Newbie looking for the right lathe for Gunsmithing

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ejmmanning

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Good Morning Everyone

I need to recommendations for a lathe. I have never work on a metal lathe. I would like to learn how to chamber my own rifle barrels.
What brand and size lathe would I need. I have looked at Grizzly and PM. I want to spend this money only once. Should I by DRO?
I see the PM-1440GS comes with a outboard spider any thoughts

I just want to chamber my own barrels. I shoot 6.5 creemore, 6 Creedmoor, 6BR, 6BRA, 308.

I am pretty hand and would like to setup my shop and learn before I retired in about 3 years.

I wish there were some Machining class local I would take one. but I do have friends that are Machinist so they can help.


Thank you for you're help
 
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I have a 1340GT that has a VFD on it. And a DRO.

I bought the 1340 because I was tired of Chinese mills and lathes and wanted this to be my last lathe purchase, so I only looked at Taiwan lathes for the quality. I bought the 3-phase lathe and VFD because 3-phase motors run smoother than single-phase ones do. I bought the box and new electronics to control the lathe from Mark here on the forum. The threading stop, soft start, and dynamic braking are really great to have (VFD features).

The 1340 has a short spindle and a 1 9/16" spindle bore which makes it pretty good for my pistol and rifle work. The spindle is pretty stout and has held my 8.25" Pratt Burnered set rite chuck for years. This chuck is a horse, but it's the most accurate chuck I have owned.

The DRO is optional, but I won't use a mill or lathe without one any more. And on the 1340GT with the higher resolution cross-slide scale, I can dial in tenths (0.0001") and cut fuzz accurately. I often dial in a diameter cut of 3 or 4 tenths (1.5 or 2 tenths DOC) and the lathe delivers. Very accurate machine.

Of course this is all just my opinion, and it is worth every penny you paid for it. ;)
 
wrmiller said:
I have a 1340GT that has a VFD on it. And a DRO.

I bought the 1340 because I was tired of Chinese mills and lathes and wanted this to be my last lathe purchase, so I only looked at Taiwan lathes for the quality. I bought the 3-phase lathe and VFD because 3-phase motors run smoother than single-phase ones do. I bought the box and new electronics to control the lathe from Mark here on the forum. The threading stop, soft start, and dynamic braking are really great to have (VFD features).

The 1340 has a short spindle and a 1 9/16" spindle bore which makes it pretty good for my pistol and rifle work. The spindle is pretty stout and has held my 8.25" Pratt Burnered set rite chuck for years. This chuck is a horse, but it's the most accurate chuck I have owned.

The DRO is optional, but I won't use a mill or lathe without one any more. And on the 1340GT with the higher resolution cross-slide scale, I can dial in tenths (0.0001") and cut fuzz accurately. I often dial in a diameter cut of 3 or 4 tenths (1.5 or 2 tenths DOC) and the lathe delivers. Very accurate machine.

Of course this is all just my opinion, and it is worth every penny you paid for it. ;)
Click to expand...


did you have to make the outboard sider for barrel work?
 
ejmmanning said:
did you have to make the outboard sider for barrel work?
Click to expand...

Not yet. But I've only worked on relatively short barrels for my LR-308. I'll make one when I have to chuck up longer barrels.
 
Hard to go wrong with the 1340GT, if the 1.5 spindle bore is large enough for what you want to work on, or the 1440GT if you want a heavier machine with a foot break, and/or need a 2 inch spindle bore. But if you do a lot of metric threading, you may want to look at the 1440TL, because it has a universal gear box - no change gears. The TL is a much larger more capable machine weighing about 1000# more, but it costs quite a bit more too.
 
Welcome to the forum. Lots of friendly knowledgeable people on here that will bend over backwards to help you out. Tells us a little about yourself and what you shoot.

To be able to contour barrels from blanks you need at least 36" between centers. You need 36" between centers if your are going to chamber between centers too. If you are going to chamber through the headstock you need a spindle bore of at least 1 3/8" and the ability to have a spider on the outboard end of the headstock. The length of the spindle needs to be short enough to so that the end of the barrel will stick out through the spider. If you are going to chamber already contoured barrels most sporter contours will fit in a 3/4" spindle bore.

The South Bend heavy 10 was and still is the go to lathe for gunsmithing. Many modern lathes for gunsmithing have similar dimensions. Chambering barrels and typical gunsmithing work does not require a massive lathe. Many gunsmiths have used the 9" atlas/craftsman and south bend lathes with excellent results.

There is a never ending debate on whether chambering between centers or through the headstock is better. Chambering between centers is pretty fool proof. Lots more room for error when dialing in the muzzle and chamber ends of a barrel. IMHO I think that it boils down to the skill of the person doing the chambering.
 
I've got a PM-1340GT, bought it with 3 phase motor, bought and wired/configured WJ-200 Hitachi VFD using MKSJ excellent schematics from this site. First thing I built was an outboard spider with magnetic pickup for tach again using info from this site. I also built an inboard spider, and action truing jig mounted on D1-4 backplate. I got the Easson 12B DRO and added a magnetic scale on tailstock. Couldn't imagine not having a DRO. I've chambered 15 barrels in last 6 months after I built a thru barrel flushing system. I'm sure there are better lathes out there but this one does everything I need to do, so far. And 13 months ago, I didn't know how to turn it on.

One thing I really thought I needed was the proximity stop for threading. Since I used the existing relays for VFD install was thought not simple to install and keep interlocks. After watching Joe Pieczynski on youtube and threading in reverse (which you can do with non-threaded chuck), the proximity stop is totally unnecessary. I thread barrel tenons, thread muzzle, muzzle brakes, thread protectors (internal threads), reamer stops 40 TPI in/out all away from chuck. With my inboard spider, there isn't enough space for the stop anyway without a lot of stickout.
 
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I bought the PM1236 and have built quite a few rifles, some used in competition by one of my friends. I made a spider which was not too complicated. If I could go back, would probably buy the 1340-GT but the 1236 is more than capable. Not sure how wide the headstock is on the 1340 but on the 1236, I have been able to do quite a few muzzle brakes without taking the barrel off of the action. This is a huge time saver and don't have to worry about affecting headspace.

Learned basic machining at work but figured out how to build rifles on Youtube. Sounds crazy, but turn away more work than I take in.
 
I have a PM-1660TL with factory DRO. It was painfully expensive, but I have had zero regrets.

I have bought 3 machines from Precision Matthews, and I have been 110% impressed with this company.

Lathes are super fun! Between YouTube & this forum, you can figure out everything. I took basic Machining classes to get started, but they didn’t teach me anything that wasn’t on YouTube.
 
the 40 inch bed is perfect for your needs, the swing doesn't matter, but in my experience, the more rigid the better. the rigidity is needed for accuracy and finish - we all want perfect chambers, right?

That being said, with care, even my 12X37 could do good work. Any of the machines you are looking at will work. But in my book, the heavier, the better.
 
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