New Lathe

R

Ron H

Guest
I'd like to start installing my own barrels. What should I look for in a lathe, & where do I get one? Are Grizzly's any good?


Ron
 
I would recommend that you consider other brands in comparison to the Grizzly...even a quality brand used lathe would be prefferable to many of the Chinese made lathes (quality is marginal as well as assembly)...
If you want details PM me for my experiences with the Grizzly G4003G Lathe...I own one.:eek:
 
Ron,
I've had a G4003G for going on 4 years now and I have had very few problems with mine. The few that I did have were promptly taken care of by Grizzly. I know at least one other Benchrest shooter who also uses the 4003G also and all my conversations with him about the lathe have been good just as my experience has been.
I wouldn't get one for production work but for the tight tolerances required for gunsmith work it is great.


James
 
chisolm said:
ron,
i've had a g4003g for going on 4 years now and i have had very few problems with mine. The few that i did have were promptly taken care of by grizzly. I know at least one other benchrest shooter who also uses the 4003g also and all my conversations with him about the lathe have been good just as my experience has been.
I wouldn't get one for production work but for the tight tolerances required for gunsmith work it is great.


James
Click to expand...

ditto......!!!!!!!!!!
 
I have the larger Grizzly gunsmith lathe and it has performed adequately. I have two other lathes to compare it with. I had rather have a good chinese lathe than a wore out piece of American iron. I prefer to work on my projects instead of working on lathes; I have been there and done that.
 
Chisolm, Jan...you guys own the Grizzly G4003G lathe...have you tried cutting threads on a stainless steel (416R) barrel at 70 rpm? My lathe leaves chatter on the threads and won't improve until I speed it up to 270 rpm...I have a friend that has the same lathe and same problem...I use the best inserted threading tools and cutting oils...set up has been verified by several other machinist and it is in the lathe not the setup or technique...the motor pulley was minus the set screw...many other little nagging problems with my lathe...and it isn't the only one...there is a thread over on The Practical Machinist website discussing the thread chatter problem that is more common than you would believe on the smaller Grizzly lathes...I have used the Jet lathe that they have on the floor at Shilen and it is a jewell compared to my Grizzly...
 
David Sengelaub said:
I have a Birmingham which looks like it was made at the same factory as the Grizzly and it works great.
Click to expand...

I have the same lathe and I am very happy with it. I was at Grizzly and it has the same cast marks in the feet of the bed. No doubt in my mind the came from the same mold.

I wouldnt want mine for production work but for a hobby shop it is great. I have threaded and chambered quite a few barrels with it and have had no problems.

Steve
 
Butch

Did you ever find a 10ee ?? There is one for sale in your area.

How was Alaska ??

Hal
 
eww1350

.........contact me at nevrhad2 (at) nvbell.net regarding the Grizzly g4003g. FWIW, I have chambered 29 barrels thus far on my lathe w/o any issues.
You may also give me your# and I will call you, or my contact is # in the NBRSA News, Tournament Scheduling , South West Region, Palomino Valley Gun Club. ............. Jan
 
I am with Butch...when possible buy a good quality used lathe...ever watch the Goordy Gritters video...he comments on how he has to polish up the rough threads on the barrel he does in the video???
I wonder why...you would think that his nice new 5009 would cut some darn nice threads..:confused:..mine won't either..:confused:


Eddie in Texas
 
Butch and Eddie, I looked for an American lathe that I could afford for quite some time before I bought my Birmingham. I finally decided that It would be better (for me) to buy a new chinese lathe that came with everything ready to go. Like I said, it is great for a hobby shop but I would not want to make a living on it. I am very happy with mine and have done a lot of work (other than barrels). Will it be in good shape after 20 Years of use? I doubt it. but I have already got my investment back out of it. I Know that An old Southbend of Monarch will last several lifetimes and are built to better tolerences but for me this was the better choice.

Steve
 
Uncle Bill has my 10EE at his place. I need to get off my tail and finish the 12X30 addition to my shop. Stevec I asked a question and didn't make any statement on the Chinese stuff.
Butch
 
Thanks for the info, everybody. I'll shop around a while & see what's available.
Ron
 
Ron...the best place to find a good used lathe would be thru a used equipment vendor...The larger US cities will have several...if you are located near a major city...look up used machine shop equipment on the internet and visit with the vendors..If you have 3 phase available you will find some excellent equipment for a fair price...
 
It is kinda hard sometimes to talk machine tools with a person that has not done machine work or operated a lathe for a while. I should not have said worn out American lathe. I should have said any lathe that had worn out ways and good headstock bearings. I am speaking of chambering only. No I do not want a worn out lathe, but one with good headstock bearings will do a BR quality chamber.
Lets say the ways are worn .010. Do you know the actual amount of taper that it will cut on a test bar? Most of you probably don't, but I would like your answers.
Butch
 
eww1350 said:
I am with Butch...when possible buy a good quality used lathe...ever watch the Goordy Gritters video...he comments on how he has to polish up the rough threads on the barrel he does in the video???
I wonder why...you would think that his nice new 5009 would cut some darn nice threads..:confused:..mine won't either..:confused:


Eddie in Texas
Click to expand...

Taken completely out of context probably due to a lack of understanding about the process!

Actually I was there during the video shoot when Gordy Gritters cut those threads and they did not need "polishing". He runs some lapping compound on every thread he fits to an action regardless of what lathe the threads are cut on. He also puts the lapping compound on the threads in the action as it was cut on a different machine. He screws that in and out a couple of times to remove any minute anomalies that may exist between the two. Further, that same lathe was used by Gordy at the SHOT show where he chambered two of my barrels with absolute dead zero run out. I used them in the World Championship last year in Bisley. If he needed to "polish" the threads, he could not possibly have done it with a lathe that has the capability of zero runout. And that was with multiple interruputions in a show setting, stopping and answering questions

That lathe sits in my shop at home and even though I have access to much more expensive lathes, I am not parting with that lathe. A lot of it has to do with set up and getting the right preload on the spindle/bearings. I recrown my barrels often and can easily stay within .0001" (a tenth of a thousandth) with my G0509G.

Also, 3 phase motors have less vibration than single phase motors. I have the G0509G running off a 10 H.P. Rotary phase converter, that sits in a doghouse outside my shop.
 
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