The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Gunsmithing Opinions ( AGAIN! sorry) Which first, mill or lathe??Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| Opinions ( AGAIN! sorry) Which first, mill or lathe?? | Login/Join |
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Just for a little workshop fun ( index used barrels, that kind of stuff). Maybe make a few small parts, or mill triggerguards, that level of use. Just for myself, of course, not for profit (I wish). Which is more versatile, which would you get first? I'm limited with space,and of course money, so I am not thinking full size machines, just smaller benchtop type models. Thanks ahead of time for your imput. Rick DRSS | ||
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simple order of acquisition, IMO: drill press lathe mill With a drill press and a crossfeed table, you can do simple lathe and mill work. With a lathe and milling attachment you can do simple mill and drill press work. AND, you can make any other shop tool for yourself, including a mill. Regards, Joe __________________________ You can lead a human to logic but you can't make him think. NRA Life since 1976. God bless America! | |||
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Lathe. And don't forget that tooling can cost more than the lathe. | |||
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With a lathe you can make most other tools. I'm not suggesting you try and build a mill, just that the lathe is the most versatile tool. It needs to come first. Once you learn to use it well then get a mill. By mounting your work piece on the cross slide you can mill with a lathe. SCI lifer NRA Patron DRSS DSC | |||
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To me it depends on who will be teaching you to use either tool, how much money you have available to spend, what you are going to do with it, and how much space you have. If you had a good retired toolmaker friend as an instructor, a fair amount of money, and lots of space, I would recommend a mill first. I think it is easier to make a lathe with a mill than to make a mill with a lathe. BUT, I wouldn't give two cents for a light benchtop mill for most folks' use on guns, and a heavy floor-mounted knee mill won't fit in a small space and leave room for you to breathe occasionally. Tooling can be expensive for either a lathe or a mill, but you'll likely want (need?) to buy more of it for use with a mill. Without going into lots of detail, I simply feel a 12x36 or larger gear-driven lathe is a good starter machine for a would-be home gun machinist, floor-mounted preferred, but bench-top doable. AMMV (All) Mileage May Vary | |||
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well a 3 axis cnc machine center is nice | |||
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From an old school toolmaker....the lathe will do it all!! ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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For me...the best tool for the job is a..."check book" Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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I looked at your sig line and thought that was in there....nope ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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Are you planning on buying both? What kind of timeline? Do not buy anything smaller than a South Bend Heavy 10. I have a 9" that I use for firing pins, receiver work, etc, but really it is so small it is not capable of much. Personally I would shy away from any JET/ACER type lathes. I have run more than a couple and find them lacking (personally). Find a Leblond, Colchester, Monarch, etc. You can find some smaller knee mills that are great machines if you watch for them. I have a small Cincinnati at home (No1B Toolmaster) that I would not trade for a bridgeport anyday of the week. Cincinnati, Bridgeport, VanNorman, Kearney Trecker, all will far out preform the foreign stuff and for much less money. You might get a small table top shaper now that I think of it. You can find Atlas, Craftsman and similar for a couple hundred dollars. A great starting place if you have no machining background. VERY versatile and cheap to run. Nathaniel Myers Myers Arms LLC nathaniel@myersarms.com www.myersarms.com Follow us on Instagram and YouTube I buy Mauser actions, parts, micrometers, tools, calipers, etc. Specifically looking for pre-WWII Mauser tools. | |||
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x2 Lot's of good deals out there on used machines. The great deals come with a pickup load of 'stuff' thrown in with the machine. Tooling, (gauges, vises, toolposts, tool holders, chucks, live centers, dead centers, bits, calipers...) there are a ton of hidden costs that you don't even consider until the first time you chuck up some material in your lathe. ----------------------------------------------------- Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Proverbs 26-4 National Rifle Association Life Member | |||
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I would (and did) start with a lathe first. I traded for a 9" Southbend that was made the same year I was. Don't think I'll ever have a reason to sell the 9"SB even though I now have a larger Kent 1340TRL (Taiwan Clausing Copy). My new Kent is a great machine. Flip a switch and thread metric. Don't believe the BS that all the imported stuff is junk. Some is, just not all. Les Brooks has some great posts here showing what can be done on a very small import lathe. It's worth searching for his posts. | |||
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Foxhound, I found this post tonight and will add alittle info here. I have owned several lathes over the years including South Bends, Atlas, Clausen 14, Sheldons, and Logans . The mini lathes are not perfect, but I have tried these to satisfy my own curiosity. If a person will take time to line up these little machines you can do barrel threading and chambering. I do not recommend these small machine if you are setting up a shop for gunsmithing for hire, but as a hobby they are a lot of fun to work on. The 7X12 size is the best size to buy. Look around on ebay or Craig’s List for a good buy. I found a new lathe in the box for less than $500. You can learn on a small lathe and then sell it if you want to get deeper into a large machine. A mini lathe can be used to fit a barrel with a couple of changes. The #2 sporter weight barrel will fit into the spindle hole. The 3 in. , 3 jaw chuck has a small hold through the body which you cannot place a barrel deep enough into the headstock to chamber. With my 4 screw chuck and a 4 screw spider shown in the picture you have space for a reamer and a floating reamer holder. Look at page 4&5 of Stockmaker Show and Tell for pictures or PM an email address and I will send a PDF file on mini lathes. A floating reamer holder of this type will allow the reamer to line up better than using a chuck or center in the tailstock. The round end is a piece of O-1 steel screwed to a short #2 center. There is another piece of O-1 inserted inside the handle end for the ball to push against and will float the reamer. The O-1 pieces must be harden and draw to a very light straw. There is about .020 clearance for the ball to fit up against the flat plate inside the reamer holder. This is the best way to use these small lathes. The reamer pilot will seek the center in the bore and the round ball will push the reamer in line to cut the chamber. | |||
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The final results!! Pictures failed to post. | |||
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1st Lathe , 2nd mill , 3rd drill press (probably never.) I can find more use for a large and a small lathe than I can for drill press. | |||
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I got a smolin' deal on a lathe with no tooling. until I bought the tooling.... | |||
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do NOT get a 3-1 machine - these are usually decent at one job, and rubbish for the rest. on mini lathes, and smaller machines, and trust me, you can do alot of stuff on them, here is a fantastic link. http://www.mini-lathe.com/ me? a lathe is the first machine tool NEVER attempt to mill with a drill .. drill bearings are designed to go up and down.. cross pressure will ruin (if you can call it that, for the cheapcrud bearings the imports use) the bearings. opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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Anybody know what brand lathe this is?  | |||
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It's not a lathe. It's a barralled action toe clamped to a knee mil. Tapping a front sight hole....seems ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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You missed the point in jest.  After all, a toolmaker says a lathe is suitable for anything.  | |||
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Another "Lathe" job.  This one suits a real lathe.  My point is one machine tool is not suitable for all types of work. Yea, maybe you can do some awkward work on a lathe that is best suited for a mill, but you are wasting lots of time and the job is much easier to do with the proper machinery and tooling and your chances of doing it right the first time increase with the proper machine and tooling. However, the budding gun worker would be wise to purchase a drill press first, then a suitable lathe. You can do a of gun work with these two machines and good tooling. Save your money for good tools! | |||
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My favorite lathe in my shop....  (old picture at the old shop) Nathaniel Myers Myers Arms LLC nathaniel@myersarms.com www.myersarms.com Follow us on Instagram and YouTube I buy Mauser actions, parts, micrometers, tools, calipers, etc. Specifically looking for pre-WWII Mauser tools. | |||
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I LOVE shapers! They are definitely not for the individual that is not intimately familiar with grinding single point tools though! We Band of Bubbas N.R.A Life Member TDR Cummins Power All The Way Certified member of the Whompers Club | |||
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By the color I would have to guess Bridgeport(and it is a milling machine not a lathe). I would need to see the motor housing for confirmation. We Band of Bubbas N.R.A Life Member TDR Cummins Power All The Way Certified member of the Whompers Club | |||
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Sorry....been an injection mold maker for mear 25 years now I don't know much about machines and machining....still learning ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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i'd love a shaper -- but, in all honesty, i couldn't use it but 3-4 times a year opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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The shop I still work for sold a large shaper in 1988.....indexable carbide shell mills put her on the "for sale" list ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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Well, my shaper has not run in about 6 months, but that is primarily because of moving. It runs here and there, not a lot, but it has certainly paid for itself. I am always trying to come up with new things to run on it. One of the old timer's I used to work for said the shaper is the most versatile machine next to a lathe. I am just not creative enough I guess! Ted Thorn, yea... these used to be the backbone of America. My horizontal has an indexable carbide shell mill, but there is just something about a shaper and the finish you can put on a part. That and hearing a chip .250 depth with a .017 feed on A2 pop off the end... priceless. Course, lets be realistic. I use the horizontal if I need to get work done quick.  Oh, and I am sorry to sidetrack! Nathaniel Myers Myers Arms LLC nathaniel@myersarms.com www.myersarms.com Follow us on Instagram and YouTube I buy Mauser actions, parts, micrometers, tools, calipers, etc. Specifically looking for pre-WWII Mauser tools. | |||
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I suppose I love to feel the floor shack and hear the chips crash into the glass Machining has never been so fast!!!! ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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At least you know what I am talking about!!!! | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Gunsmithing Opinions ( AGAIN! sorry) Which first, mill or lathe??
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