Yup.
The 12" Atlas makes a Myford look positively solid by comparison.
Myfords are not the be-all to end all as far a a small lathe goes, but for a machine that one guy (better with two!) can manhandle down a flight of stairs, they rate pretty good. I'm only a little biased, as I had two at one time, now just one.
They are hugely better built than the Atlas lathes, esp. of the same size range (7x17 capacity), the Super 7, if you can find one, has a 2500 rpm top speed, and a 30 or so rpm lowest.
If you expect to take 1/4" passes off steel bar with it, guess again, but within their limits, they are a great tool. For a gunsmith, they would not be suitable as the only lathe. But they would be a heck of a great addition to the tool list.
A 12 inch Atlas lathe is lighter built than a 9 inch South Bend. The 10 inch (except the 10K) South bend is in a whole different class above the 9. But if you want solid and rigid, you pretty much gotta shop for the units that are built with the base pedestal all as one part of the lathe body.
Hundreds of 9 inch South Bend lathes, and their similar competitors from Logan, Sheldon, Rockwell, and a bunch of other makers, have all served Gunsmiths very well. Mainly, it's about learning to use the tools available, rather than sitting on your hands and moaning about how much better it would be if one only had....
It may be a poor craftsman that blames his tools, but conversely, having the best tools around, won't do you much good if you are not craftsman enough to get good use of them.
Cheers
Trev
