I have always lusted for a Southbend heavy ten. A friend has a Southbend of simmilar size. I really like it, very smooth and tight. It leaves a much better finsih than my gearhead. I used some simmilar Southbends at the local junior college. They were wonderfull. I could do great work on them. Again light years ahead of my machine. I have a "Sebastian" 15" x 48". It is clunky and well worn. The Southbends just seemed to be made with extreme care in fit and finish. there was something about them running nearly silently but then having the guts to take huge cuts when asked to. the one that got a away was a Lablond tool room model with a pallet of tooling for $1300 at a school auction. My gunsmith/machinist friend thinks it was the Rolls Royce of lathes.

When I was the cleanup boy in the shop that supported the Chemistry and Geology departments at the university, we had a huge, old Navy surplus LeBlond that the guys built watch parts on. It was filthy and Hell to clean but boy, did it do precise work. However, they all said that Monarch was THE ONE.

In a small lathe, a Monarch 10EE

In a big lathe, either a Monarh or a Leblond.

That's for manuals

CNC, I'm partial to the new Haas Toolroom Lathes. I really dislike the Bridgeport "Psychopath" lathes...

Toolmaker

Forget the Heavy 10.

These days they are anything but cheap for what they do.

Clausing 59xx's are cheaper with a bigger capacity.

The reason is the myth the hobbiests have built up about them. Most see the SB heavy 10 as the ultimate hobbiests lathe.

Toolmaker

No it isn't a toolroom lathe.

The difference? the level of precision available and about 10 grand.

Toolmaker

Kory I *think* the HLV-H has a 1 3/8 spindle bore - perfect for doing barrels.

When I started looking around for a lathe, I was offered a South bend 10' and told him flat out:
"I wasn't interested"
"Why?"
"I can't get barrels down through the spindle"

I later bought a Clausing 5913(it's good to have connections!)

As for the Hardinge Vs. The Monarh 10EE, well

It terms of all out performance, the Monarch is KING, however.. In terms of bang for your buck, the Hardinge HLV-H is a much better deal...

Think in terms of a Corvette vs a Ferrari. The Ferrari performs a little better, not much but a little better. It also costs five times as much.

Both are significantly more accurate lathes than the one I own.

Toolmaker

Are we talking manual? New or used? Considerations get scary when you are talking CNC.

Toolmaker,

Thanks for the info. I'm trying to find good books or video's on gunsmithing. Not at a professional level, but just for my self. For example, if I wanted to chamber a barrel, do I put the muzzel end in the vise and a steady rest near the breach or do I just chuck it near the breach end and have it hang out of the spindle? I think the first method is more difficult but more desireable as the second method will cause the barrel to whip inside the spindle bore. No?

Kory