What lathes are everyone using for smith work

I operated a Sharp lathe for some time at work, a very good machine for the price. I find Taiwanese built machinery to be head and shoulders above Mainland China stuff in general.

David Henry said:
CanAm has supplied a link to the Sharp 14 x 40 with a 2 inch spindle bore. That looks like a damned fine piece of kit. I am considering replacing my 14 x 40 and that Sharp could be in the running. D.H.
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Mike Webb said:
I operated a Sharp lathe for some time at work, a very good machine for the price. I find Taiwanese built machinery to be head and shoulders above Mainland China stuff in general.
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Yeah, and the bigger you go, the better the mainland Chinese stuff gets too. And the closer to actual market rates the price gets, as good materials, and good bearings, are pretty expensive.

They build to what the customer orders. Too bad that the customer has been ordering sea containers of cheap crap for so many years. The plus side of that is that the abundance of cheap crap has driven the prices of some really good machines, down to where a hobbiest can afford to buy them.

I'll be clear, not dissing on the 14 x 40 lathes in any way, just that they are larger than most guys can fit in their space, and are also much more expensive to buy, feed and keep, as it were.

If a fella had to have just one lathe, and was using it professionally, it'd be a good choice as an all round user, but most gunsmiths would be over equipped with one, when the vast majority of the jobs are much smaller than the lathe can deal with.

I use a Myford Super 7 for most of my parts and project work. I also have a 11x24 Emco Super 11(Austrian made, not Enco Chinese), and a 13x40 Colchester Master 2500, that is in storage awaiting the installation of a VFD and motor so I don't need to run a step up transformer for the 550V original motors. Bothe the Emco and the Colchester share the same size spindle. The Emco is a pretty light weight lathe for the size of it's bore, while the Colchester is about average for a 13x40
 
I have two older Taiwanese lathes.

One is a 14x40 with a 1.5in spindle bore. I keep the 3 jaw chuck on it. It's a back gear system with separate change out gears for Metric

The other is a Grizzly. 14x30 with 1.5 spindle bore and has a quick change gear box. I keep either the four jaw or six jaw chuck on it, depending on how precise I need to be.

Both are excellent to a point. Both have advantages and disadvantages over the other.

The 14x40 has a bit of run out when the jaws are closed. Appx .002. Not a lot but irksome. The run out is in the chuck internals as the outside of the drum have less than a thousandth.

It's fine for most work and I have switched out the tool post it came with (turret) for an Aloris with multiple holders. I like it a lot.

The Grizzly is much easier to keep things true from the chuck to the tail stock spindle, when turning down long pieces, such as barrels. The actual usable space between centers is around 22 inches. The slightly better quality of the components shows up in end products.

I tried one of those compound lathes that are combination drill/mill/lathes. That lasted less than a week.

My advice is to get the largest (most stable) decent quality lathe you can fit into the available space you have. Make sure it's mounted high enough so back strain isn't an issue when long operating sessions are required.

TOOLING. GOOD TOOLING IS A MUST. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO CARBIDE CUTTERS. Most of the cheap, brazed on cutters are terrible IMHO. The extra dollars spent on good quality tooling makes a lot of difference in the finished product.

There are some very well thought out and informative posts here. Get familiar with the nomenclature so it makes sense.

TURF THE LIBERALS IN 2019

TURF THE LIBERALS IN 2019
 
Grizzly Adams said:
I have a Taiwanese, Only downside is the manuals suck.

Grizz
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Your's came with manuals??? All mine came with were spec sheets.

I had to purchase manual from online. I did find a few at a yard sale as well. Then, the positioning of the controls were mostly different from those in the manuals but that all came around without to much trouble.

TURF THE LIBERALS IN 2019
 
And invest in a good 4 jaw chuck. Three jaw is fine for general stuff but once you get used to dialing up a workpiece in the 4 jaw you will hardly use the three jaw. Far more accurate and super holding power plus you can chuck irregular shapes and offset holes as well.
 
Mike Webb said:
And invest in a good 4 jaw chuck. Three jaw is fine for general stuff but once you get used to dialing up a workpiece in the 4 jaw you will hardly use the three jaw. Far more accurate and super holding power plus you can chuck irregular shapes and offset holes as well.
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Being a starving student these days, a 4 jaw chuck is a distant future luxury. But stealing an idea from a video I saw about a gunsmith threading a barrel, I copied their 4 jaw (actually 8) adapter. Using a scrap piece of random tubing I drilled and tapped for 2 rows of 3/8" fine thread bolts at 90°. Using an old bolt that was drilled off centre, I was able to dial it concentric to a few tenths locating from the drilled hole by using a another piece of scrap turned to a slip fit. It took a bit of practice to dial out both any eccentricity and yaw but dang, it works. Although limited to things about an inch in size considering the only out of pocket expense was 74 cents for 2 more 3/8 x 1-1/4" fine thread bolts, I'm quite pleased. The 8 bolts modified with 1/4" dia bronze tips gripped the 3/4" dia test piece well enough to turn it down and thread it without any slippage.
 
I had a Southbend 10K lathe with 35" centers for years. It was a great machine but had its limitations.
The flat belt limited it to 1/2 horsepower and if I remember correctly the spindle bore was 7/8".
I replaced it with a 12"x 36" gear head lathe from Busy Bee tools. It has a 1 7/8" spindle bore and 1 1/2 horsepower.
Its a good machine and exceeds my abilities.

Terry
 
Mike Webb said:
If you have the time and are inventive you can accomplish a lot in the shop. And 74 cents will not get you a 4 jaw.
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Nope, but it will make you a Cat Head Chuck of sorts, out of scrap.

Aside from it's use as a replacement (if clumsy) for a 4 jaw chuck, a cat heat like that can also be used to run a steady rest on a not-round piece of stock or work. The process of dialing in the cat head is slow, but it can save your arse when you need such.

Side note. Best tool idea I ever stole. Mounting a dial indicator on a quick change tool post holder. Daed fricken easy to slap the indicator in to the tool post and go, easy as pie to move it where and when you need, rather than dicking about with a mag base.

I like four jaw chucks. every person that runs a lathe should have enough experience that it holds no fear whatsoever. Experience comes with practice! Not avoidance!
 
and don't forget about the need for a cat-head chuck for the outboard end of your headstock...very handy in steadying long work pieces, takes the wobble and vibration out very well.

And amen to using and getting used to a 4-jaw...I fought with mine a couple of times and then avoided it like the plague, until I watched a Sait Instructor give a demo on how to use one efficiently...when the light suddenly came on I had to beat my head against the wall wondering why I couldn't figure that out my own self.
 
95% of the time i use my collet chuck. As accurate as a 4 jaw, but faster. Moreover it grips better than a 4 jaw, and you can hold threaded parts without damaging them. I only use the 4 jaw for larger pieces. But i agree with you that once you learn the proper way to adjust them, 4 jaw is really simple, and quite fast. I can't remember the last time i even used a 3 jaw, they just aren't accurate enough for what i do.
 
Dogfish858 said:
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.
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Swing isn't important... a 9 inch swing is just fine... the longer bed allows turning a long barrel between centers...

so if you could find a sturdy little 9 inch swing with 36 inch centers and an inch and three eighths hole through the spindle - it would be a fantastic lathe for gunsmithing.

My made in the US 1972 Rockwell is variable speed (220V) - has the large hole, an 11 inch swing and 40 inch centers. A flame hardened bed that after 40 years shows no wear... I consider it one of the finest for gunsmithing. Collet set, 3 jaw, 4 jaw (both Pratt), milling attachment, steady rest...
 
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for you guys with machines in home based shops..... what kind of power are you guys running these machines on?
I've only got normal 100 amp 220 going to my shop and my full size beaver mill is 3 phase running on a vfd.
It's a great machine but it's 5 hours away in my friend's shop and i'm looking for a good sized knee mill and lathe but keep finding deals on 3 phase stuff and no deals on decent 220V stuff.....
maybe i'm looking in the wrong places haha
my uses are everything from turning my dana 60 drums and rotors to threading a gun barrel LOL
 
All my machines now run on single phase 220, but when I build my next shop I'm planning to build or buy a 600V 3 phase diesel generator for all the cheap 3 phase tools I want to buy. I may have issues with "dirty" power, but with a large enough generator and a smooth running engine it should be fine for old machine tools, the cnc's might need some additional electronics to clean it up a little
 
jeffreyguy said:
All my machines now run on single phase 220, but when I build my next shop I'm planning to build or buy a 600V 3 phase diesel generator for all the cheap 3 phase tools I want to buy. I may have issues with "dirty" power, but with a large enough generator and a smooth running engine it should be fine for old machine tools, the cnc's might need some additional electronics to clean it up a little
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This is something that has been on my mind as well, now that I'm looking to purchase a lathe for the farm.
 
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