Machine guys,,

What do you think of these lathes for a gunsmith shop?

My freind is a CNC programer and found a killer deal he thinks on these 2, there is a 3rd one but I cant get the pic to work

We havent gone to look at them yet probably monday. Dont jnow if there is any tooling yet

Any thoughts on these?

From the picture they look short...not long enough bed length but they may be longer than the picture appears. I consider 36" minimum bed length and 40" much better. Both have lever type collet closures which have little use in gunsmithing. A collet chuck works better.

If they're long enough you can remove and sell the collet closures; they should be fine.

looks heavy enough, with a big enough through hole.. I don't taper barrels, so if it has 24", i am FINE with it.. those look like 36" .. remember, its a foreshortened pic

in fact, those look like screamin good machines, in terms of size

runout and thread quality would drive this one for me... how little is cheap?

I've done a few hours of work on a Cadillac similar to the one you've pictured and remember it being a very good quality machine.

Assuming the bed length and headstock length / through hole suit your needs I agree it will come down to individual condition, price, and whether you can haul it and get it placed in your shop.

Posting the Lathe Model would be much more useful than the pictures IMO .

This way no one has to assume anything , as the specs would be clearly available .

Then these fine Gentleman could give Expert Opinions as to whether or not they would be suitable

for Smith work .

This might be more to your liking although it's not CNC . AT 1340-G or the AT 1550-G


http://www.americanmachinetool...urnmaster_lathes.htm

Thanks for the tips guys, Hopefully we can go look at them next week and have more info. From the picture of the 3rd one not posted the 3rd one looks real long,



Rick

They are both 5C collet ready and you will like that.

5C collets are great, but the closure is in the way for gunsmithing. A collet chuck is much better system for gunsmithing; cheaper too.

I am a bit jealous of your situation .. "Good" lathes here for for retail+ of new imports .. which IS crap, as the new imports, if you are willing to send one back, are pretty dang good .. and yes, you have to be willing to say "take it back, it won't hold" ..

Grizzly REPLACED my first lathe from them .. at their entire cost, and the replacement dang well held.

If I had the choice of "want them gone" on some small (these are small lathes, here) lathes, I would probably take them all, figure out which one suited me best, and shared my find with others

toomanytools has it right on. You need 40" between centers & about a 1 1/2" hole through the head stock.

I use the heck out of 5C collets for small precision parts.

Both the Webb and the Caddy are triple bearing spindle supported. They are older licensed copies of the original Mori - Sieki design. Currently still made under license by Whaceon.

The collet closer mech comes off for through work. you will need a spider made up to slip over the the closer collar at the rear. Not a big deal.

If the head stock is as long as my Whaceon, I have designed and built a support system with a pressurized oil feed that I'd be willing to share. We use it enough for barrel work that a nose collet closer is used here to avoid the change over to rear closer. My spindle nose is a D1-6.

Webb, Cadilac and Whacheon are all mostly made up so parts interchange, and are available today.

Make sure the cross/ carriage slide oil pump is in working order.

Nice find. enjoy!

Alan

Alan-

Could you please post a pic? I am selling a couple of lathes and buying a larger one (Nardini) that has a longer headstock. It also has a collet closer that is dialed in. I have never used a Royal closer and did not even know they had to be diale din. Only previous collet experience was with a Sjorgen Speed Chuck using 2J collets on a lathe I am keeping. Do not want to have to pull the Royal closer out of the Nardini to chamber a barrel. Not sure how I am going to handle the longer headstock and dealing with a closer that has to be dialed in.

pictures don't tell much. how are the wheys? how much runout does it have? etc etc etc. a machine can look just fine, but has had its live run out, and on the other hand you can find some dirty filthy thing in the corner that is perfect.

Mark, I don't know about dialing in the closer. My two lathes have a closer like those lathes pictured. The Hardinge you just pull a pin and the closer slides right out. The other you do the same but have to unthread a part that goes on the spindle nose. It has the collet taper on the bore and threads on the spindle, no adjustment needed. It maybe a collet chuck were you spin a wheel to pull the collet in. My father's Monarch has this system.

I have a JFK collet closer, looks like the one in the picture. It does have a through hole in it, but limited. Uses 5c collets.

I also can pull a pin and the whole unit will come out, then I pop out the collet holder with a wooden dowl rod and hammer.

Well my freind that is a machinest called said he looked at them. He wants the caddy and said the webb has issues with play in the handcranks (X & Y axis)on the slide(My friend said maybe just bushings needs replaceing but not sure , but no run out, nice and tight

Anyone know about possibly repairing this Webb if its worth the hassle, or any Ideas ?

Got model #s

Webb- Yaguswa TSL 800 on casting

Caddy Yang Model Yanc-CL 40700, MFG #494611

Rick

I'm not sure what was meant by "the closure is in the way for gunsmithing"
As stated in an above post a Kennedy or Hardinge style closer is simple to remove and allows full bore clearance for large pieces through the spindle. If you are leaving the closer in the spindle with out using a collet well that's just being lazy and will foul up the closer and the spindle
I'm a machinist tool and die maker and I prefer these over a collet chuck any day of the week. But my needs are different from hobby use or light gunsmithing.

As far as repairs go yes it's possible... Hassle Yes and depends on exactly what is worn. Typically it's the lead screw and nut that wear out and cause back lash i.e. slop in the handcranks.
And usually it's just the nuts since these are most likely bronze. Replace these and see how much slop is left. If less then .010" call it good for a used machine. if more then maybe you should price a new feed screw but be advised they ain't cheep. A few hundred last time I checked for an Italian lathe. For $500 I'd drive up there to pick them both up. I wish I could get a deal like that around here.

Listen to kcstott. If you keep the slack going in the right direction you will have no problems. Price is very cheap. You could spend a couple thousand and still be ahead.
Butch

quote:

You could spend a couple thousand and still be ahead.
Butch

That's the truth.
When your talking $12,000.00 for a good basic machine new, yeah a few grand is a steal $500 for the pair is using a gun and a mask

ah, are you going to take them both? If not, I think i need to take next week off and come for a visit. I am just busting your chops, over that, but i would

GET THEM

but 1800+ hundred miles, with the last part pulling a head trailer, aint what momma is going to let me do to her truck.. and my caddy won't pull that much, that far

Call the used machine companies and ask them to recomend a machinery mover.. pay WHATEVER they want, should be like 200-400 depending, for a local pickup and placement.