Thanks
Lee
If you want to chamber barrels, then a lathe is a must. If you are more into drilling, and making misc custom parts, then a mill would be the way to go. As far as cost, for a machine of decent size and rigidy, you are looking at $2-3k for starters for import (chinease) machines, and can easily go to $10k. This doesn't include tooling, cutters, collets, etc, which can easily double the cost of the machine.
The key is to figure out what you want to do with the equipment, and then tool up from there. One can do quit a bit with a drill press by adding or fabricating some jigs and tooling. One can also accomplish some suprisingly complicated tasks with hand tools, ie files and saws.
Thanks
Lee
Stay away from the lathe/mill machines such as the smitty, they are, in a word, crap. They don't have the rigidity to do good work, and they don't have the capacity to do the size of work you are likely interested in.
I'm currently using a Grizzly 14" drill press, and a taig 4" lathe. I will eventually get a 12X36 or 13X40 lathe, and a mill. I'd actually recomend getting one of the little grizzly or harbor freight lathes as they allow thread cutting. Do a search for Varmint Al, he has a good write up on the little lathe, and some modifications he made. For ~$1000 you can get started with a drill press, small lathe, and a little bit of tooling.
I recomend you get a series of books called the Machinists Bedside Reader, there are currently 3 volumes, with a 4th in the work. There is some gunsmithing info in there, but mainly all sorts of misc things you can do at home, and many jigs and fictures you can make to increase the capability of the tools you have. There is even a bi-monthly magazene out there called The Home Shop Machinist, and they have a web site.
If our mutual buddy Art hadn't gotten me sidetracked on stock work, I'd be busier with metalwork, and likely have a few more fictures for the drill press and lathe I've been meaning to make, but haven't found time for. Now I'm committing to do some cabinate work for the wife, upside is a table saw and router, downside is even less time for the important projects.
As far as chambering barrels, you'd have to do alot to even break even, and you likely won't get the same quality as a good smith on the first few. But thats not the reason we do it! The best is doing offbeat projects that you'd never pay someone to chamber for you, but you get to experiment with just the same.
Quite a few things you can fix around the house with a drill press and lathe, just don't make yourself too handy with them