KBC Lathe?

O

oneeyedmac

Guest
I've found a KBC Machinery lathe used for $1400. It comes with a three jaw chuck, it is a 12" X36", made in Tawian ,it is geared head, it will thread in SAE or metric,it has a self contained coolant pump, and the spindle hole is 1.540". The lathe has a Polish 3 jaw in good shape, a faceplate, a live center and a jacobs chuck as well as an Aloris QC toolpost with 2 toolholders. The ways look good and the gears look good.

I'm not experienced with these but I am learning and plan on using a lathe for gunsmithing work, which is why I post this question here. Is this a piece of machinery that will be of service for gunsmith work and is the price competative.

I also have a line on an old Atlas that was the personal machine for a machinist who has passed. That one has "all the tooling" meaing he would include everything his father had in the sale. I don't know what size this one is yet and haven't eyeballed it, he wants $1300 for it.

I tried to search and didn't find anything specific, I apologize in advance if this has been asked and answered and I'm just to stupid to run a search.

Thanks

OEM
 
I don't know anything about the KBC lathe. I would want to know who supports them if you need parts. As for the Atlas. It's pretty light with a very small spindle thru hole. I think the Atlas is a little pricey even with tooling. Kenny
 
OEM,
I prefer good American lathes but if you not inclined to put forth the effort it takes to get a good one, the KBC Taiwan 12x36 is not a bad choice. It should have a D1-4 spindle? If it's in good shape, it will far exceed the China clones, including the "gunsmith" model. The only Asian lathe I own is a mid-80's, Enco 12"x36or37" Taiwan gearhead. I have the original dealer invoice on the lathe, cabinet and collet closer ~$2900 in 1985, not cheap in those day. That said the headstock bearings lack the precision of better lathes and it leaks oil like it's mortally wounded.
The bed is hard though and I keep it setup with the quick collet closer and tool post grinder.

The Atlas is not worth any consideration for gun/barrel work.

Good luck.
 
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