If price were no object; which lathe for gunsmithing/

[wmitty]

Haven't got a rich uncle, but if cost was not a consideration, which lathe would you consider to be the ideal lathe for gunsmithing?

[country gent]

I would look at Monarchs and Hardringes and some others but those are very solid accurate machines. The actual machines are the cheap part of the investment. Its the tooling that runs the costs way up.

[izzyjoe]

Just my honest opinion, but find an older Leblanc, south bend heavy 10, or hardringe and you'll have something. But it all depends on what you want to with it, you can from mild to wild! A small machine will do the same work as a larger one to an extent, but it'll take longer! But with a larger lathe you cut more per pass, making the job faster. If a fellow starts out on a small lathe he will appreciate a larger one when it come time to up grade! Country gent is right, the lathe is cheap by comparison to the tooling, and extras that go along with it.

[MarkP]

Hardinge Super Precision

[John Taylor]

I have a problem with the "older heavy iron" machines. The spindle hole is usually very small compared to what is available today. I bought a Birmingham 14X40 gear head several years back because it had a spindle hole of 1.5". South Bend now has a 14X40 with the same size spindle hole but they are so proud of it that I could not find the price. It comes with a 5 HP motor and I find that my 3 HP is plenty. If money was no problem then I would be able to spend time shopping around. Right now I will have to make do with the three lathes and two mills already in the shop.

[DCM]

If cost and space were no problem, a large bore(for large OD barrels), Heavy for rigidity, 3 phase(for smooth operation), 42" bed min., with an oversized VFD for infinite speed adjustment, Big Heavy quick change tool post for rigidity again, a big shipload of threading pitches, set on its own Separately poured reinforced concrete base. So it would be quite different from what I can afford right now.

[scb]

http://www.haascnc.com/lathe_mt.asp?...ATHE#gsc.tab=0

[Treetop]

Subscribed. I've been a machinist all of my life and I'll be retiring this spring. My mind is already made up re: a vertical mill (J head Bridgeport) but I still haven't decided on a lathe. Tt.

[country gent]

We had a warner Swasey lathe that had an 8 1/2" spindle bore thru the head stock. Wasnt needed very often but on the occasion it was nothing else compared. This machine had a 50 HP motor and hydronic head drive on it. 1 1/2" on a sdie turning and drilling a 3" hole at the same time barley made it work. The hardringes I ran had 1 7/16' or so spindle bores thru them. The monarchs were 1 3/8" . A lot of the old small "hobby" type machines were under powered and had small spindle holes. One piece of tooling to consider for a lathe that is usefull is a taper attachment if available. The first is a 3 axis readout X,Y, and tail stock spindle. I also perfer the D series chick mounts on newer equipment. A removable bridge is nice, but for most work not needed. A good solid bed on any machine is really important. Some tooling can be made easily for the lathe ( boring bars, drive dogs, dead centers, ).

[bob208]

i have the perfect lathe. a 14 1/2 inch south bend with 8 foot bed. I can get 5' between centers it has a 1 1/2 " through hole guick change gear box and taper attachment. and it is paid for.

[DCM]

http://www.haascnc.com/lathe_mt.asp?...ATHE#gsc.tab=0

I wasn't thinking CNC but I think this would most definitely fit the bill!

[seagiant]

Hi,
MONARCH!

[akajun]

The cnc hass listed above, with a tru bore alignment system chuck.
If you had to go strictly manual, used, anything 14x40 that is still tight with a tru bore alignement system chuck.
New, a Standard Modern 14x40, kingston 14x40, again with true bore alignment system.

[Blanket]

Haas cnc toolroom lathe

[gzig5]

If you want to chamber through the headstock, the Hardinge and Monarch 10EE will pose some problems due to the spindle bore diameter or length. I think I'd lean towards a 14" EMCO or Nardini. I also liked my 14" Rockwell but it was wore out when I got it. Right now I have a SB Heavy 10 with 4' bed and it will suffice.

[MtGun44]

Hardinge.

Bill

[30Carbine]

Bob208 I got the one just below yours the southbend 13inch 6ft bed, 1941 or 1942 hard to bet them old girls. I also have 3 cnc machines so I am set already.

[paul h]

I don't know if the ideal gunsmithing lathe exists. I assume you're talking about one for chambering barrels, as that is primarily what a gunsmith does? To me the ideal lathe would have a relative large spindle bore to allow barrels of differing dia's and configurations to be held in the 4 jaw and supported with a spider, but you also need a headstock that isn't too long or you'll only be able to support barrels 24" or longer. It would be a variable speed lathe, massive and rigid for doing the best work.

Of the two wonderful toolroom lathes mentioned, the Monarch 10EE and the Hardinge HLV they both come up short as a gunsmiths lathe. The spindle bore is too small in dia, the bed is too short on the 10EE, and while the HLV is a wonderfully precise lathe I would prefer a more massive and rigid lathe like the 10EE.

Now, if you could make a 10EE with a 36" bed and a 1 3/4" or 2" spindle bore and a headstock that would support a 20" barrel from the 4 jaw and a spider you'd have IMHO to perfect gunsmith lathe. Well, except it would be over $100k and no gunsmith could afford such a tool as you could chamber barrels to the necessary precision for gunsmithing with a $5-10k Asian lathe.

[W.R.Buchanan]

The absolute high point of the engine lathe was, and still is, the Mori Seiki Engine Lathe. They are 17 x 40 or 60 and are the best hand operated machine tool I have ever touched. I have ran 50 different types of engine lathes and tool room lathes including Cadillacs, Sigma Tos, Axelsons, Webbs, Okumas, Warners, South Bends, Logans, Clausings, and a bunch of others as well.

This is a machine where when you dial in an offset the machine takes exactly that much material off. They do exactly what you tell them too do everytime ,,, period!


As far as Toolroom Lathes go, the Hardinge HLV is in my opinion the best due to the threading system and I have ran Monarch 10EE's as well, including a brand new one that the shop paid $72,000 for. Yes the final price on 10EE's was that much. The biggest problem with the Toolroom lathes is their small size and low HP.

The Mori Seiki is a real Engine Lathe with a 7.5HP motor and is big enough that you can do lots more work on it than a Hardinge can. Same or better level of precision as well.

That said I am looking for a Hardinge for my shop. Since I don't have enough power to run the Mori.

One small point that is often overlooked and that is that Hardinge Lathes are only 1HP,,, which kind of limits them.

One last point, the OP asked the "Ultimate Lathe for a Gunsmith?"

That really needs to be an Engine Lathe, not a small Toolroom Lathe. It has to be big enough to turn a barrel between centers and most Toolroom Lathes are not .

My .02 on this subject.

Randy

[Rifle 57]

This is what I use to chamber barrels 15x50 Colchester this is about as good as it gets.