Which machine to buy.

[Strtspdlx]

I used to have an atlas 10" lathe with all the bells and whistles and a southbend 9" with all the bells and whistles. I have since sold them and many of my other tools to acquire different things in life. Since I've reached my goal I've set a new one. I would like to purchase another machining tool so I can start expirementing with designs and features I have ideas for. Primarily firearms related but I'm a person who just enjoys tinkering all together. I'm also a member on the hobby machinist site. I have a few years experience running a j head mill, multiple lathes, a surface grinder and a few surfaces. I'm by no means an expert at machining. My question would be for matching operations on pistols what would be the most useful. A large or a j head mill. I'm thinking the mill would be. But not having done any machine work that is firearms related I'd like to hear other opinions.

[targetfreak]

Not sure what you mean by "J head mill". Is that what some call a vertical mill, or a horizontal mill? One or the other. I have a vertical mill and 10" Atlas lathe, and what I would like more than anything else would be a surface grinder. People who have never really used a surface grinder have no idea of their potentials.

[Green Frog]

The J-head mill designation refers to the ubiquitous Bridgeport J-head Vertical Mill. That, along with either the 10" Atlas lathe OR the 9" Southbend should work for just about any gun work. The SB has a reputation for durability, but I think the extra size of the Atlas might be a desirable feature... not the throw, but the headstock bore capacity. All that being said, I'm just starting to set up MY shop with a 10" Sheldon lathe and an Atlas horizontal mill, but my gunsmithing will be pretty limited.

Froggie

[bob208]

I have done a lot of work on a clausing 8520 mill it has a 6"x24" table and a real knee. I know of a pro gunsmith that all he had was the same mill. a friend just bought a Rockwell that has the same size table. the nice thing about both mills is they break down into smaller parts and can be moved by hand.

for a lathe I have a 9" south bend with a long bed. with the long bed you don't have to have that big of a head stock hole. just use a steady rest. the pro that I talked about had a long bed atlas lathe he did barrel work on and a shorter s-b for other work.

I do have a 14 1/2" s-b lathe and a full size vertical mill also but use them very little.

[labradigger1]

J head is a Bridgeport knee mill. For most firearm applications you want one with DRO at the minimum and CNC is even better.
No way I would ever take an atlas over a south bend. My 2¢

[smokeywolf]

Strtspdlx, if you're asking which will be more useful, lathe or mill, the answer is lathe. If you're going to end up getting both, get the lathe first.

Unless your going to try and make money with it, a DRO on the mill is what you want. If your budget allows, get a lathe that accommodates 5C collets and put a DRO on that too. If you're going to buy used, get American iron. If you are leaning more toward new, a few of the Taiwan made machines are pretty decent. I'd stay away from used mainland China stuff.

Gotta go along with labradigger1 on South Bend over Atlas.

I would love to put an NC retrofit on my Bridgeport, but the one I like (Accu-Rite MILLPWR G2) is at least $13,000 and I can't see ever being able to justify that. Also can't see ever having the time put my own NC retrofit together.

[country gent]

Not trying top be smart here but want to ame a simple point. As long as the machine will hold the work to be done, the operators skills and attention to detail will be more important than the actual maker of the machine. If your familiar with certain machines and their quirks and operations then that may b the best chioice for you.One nice plus is to go up to the series 2 bridgeport with the variable speed head. Digital read outs are nice but with attention to detail the dials will work. The tooling you buy get with the machines is as important as the machnes are also. A cheap mill vise springs and gives a kurt vise is good and solid. We had quick change tool holders on the bridgeports at work. These were nice but not necessary. But not having to reach up to the top of the head to change tools saved alot of time. Our lathes were a mix of diffrent makers Monarch, hardringe, American, clausing, a few atlases on the floor, ANd a bridgeport rommi. They were all good solid machines. The hardringes were the cream of the bunch being solid bed and 1 1/2 spindle holes variable speed heads, quick change chucks on the headstocks. Digital read out X and Y. ( i always wanted a read out on the compound and tail stock) These machines had aloris style tool holders and lever acting 5c collets. Very accurate and solid repeatable and easy to maintain.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I have to disagree with some about the two types of machines Mill or Lathe. The mill is infinitely more useful for pistol work than a Lathe.

A lathe is useful for crowning barrels as round work but a Mill can drill holes in predictable positions, make flat and square pieces, and in the end you have to figure out which you will do more of.

Really you need both, but when I was starting out I only had a mill for several years and did fine without it. However I was only taking on Mill work so I didn't need the Lathe. For production work you can make more money with a Lathe, but that is not an Atlas Lathe it is a Hardinge Chucker and making runs of the same part. For onesy, twoseys, and for normal gunsmith work a regular engine lathe is OK however you aren't going to make a bunch of money with it.(which probably isn't your goal anyway.)

In short you want a Bridgeport Mill and a decent Engine Lathe. BY decent I mean one that will repeat and is rigid enough to deliver a decent finish on a cut. The BS of sanding a part to finish it is just that. The machine and cutting tool are supposed to deliver that for you. I haven't put a piece of sandpaper to finish a piece on a lathe in 25 years.

There is no substitute for weight and mass and there is also no substitute for a quality machine. Also when you decide to sell it you will get more for the good stuff, than the cheap stuff.

Virtually any Bridgeport Mill is worth $2500. However you can find them for a lot less if you look.

My first choice on a Lathe is a Hardinge HLV, however even a weak one will cost you more than $2500. BUT<<< a nearly worn out Hardinge HLV is better than a brand new Atlas ever could be. This is a place where second hand is better than second rate.

You just have to shop til you drop, and where you live there should be many used machine tool sales outfits to look thru.

Good luck.

Randy