Hello Guys ,
Does anyone have any knowledge on the Weiler Condor VS lathes ? If so would they be suitable for all around gun work ? I am looking at one and it looks pretty good for my use . They seem to be pretty well thought of from what I can find out about them .
Thanks in advance , bison-j

I guess you found this link: http://www.lathes.co.uk/weiler/

At first look I'd say it will handle about anything you'd want to do. Looks a lot like the machines I learned to turn on. Without putting my hands on one I can't be sure of anything. It appears they may not have been made in a while.

i would imagine you would pay hell getting parts for one

I would have to say ditto to the parts thing. All machines are great until something breaks and you don't have the tooling to replicate the parts and you have to buy them. The only thing that I always push to wannabe gun plumbers is to buy enough machine. It doesn't have to be super heavy to do gun work. But it should have at least 40 inches between centers so that you can do barrel & chamber work, brakes and shotgun barrels between centers. It will save you no amount of time and grief down the road and I would personally never own a short machine again.

I run one at work and it would work for gun work. Ours leaked oil on the belts to the spindle and chuck parts of the belt off. You need to dis assemble the spindle to change the belts. I replaced it with the linking v-belts to avoid that. I also had to rebuilt the gear box because it leaked. One of the few times I got something togather like that on the first try. Springs, balls, trust washers pins and no leaks. Fun times.

.
I have been using those link belts on my machines for 25 years. They are the cats meow for back gear lathes that get used for ridged tapping all the time. They don't burn and wear when you slip the belts and they run with half the noise of conventional belts. Plus, after they stretch you can just knock out a link and be right back to it. Also, your hands don't go black from changing speeds all the time ! Greatest invention since to beer and pizza.

J_Zolas post reminded me that the 2nd drive belt on my one machine has worn to the point that it has to be replaced. So I got ambitious and put on a new length and took a photo just to show what we're going on about. They don't stretch and wear as fast as regular belts. In fact they probably last 5 times as long. They also cost 3 times as much but the money saved in the long haul, the quiet running and the fact that you don't have to pull the spindle makes up for it in spades !

ADD NOTE: They don't slip as bad either. If you follow the instructions and get the arrows pointed in the proper direction when you install them, the belt will stand up on its foots and tighten itself as the pressure increases. When they are new they can actually be a pain in the ass to slip on purpose when tapping and I often have to put oil on them until they wear in to slip them properly.


Link Belts by Rod Henrickson, on Flickr