On 2013-04-02, Tim Wescott wrote:
On Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:11:21 -0700, Gunner Asch wrote:
I got an email from a pistol smith buddy of mine who is looking for a
very small lathe..something with a footprint under 3 feet:
"Hi buddy.
Can you give me your opinion please.
Are these junk, or usable for me?
Can I turn 1.5" on them?
[ ... ]
Or is something this better for me?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111027293774
This one is pretty nice, and very well equipped with accessories
(except that it is missing a 3-jaw chuck). I've got the CNC version of
the Compact-5, and it is nice, but I'm not sure that it is sufficient
for pistolsmithing. Especially if it comes to fitting a new barrel.
It does have a compound, and a nice set of ER series collets
(probably ER-25.)
If it had a larger spindle bore, I would consider it a nice
machine, and well equipped -- but the price seems too high to me. (I
guess that it is turning into a collector's item these days. :-)
[ ... ]
Ive been trying to find him a decent small South Bend or similar with
little luck. He has very tight quarters and only works on pistols
Gunner
Don't get any of the ones that use rods for ways -- they're flexible as
hell. You can turn big things on them, but you have to do it one teeny
cut at a time.
Those would be like the Unimat SL-1000 and Unimat DB-200, and
yes, they are very flexible. :-)
Note that some of those lathes don't have compound slides. The Unimat
that I started on would let you swivel the head to turn tapers, but it
just ain't the same as a compound.
I've heard good things about Taig lathes, but I couldn't even tell you if
they have compounds...
Sort of. There is a compound which bolts onto the T-slot in the
carriage, but it takes up more of the workpiece diameter, so that makes
it a smaller lathe. You can handle bigger workpieces without the
compound in place.
Really -- someone else mentioned finding an Emco 11" on
Craigslist which would be a much better choice. But that has been
removed -- so I never even saw what they were asking for it.
Good Luck,
DoN.
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