My New Lathe

[The Goose]

I have been on Cast Boolits for a while and somehow never even noticed this forum. I am a little slow sometimes. My main passion is making those old 19th century black powder cartridge guns roar again. In December I bought a Sherline 4000 lathe as a Christmas present to myself. I have to say that I absolutely love this thing. Two of the pictures below show turning the body and thinning the rim on a 45/70 case to make 11.75 X 36mm Austrian Gasser revolver brass. I have made 60 cases so far. I have also used it to cut 24 gauge brass to length to make .577 Snider brass. I foresee dozens of applications for this lathe. I am not a machinist and I had never even used a lathe before so there is a steep learning curve, but I am reading and studying and watching Youtube videos. Mostly I just do it and try to learn from my mistakes.

My other ventures in case forming have been .577/450, .43 Dutch Beaumont, 9.4mm Dutch Revolver, 10.4mm Italian Ordnance revolver, 11mm French Ordnance revolver, .442 Webley, .44 Bulldog, .450 Adams, .38 Short & Long Colt and a few others that escape me at the moment. This lathe is going to make my life a lot easier and opens up new horizons in reinvigorating those old smokewagons. And I will definitely be following this forum closely. Good info here.

[Lostinidaho]

Like you, I like to get rare old guns "roaring" again. So Awesome, So jealous. Like you I can think of so many projects.

[g17]

Nice looking lathe. I've been wanting one for about 25 years. Hopefully someday.

[samari46]

OK, now the fun starts when looking through the various machineshop supply catalogs. Compare it to buying a razor that uses the old style blades. You buy the razor then have to buy the blades. I must have dropped 2K over the years from when I got my lathe. centers, center drills, measuring instruments and tool bits and carbide inserts. When I first started out I ground my own tool bits, that was a learning experience. Our mechanic's shop had a huge old grinder with equally large wheels. So I'd go there with a book showing the various angles and grind my tool bits. Most were great and some not so great. But you learn through actually doing it and see how they work. Then stoning the pits to get good edges on them. Still have a bunch of unground tool bits that I got many years ago. Frank

[The Goose]

How right you are!

[paul edward]

A lathe is one of the most useful tools a reloader can have. Twenty years ago I bought a HF 7x10 mini lathe for my son, a high school rocketry enthusiast. Son grew up and moved out but the lathe is still here and gets used frequently. Just bought a quick change tool post. Can't imagine being without a lathe.

[WJP]

I wish I would have had one when I was a kid. No telling what I would have gotten done.

[salpal48]

I like the Looks of that machine. I also never Used one. I work with a Machinist in Town. The guy Is always Busy and sometimes he is unable to do what I want. Can't blame him since Thats His job.
I looked Tham up.
Is yours the basic machine were There any attachment needed

[The Goose]

I like the Looks of that machine. I also never Used one. I work with a Machinist in Town. The guy Is always Busy and sometimes he is unable to do what I want. Can't blame him since Thats His job.
I looked Tham up.
Is yours the basic machine were There any attachment needed

I got the "B" package which came with extras. In hind sight for my purposes I probably could have gone with the basic package initially and then gotten additional items as needed. For basic turning which is all I have done so far the base model would have been sufficient. No doubt as I become more proficient I will want more capabilities, but I am not there yet. Below is the package that I got.

Product Description
4000B/4100B LATHE PACKAGE INCLUDES:
Model 4000 (4100 Metric) 3.5″ x 8″ lathe and standard accessories PLUS:
•1041 2.5″ 3-jaw self-centering chuck
•1072 1/4″ tailstock drill chuck w/ key, #0 Morse arbor, #1 Morse arbor with drawbolt
•1074 Steady rest
•1191 Live Center
•3002 Cutoff tool and holder
•3007 1/4″ HSS 3-piece cutting tool set (RH, LH, boring)
•3020 Sherline 5/32″ T-driver
•3021 3-piece center drill set
•5327 Sherline Accessories Shop Guide Book (224 pages, B/W)
Standard equipment for the model 4000 (4100 metric) lathe includes:
•A powerful 90 VDC motor with electronic speed controller.
•2.75″ (70mm) x 6.0″ (152mm) crosslide.
•15″ (381mm) steel bed to allow 8″ (203mm) between centers.
•Standard 1-5/8″ (41mm) laser engraved aluminum handwheels.
•Pulleys, drive belt, faceplate, lathe dog, two dead centers, three hexagonal keys, tool post, sharpened high-speed steel cutting tool, eight-foot three-wire power cord, and instruction manual.

[salpal48]

I was on The Sherline Site I saw your Package . very Impressive. Not that I know all The pieces. They also make a "A" package.. The lathes are somewhat expensive. But you will not need another and there made here.
. I do a lot Of forming and Like Yourself. Getting the old One's back @ the range
Like Yourself I deserve a Gift to Myself.
Sal

[Preacher Jim]

I have big lathes but have used my sherline for projects like yours for around 40 years replaced belt twice singer sewing machine belts. I also made a power feed for mine. Another singer motor have fun and I know you will

[woodbutcher]

Lathes are VERY addictive.About 15 or so years ago a friend bought a South Bend made about 1942 or 43.Paid $3,000.00 for it with over 500 lbs of tooling and accessories.Since then,he has spent and a further 15K on more tooling.
Has used it to build parts for cars that are no longer available anywhere.Home repair gun repair rebuilt an antique fishing reel and the Good Lord alone knows what else.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[pdgh59]

Dumb question time, is the case just held by the jaws of the chuck?

[The Goose]

Dumb question time, is the case just held by the jaws of the chuck?

Yes the case is held by the chuck. I have been told that this does not work and will crush the cases. Several hundred cases later I would refute that opinion.

[flyingmonkey35]

jelly

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

[OlDeuce]

Harbor Freight sell little lathes ! I bought the ENCO lathe/mill that is a fun tool!! My friend has the Gun Smith lathe and I'm Bugging him all the time with barrel jobs ......a great tool!

Ol Deuce

[WRideout]

Yes the case is held by the chuck. I have been told that this does not work and will crush the cases. Several hundred cases later I would refute that opinion.

I used my buddy's lathe to drill out the primers of 7.65 Swiss cases; it doesn't even leave a mark.

Wayne

[leadman]

I bought a Smithy Midas 1230 lathe/mill in January. And it is true about the tooling, never have enough! LOL
I did have a little Craftsman 109 but sold it after buying the Smithy.
They sure do come in handy but I probably will never break even on the purchase by doing my own gun stuff. Do have a couple of projects in mind that could make me some cash.
The Sherlines have a good rep. and should provide many years of service.

[sprinkintime]

Lathes are VERY addictive.About 15 or so years ago a friend bought a South Bend made about 1942 or 43.Paid $3,000.00 for it with over 500 lbs of tooling and accessories.Since then,he has spent and a further 15K on more tooling.
Has used it to build parts for cars that are no longer available anywhere.Home repair gun repair rebuilt an antique fishing reel and the Good Lord alone knows what else.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

I just love those south bends, I have 2, 9" with everything a man would want, but the most important thing I brought was a 5C collet chuck for it, where you can go up to 1 1/8 on collets and also use pot chucks up to 6" and a good lathe will hold .001 with no problem with a good tool holder.

Sprink

[EDG]

Sooner or later a case will grab and come flying past your face. You can let us know how it goes after about 10,000 or so cases.
I have had a lot bigger things come out during about 10,000 hours of running dozens of different turning and boring machines.

For holding smaller tapered cases a jam chuck like those trimmer bushings on a Wilson case trimmer work great.

Yes the case is held by the chuck. I have been told that this does not work and will crush the cases. Several hundred cases later I would refute that opinion.