Please suggest a lathe, Airforce mods.
Guys,
Well guys I’d like to start making mod parts for my Airforce guns.
I’ve been looking high and low and found some possible lathes, but prior to pulling the trigger on one, I’d like to ask the experts if they have suggestions.
I want to make hammers, barrel bushings, breach cover, top hat, valve parts, add o- ring grooves to parts, internal and external. Turn down a barrel blank for hammer slide area. And baffle parts and if possible shrouds.
Hoping for a bench top unit, would like to do threading, but seems like the smaller lathes I found don’t have much of a thread range?
Your suggestions are very welcome, and desired
Thanks Kevin Peterson
All Replies
Viewing 8 replies - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
Here is a nice smaller lathe with 1 1/2″ spindal.
http://machinetoolonline.com/PM-1127-VF.html
Depends on what you want to spend.
I have the 1640 version of this lathe with the VS. I wanted the 2.25″ thru hole.
Gorgeous lathe!
That would be the one!
Guys, thank you so much for the input, that’s why this forum is so valuable. It’s great to consult several experts.
Special thanks to Doug, after digging in and looking at the likely work I’ll have for the lathe, the option you found is way better than anything I found.
Thank You
Kevin P.
Have a look at the “practical machinist forum”, they have a sub section for SB lathes.., plenty of info there.
Just make sure you buy a machine with as much tooling as possible…; it tends to be costly otherwise…
A good basic setup for a lathe would be 3-jaw chuck, 4 jaw chuck, a set of collets, maybe a collet chuck, a couple of centers – live and dead, a drill chuck, a Quick change toolpost and a bunch of lathe bits… HSS bits goes a long way, they are often better than insert tooling for the home shop mechanic. A steady rest might come in handy at times.
IMHO…
thanks
/supermono
Spindle too small,
Actually lame machine IMO
Go for a good quality second hand machine rather than a new cheap import machine with plastic gears.. Why not buy an old South Bend 9″ lathe? They are pretty much bullet proof, everything can be rebuilt, parts are available, and if properly taken care of it will last a couple of lifetimes.
Have a look at the “practical machinist forum”, they have a sub section for SB lathes.., plenty of info there.
Just make sure you buy a machine with as much tooling as possible…; it tends to be costly otherwise…
A good basic setup for a lathe would be 3-jaw chuck, 4 jaw chuck, a set of collets, maybe a collet chuck, a couple of centers – live and dead, a drill chuck, a Quick change toolpost and a bunch of lathe bits… HSS bits goes a long way, they are often better than insert tooling for the home shop mechanic. A steady rest might come in handy at times.
IMHO…
thanks
/supermono
Well just like everyone else these days thanks to the Dems. I’ve got less money to spend than I’d like.
Budget 3-4 K. Lathe and tooling
The real limit is the weight, I’d like to use it in an basement indoor shop, so 1100 lbs or more is beyond what I can do.
Yes great advise on the chuck size, other concern is threading looks like i need 8 tpi to do 3/4 or 1′ threads
Thanks for the tip.
Any bench top North American made machines out there?
KP
Yes very important.
Here is a nice smaller lathe with 1 1/2″ spindal.
http://machinetoolonline.com/PM-1127-VF.html
Depends on what you want to spend.
I have the 1640 version of this lathe with the VS. I wanted the 2.25″ thru hole.
What is your budget?
Buy the biggest spindle bore you can afford!
Viewing 8 replies - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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Have a look at the “practical machinist forum”, they have a sub section for SB lathes.., plenty of info there.
Just make sure you buy a machine with as much tooling as possible…; it tends to be costly otherwise…
A good basic setup for a lathe would be 3-jaw chuck, 4 jaw chuck, a set of collets, maybe a collet chuck, a couple of centers – live and dead, a drill chuck, a Quick change toolpost and a bunch of lathe bits… HSS bits goes a long way, they are often better than insert tooling for the home shop mechanic. A steady rest might come in handy at times.
IMHO…
thanks
/supermono
I kept seeing people (old folks) recommending an old SB lathe. Went and got one…and tell you what, its ancient technology if not antiques with their belt systems,bulky,rusty,ect. Any modern cheap lathes with plastic gears can be upgraded to metal gears and be good for any operations. But those grandpa lathes need to be in a museum and not put to use imo. They were good for their time, now its digital age and so are lathes. :1: