It has less "slop" than the newer machine.  Military disposal and school systems are good places to keep an eye on.  Roll Tide.


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## EMC-GUN (May 20, 2010)

Ronnie Gore had a nice one for sale over on swap and sell. Go check it out.....Wait, never mind......


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## Wiskey_33 (May 20, 2010)

EMC-GUN said:


> Ronnie Gore had a nice one for sale over on swap and sell. Go check it out.....Wait, never mind......


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## rayjay (May 20, 2010)

I bought one of the Grizzly 4003G gunsmith lathes back in 07 and have been pretty happy with it. I spent about a year riding around Georgia looking at worn out 'American Iron' before I saw the light.  I realized I wanted to work on guns, not ride around looking for the holy grail/needle in a haystack. 

I did luck up onto a super nice Super Max 9x42 milling machine in 09. About as close to showroom condition as you will find on a machine made in 1983. Came with a bunch of spares and tooling. Single phase motor, ideal home shop machine. The guy also had a super nice engine lathe. 

It's pretty awesome to be able to make about anything I can imagine and I have a heluva imagination


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## Alan in GA (May 20, 2010)

*old iron....*

I hunted for lathe for years. There is a lot of junk out there. Do you want to work on a lathe or guns? IF you can FIND a 'not worn out' lathe you have found something good. I enjoy a 12x36 Clausing with a large spindle hole in the headstock. This allows you to mount a common barrel [20"-30"] inside the headstock spindle. If you get a small spindle hole you will have to work on most barrels out on the ways [which is OK] and use a steady rest [which any good lathe should be eqipped with].
As I said there is a lot of junk out there. The best thing you can do is find someone that will go WITH you when you find a lathe to look at. That person should own a lathe and be active with it. He will know what to look for and give you good advise.
As one poster said, a new Grizzly gunsmith lathe might be the one to get. You can start learning how to use it instead of spending time disassembling, cleaning, and finding parts for some relic you found.
Did that, won't again if I can help it!
A lathe is a lot of fun, but DO BE CAREFUL, they can eat you and kill you if you get careless one time! Find a mentor that can guide you for your first experiences with one.
Better to hear how he got a scar on his knuckles than to cut your own on the chuck jaws...


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## rayjay (May 21, 2010)

No kidding. There is a HORRENDOUS pic on the web somewhere of a poor soul that got sucked into a large lathe chuck. Chilling.

Guys REMEMBER THAT IF YOU HAVE A BAD ACCIDENT IN YOUR HOME SHOP THE PERSON MOST LIKELY TO FIND YOU IS YOUR WIFE OR KID.  Be safe. No loose clothes. No long hair. No shop aprons. No gloves. No sudden moves. On a weird set up really look things over before you turn the machine on. Wear safety glasses.

The book below has been essential to me.


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## jglenn (May 21, 2010)

RAYJAY


we have the same lathe and it does work pretty darn well. our Mill is a bit smaller though but it works...


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## Alan in GA (May 21, 2010)

*"horrendous picture"....*

just imagine a lathe as a large 'food processor'. It will eat you up in seconds if you aren't totally and ALWAYS AWARE of the spinning chuck, work piece, and lead screw!
Long hair MUST be kept up in a net.


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## rayjay (May 21, 2010)

jglenn said:


> RAYJAY
> 
> 
> we have the same lathe and it does work pretty darn well. our Mill is a bit smaller though but it works...



I have to admit that my milling machine is my pride and joy maybe even over the rifles that it made possible 

NOTE. The pic below is from the PO's shop. I only wish my shop was this size.


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## Alan in GA (May 21, 2010)

*I have something BETTER than a milling machine....*

....I have a FRIEND that has a milling machine [actually to mills, and 3 or 4 friends that all have mills/lathes]

I'm cramped for space so I'm happy I have these friends within 20 minutes drive and closer.


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## rayjay (May 21, 2010)

20 steps is better than 20 mins.


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