Hey guys . In the process of upgrading my shop/garage going to be in the market for a lathe and mill setup . Just wondering what everyone is using for the smith work ? Been looking at a few machines but im on the fence about what to buy . Im leaning towards a lathe mill combo machine with at least 36" bettween centers .thoughts ?
What lathes are everyone using for smith work
- Thread starter m_moss23
- Start date
- Location
- Central AB
I wouldn't go the lathe/mill combo route, it will drive you nuts. On the surface they sound like a good idea, but are a pain in reality. Every time you switch from milling to turning requires a fair amount of work. Going back and forth gets old real fast. I have a Craftex CT089 13 x 24 lathe with a 1 1/2 inch through hole. I've been pretty happy with it. I wouldn't want anything smaller.
My mill is a Craftex CX601. I wish i would have went bigger on this one, but never the less its been good. To be really useful you need DRO on a mill. Not necessary on the lathe, but a serious improvement on a mill.
The old saying you will spend as much on accessories, cutting tools etc as you do on the machine is pretty close. But a lot of that can be aquired over time as the need arises.
Anyway, have fun.
My mill is a Craftex CX601. I wish i would have went bigger on this one, but never the less its been good. To be really useful you need DRO on a mill. Not necessary on the lathe, but a serious improvement on a mill.
The old saying you will spend as much on accessories, cutting tools etc as you do on the machine is pretty close. But a lot of that can be aquired over time as the need arises.
Anyway, have fun.
- Location
- Central AB
Nice
- Location
- Central AB
Extra nice!!!
I'll second both to steer clear of the combo units as well as guntech's suggestion that a 1 3/8 inch spindle bore is a real sweet spot.
The combo machines are a real pain to get set up on, and are usually built out of the cheapest of the cheap makers too. It is ironic, that the guys most like to have success with a combo machine, being the guys with a LOT of different experience with odd set-ups, are about the least like to buy one, and the guys that have no experience to fall back on, end up with one, and are frustrated to no end by them. Most of the combo machines lack in the rigidity dept., as well as usually have very high lowest speeds, making threading a real adventure. Excitement like that, you don't need.
The 1 and 3/8ths spindle hole gets you in to the size of machine that will take a 5C collet, arguably the cheapest and most common ones out there. It allows you to fit all but the largest blanks through the headstock. Most of the lathes around on the market that have a through hole as large as that, will be equipped with a spindle nose that takes a cam lock or similar quick change chuck mount, rather than being threaded. D1-3, and D1-4 are fairly common, and easy to source other stuff for.
You can accomplish a LOT with just a lathe, and add a cross slide mounted vise to it and you can do some basic milling.
If you don't already have a decent drill press, get one of those before a mill. On the other hand, one of the RF-30 style mills is a really decent drill press as well as doing 'cut to a line' milling, which, honestly, is going to cover off 95 or more percent of the milling you will be doing at first.
I actually have a bunch of experience with milling on an RF-30 style mill, and they can be a really useful tool if you want a benchtop (ie: space is a bit scarce) mill. I have done a lot of milling on a milling slide, mounted on a Myford lathe as well. Neither is up to any sort of industrial standards, but they suffice with due care and attention, for occasional use.
Horse puckey. Sort of like telling a guy not to buy a truck unless it's at least a five ton capacity.
While a 14 x 40 would be a great lathe to have, it's pretty much overkill for almost all more or less normal gun work. It'll cost more, need heavier and more expensive tooling, and be harder to fit into a space and move to a new one if need be. And will need a larger electrical power source.
The OP needs to look pretty hard at what he intends to do with the machine tools, before buying way too much, or way too little, to suit his own needs.
Almost 'the' lathe in more gunsmiths shops, was either a 9 or 10 inch swing South Bend or similar. Not particularly heavy machines, lots of room between centers. Set up is going to eat more time than cutting. And it's not about production. Not for a general purpose gunsmiths lathe anyway.
gstprecision
Regular
- Location
- Frankford, On
I am running an Enco 13x40. The 40" between center is nice, I would definately not go shorter for my applications. 36" is minimum for sure.
1-1/2" spindle bore and a short headstock if you wanna do threading and chambering through the headstock. Mine will only do 20" or longer.
It really comes down to what you are gonna be using it for.
GST
1-1/2" spindle bore and a short headstock if you wanna do threading and chambering through the headstock. Mine will only do 20" or longer.
It really comes down to what you are gonna be using it for.
GST
David Henry
CGN Regular
- Location
- West of the big road
I have two lathes in my shop at the present time, a 14 X 40 Logan and a Monarch 10 EE which has a 10 inch swing and about 22 inches of bed length. D.H.
for my shop I have a TOSS 18x72, most of the stuff I do is repair and building model steam locos, it has come in useful for gun work on barrels many times, the smaller one is a Emco 10x36, it is a combo machine, the milling head works well for drilling and threading sight holes on barrels, used a handful of times for facing or odd slots, mostly the lathe for making screws and small parts, the mill is a Bridgeport knee mill, table 12 x 48 wish it had power feed but gets jobs done.
fortunately at work I have access to CNC mills and lathe, most of my work these days are CNC, just hate turning handles
tooling is the larger cost than the machine themselves
fortunately at work I have access to CNC mills and lathe, most of my work these days are CNC, just hate turning handles
tooling is the larger cost than the machine themselves
handofzeus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Trout Creekish Ontario.
A very old Southbend 9X36"
My usual recomendation is the sharp 14x40
great value http://www.sharpmachinetools.com/PDFs/1440G.pdf
great value http://www.sharpmachinetools.com/PDFs/1440G.pdf
#1bcshooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- North Of The DMZ (US border)
Southbend 10K here
This is an honest question not a flame:
What is the benefit of a longer lathe bed and wider swing, for the gunsmith, so long as spindle bore is wide enough and less than half the length of the bed? I am inclined to think that a smaller but rigid 110 v lathe is the most economical, plus a person can creep threads by hand which (to me) is important. Though it is convenient to dog a whole barrel between centers. To me, rigidity is more important than bed length. But that is me. I've never seen the use of what usually means spending thousands more dollars in order to save/gain hundreds in work.
What is the benefit of a longer lathe bed and wider swing, for the gunsmith, so long as spindle bore is wide enough and less than half the length of the bed? I am inclined to think that a smaller but rigid 110 v lathe is the most economical, plus a person can creep threads by hand which (to me) is important. Though it is convenient to dog a whole barrel between centers. To me, rigidity is more important than bed length. But that is me. I've never seen the use of what usually means spending thousands more dollars in order to save/gain hundreds in work.
- Location
- Central AB
I can honestly say that my 24" bed has been quite adequate for what i do. The larger spindle bore to me is more important than extra length, or larger swing. But i don't generally turn down long barrels etc. Mostly i use a er32 collet chuck, which allows me to pass through most items i do. On the odd occasion i need extra length i can use a outbouard spider. Really depends what type of work you do.
