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Looking for a good american lathe for gunsmithing.

Airborne6.8

Plastic
Joined
Apr 30, 2019
Would like to be lathed and tooled out for around 5-8k range. I have plenty of room for a lathe. I have a small clausing ive been toying with. Worked in a race engine machine shop when I was younger. Journeyman lineman now. Hahahah. There’s my background. As long as I can get my hands on it I can figure it out. Having a hard time finding a nice machine.
 
I am no gunsmith, but it seems to my recollection from reading the posts on PM about this subject that many gunsmithing operations can be done on a small clausing lathe.
 
this is a nice lathe in that ball park
I like having a taper attachment and cant tell if it has one,, No it doesn't but still a nice machine.
Likely you will want a 4 jaw chuck, it has a steady..

but the tail in the paint shop so need to check it out, add says like new but you need to know.
Machine paint looks original/ or an old repaint

Clausing Colchester 13x40 lathe (U.K. Made) 3hp single phase 220v -...

buying any machine best to ask, Have you used this machine? Is there anything wrong with it?
sure a someone can tell a fib but good to still ask.

Lathe and a mill plus a lot of tooling...a mill is very handy for gun work..
with taper attachment .( X to far away )
South Bend Heavy 10 AND Vertical Mill - tools - by owner - sale
 
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a nice older SB heavy 10 should be easy to find within your price range, and should achieve just about everything you need. Well maybe not 50 cal work , but most everything else.
 
You might consider a Standard Modern ....pricey ,but in your range ,and still in production.....IMHO ,dont buy any older machine without a hardened bed ,there will be excessive bed wear....Most machines 1970-on have hardened beds ,and some of the better brands back to the 50s .
 
12,000 isnt too big. If it will work for gunsmithing I can use it for everything else. Be a win

Well there you go, make the drive.

Of course you need about 100amps to run a 20hp 3 phase motor and probably a 24" thick or more concrete footing to properly support such a machine.

My 5500lb Andrychow recommends a 17" foundation.
 
I've done a lot of barrels on my 6913 Clausing. An American lathe that I like for chambering is the Rockwell. My Bud use a heavy 10, but it is marginal in my opinion. His 4003GS Grizzly is much superior in my opinion.
 
Measure the length of the head stock...you're going to want one with a head stock that will allow the outboard side to mount a spider to help dial in the bore for barrel work. My 14" just barely allows me to do that barrels 26" long. Shorter barrels don't reach past the head stock bore. This means you're forced to turn and chamber off the steady rest- not a bad way, just more set up to deal with.
 
I suspect you may know this, but the owner of Grizzly is a champion shooter on the Olympic team (I think) and he developed what he believes is a great gun lathe. It's not American, built, but at least it's specified by a knowledgeable shooter and machine tool builder
 
Shiraz is not an Olympian but has been Captain of the USA FClass team. He is a very accomplished shooter. I have a Clausing 6913 and another Monarch 10ee, but I've seen and used a couple Grizzly machines and was impressed. Just because they are Asian doesn't mean all of them are junk.
 
Butch,
Didn't Grizzly purchase South Bend or contract with them to make their lathes for them? I thought I read somewhere they had.
 








 
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