"Gunsmith's Lathe"??

[HMF]

Grizzly sells what it calls "Gunsmith's Lathes".

How specialized a machine is a so-called "Gunsmith's Lathe"?

Will it typically do the same things that a similarly-sized "non-gunsmith's lathe" does?

Conversely, what are the specialized capabilities that a "Gunsmith's Lathe" offers that a non-gunsmith's lathe might not?

Here are a couple of Grizzly machines, and my questions relate especially to these particular units:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/14-X...ad-Lathe/G0709

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Guns...h-Stand/G4003G


Nelson

 

[geotek]

The outboard end of the spindle has a spider to better support barrels for threading and chambering.
What I would look for in a gunsmith's lathe is one capable of very slow spindle speeds. You do a lot of threading up to a shoulder when gunmaking.

 

[Bobby Bailey]

Nelson, The Grizzly gunsmith lathes can be used as any other lathe. As geotek said, they have an outboard spider to support the other end of the barrel when using the "through the headstock" method. With this method the headstock length is important if short barrels are worked on. The headstock length and slow back gear speed are two of the reasons that a lot of gunsmiths like a SB 10L.
Bobby

 

[curioushooter]

Spindle Bore Size

It seems that the only absolutely necessary requirement of a "Gunsmith's Lathe" is that it can do re-barreling, which will require a spindle bore of sufficient diameter. Most barrel blanks are 1 1/4." This means that a spindle bore of 1 3/8" (like a SB 10L) or greater is a necessary feature.

Some other features that gunsmiths may find useful: taper attachments (again, for barrel work). There are potentially dozens more depending upon how the Gunsmith likes to go about work.

It seems that Grizzly is trying to sell Lathes (who can blame them?). They are making it seem that "gunsmith lathe" is a substantial designation, when in reality, any lathe with a 1 3/8" or greater spindle bore can be outfitted as such, perhaps for less money, considering South Bend 10Ls can be had for little money and outfitted appropriately for a little more. Though, I am sure it is nice to buy a new lathe fully outfitted.

 

[Redirish]

Gunsmith's lathe

One of the most favorite lathes for gunsmithing is the South Bend 10L. A good friend of mine, who has since passed on, bought a new 10L toolroom lathe in 1961 I think it was, and used it until his death a few years ago. He never had a 3 jaw chuck for it, only used a 4 jaw or a collet. I have known gunsmiths who used Sheldon, Atlas, Logan, Clausing, all in 10 to 12 inch swing. Roy Dunlap, a well known gunsmith of many years ago, used a 9 inch South Bend, which is what I use because that is what I have. I've done turning, threading, and chambering by using a steady rest. Would be easier with a larger lathe, but I can't afford one.

 

[jworman]

Grizzly sells what it calls "Gunsmith's Lathes".

How specialized a machine is a so-called "Gunsmith's Lathe"?

Will it typically do the same things that a similarly-sized "non-gunsmith's lathe" does?

Conversely, what are the specialized capabilities that a "Gunsmith's Lathe" offers that a non-gunsmith's lathe might not?

Here are a couple of Grizzly machines, and my questions relate especially to these particular units:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/14-X...ad-Lathe/G0709

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Guns...h-Stand/G4003G


Nelson

I was a part time gunsmith in the mid 60s. The shop had two lathes. One was an Atlas 10" that didn't get used a lot. I bought it later and used it for non gunsmithing use for 38 years.

The one most used was an Atlas-Clausing 6301. It was a slow turning lathe with a fairly large through hole in the spindle. I cut quite a few threads and chambered a few barrels. I finally ended up with this lathe as of last summer.

I'm not sure if this would be a popular gunsmith lathe, but we used it a lot and liked it.