mini lathe suggestions

[indychuck]

I'm case prepping quite a bit more of the smaller stuff (17s, 20s and 22s)and my hands get tired a lot faster with the smaller type work.

A lathe investment will likely prevent physical therapy to the hands, ortho surgery and a lot of aggravation.....at least that's how I justify to wife!!

Can I have some suggestions on a tabletop or a minilathe for such work. Case trimming, inside/outside neck deburring, flash hole cleaning, primer pocket cleaning, etc.

Here's a couple images of my cases, just to give you some perspective on the size I'm working with.

 

[mikey]

Sherline lathe!

 

[Ken from ontario]

Little machine shop mini lathe 5200, not as good as Sherline but it can be made to machine accurately.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

i have not had the pleasure of using one, but Proxxon makes very nice German constructed lathes.
perhaps you'd take a look at them
https://www.proxxon.com/us/micromot/34002.php

 

[westsailpat]

Hi , obviously I'm not a gunsmith but I like guns . I'm not at all familiar with case trimming , but it would seem to me you would be best off with a machine that could run a collet .

 

[Les B]

I have owned 3 different brands of the mini lathes. Harbor Freight 7X10, Grizzly 7X12, and the Speedway 7X12 are useable for many project. http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9411043/m/1901055732 If you take a look you will see what can be made on these lathes.

 

[wrmiller]

I wlll throw another vote for the Sherline lathe. While not as robust as a Chinese 7" lathe, the Sherline doesn't need tuning or tweaking to make it a very accurate machine. You can do very precise work on a Sherline, pretty much right out of the box.

Built my first competition 1911 on a Sherline lathe and mill. It's not something I recommend for most folks, but the machines will work if you know what you're doing.

For brass casings they'd be perfect. Just my opinion of course.