Types Of Lathes

Like others have said, the term Gunsmith lathe" is a jello-like term that can't be decisively nailed down. I have the Grizzly G4003G "gunsmith" lathe. When compared to the non gunsmith version (G4003) it has a slightly narrower headstock (about 3/4"), an outboard spider and upgraded headstock bearings. It also has a QC gearbox and will pass a 1.5" barrel blank thru the bore. I've already built a rifle on it and I'm just delighted with the machine. That said, virtually any decent lathe will do gunsmithing with some basic minimum capacities. It needs to be able to pass a 1.5 inch barrel blank thru the bore. It needs a QC gearbox. These two are absolute deal breakers for me when gunsmithing. An factory outboard spider is nice but you can add one if needed, It will add to the headstock depth increasing the minimum barrel length that you can work on without added fixturing. A handy option to consider (which I don't have) is a taper attachment. It's tedious contouring a rifle barrel without one. When turning a taper via an offset tailstock, the follower rest doesn't work and I get chatter when turning the full length on centers. I get around this by calculating the taper and turning the barrel a foot at a time. The final polishing takes out the lines between sections. Not the end of the world but it takes a lot more time.
 
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Guns have been in existence for what, 400 years? "Gunsmithing" lathes came in existence when a marketing guy came up with the term.
 
Don't know of a gunsmithing lathe. I do know of ones that are more suitable than others.

So according to you guys, any lathe, with whatever features, will work for gunsmithing? Not sure what guns you guys are working on, but I prefer a lathe that will actually accomplish what I want. But I could care less what the manufacturer calls it.

Or are you guys just splitting hairs, like some company claiming a 4-door grocery getter is a 'sports car'? :)
 
It's like a guy asked me one time. "What's the definition of a sniper rifle?" I said , "it's real simple....any rifle that a sniper uses..." Tools are no different. I have 3 lathes, a SB heavy 10", a SB 13", and a Jet 14-40 and they are all " gunsmith" lathes. Come to think of it, I have a coupla gunsmith mills, gunsmith drill presses, gunsmith screw drivers and a gunsmith apron around here somewhere....:grin:
 
wrmiller19 said:
Don't know of a gunsmithing lathe. I do know of ones that are more suitable than others.

So according to you guys, any lathe, with whatever features, will work for gunsmithing? Not sure what guns you guys are working on, but I prefer a lathe that will actually accomplish what I want. But I could care less what the manufacturer calls it.

Or are you guys just splitting hairs, like some company claiming a 4-door grocery getter is a 'sports car'? :)
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No hairs were split in the making of this thread.
The conversation here is about how manufacturers use labels to appeal to individuals with specific interests, if one is marketing machines to hobbyists slapping a "Gunsmith" label on it would likely increase sales in that arena regardless of any gun specific features the machine may have.

In the ads for aftermarket products placed in hobby specific magazines, hobbies such as car/truck, motorcycles, cycling, fishing, archery etc. the marketers seem to be incapable of not using certain buzzwords in the copy.

"Precision CNC Machined from "Billet" "Aircraft Grade" "Aluminum Alloy" or my favorite, "Alloy Steel" this is essentially saying Made From Alloy Alloy.

A Harbour Freight drill press with a stepper motor attached to the quill and controlled by a PLC used to drill holes in hammer handles so that they may be hung on pegs is a CNC machine by definition. Any metal approved by the FAA for use in aircraft is aircraft grade including whatever the buttons or handles used to flush the toilets are made of.
 
Must work for the herds, or they wouldn't do it I guess. But my English comprehension skills appear to be more than adequate for most subject matters (except maybe Chaos Theory but that's still a WIP), and I have numerous 'BS filters' that I will apply dependent upon the subject matter at hand.

You should come to a Mensa gathering, I know a few people that are more than willing and quite capable of dissecting anything spoken, printed, or possibly even thought. Can make for interesting, if not exhaustive conversation.
 
IMO if it will hold tolerances to 0.001", fit a barrel between centers, and capably turn a good contour, then a lathe will work for a gunsmith.

Around here though, those people claiming such a title usually do more damage that good.
 
I used a Clausing 12 x 24 model 5418 non-gunsmithing lathe (and a Jet JVM-830) to do the work on this gun project. Not quite finished, need to make a plate for the feed mechanism and some mags. After that, the tripod mount which will be done with a Grizzly G0709 gunsmithing lathe picked up three weeks ago.

Bruce

gun 1.jpg gun 2.jpg gun 3.jpg
 
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