Gunsmith Lathe - Grizzly or Precision Matthews

[bamban]

@Kmccord you are in Spring, when the time comes for you to start using your lathe trying to figure out speed and feed and threading, let me know. I have a bucket full of barrel drops I can give you, some are long enough that you can even use them for chambering practices.

I spin up 12-14 barrels a year for the TX Juniors High Power Team from donated blanks from Shilen (have to plug in for them for their generosity to the juniors). I specified the barrels 1.00x straight and 26 though we only use 20 inches for the kids' AR15 service rifle barrels.

I am in NW side of Austin in Williamson County (to differentiate from Travis County) you are welcome to visit my shop when I am done rearranging. I can show you all the jigs and tooling I accumulated over the last 6 years.

You can even run my 1024 belt drive lathe. Don't worry about crashing it. It is set up to where the belt will slip and the proximity sensor will stop everything before the operator will crash the carriage into the chuck.

I am not in the business, most of my friends who need barrels spun up I have shown them how to run the lathes. Under my watchful eyes they chambered their own. Some of them I wont trust with a hammer or a screw driver...lol.

 

[xr650rRider]

A tailstock floating spider (modified Royal live center) in the 1440 has its use at times. 6.5x47 take off bolt gun reourposed into a 6.5 Grendel. Chambered in the headstock, turned a short journal past the shoulder to indicate when barrel is flipped. Picture was taken during turning to match the barrel extension OD.

Need a better look at that tailstock spider, it tweeks my "I need to build that" nerve but I'm not sure what I would use it for.

 

[bamban]

Need a better look at that tailstock spider, it tweeks my "I need to build that" nerve but I'm not sure what I would use it for.

Here you go. I picked up a used Royal live center with no centers for 60 bucks. The spider just screwed on to the unit. I was prepared to send the unit to Royal for rebuild, but it indicated real well, I just used it as it was.

 

[bamban]

Need a better look at that tailstock spider, it tweeks my "I need to build that" nerve but I'm not sure what I would use it for.

A friend brought his action with the mandrel he bought from Brownells. He wanted to skim the face as he read that this procedure was good enough with the face squared up with the threads. Well, was glad to do it, he gave me the mandrel for my labor.

On the chuck side using a Rohm set tru 6J I use a split ring to hold the mandrel and dialed in. The TS spider holding the other end, after dialing the mandrel on both ends indicated the face. Actually the RR prefix was fairly square.

I used the TS spider though the mandrel was center drilled on both ends.

This is one use of it.

Lapped the lugs and squared the bolt face.

 

[xr650rRider]

I think I've got it. On the AR barrel, you have a section trued concentric to the bore, you flip it around and can dial in both ends, then use it to profile the barrel?

 

[bamban]

I think I've got it. On the AR barrel, you have a section trued concentric to the bore, you flip it around and can dial in both ends, then use it to profile the barrel?

Correct. Here is an old picture of a barrel done on the 1024. That section is concentric to the bore.

 

[tobnpr]

I'm not sure what I would use it for.

Truing bolt lugs, of course

I made mine modeled after the one in Hinnant's book (I've made a lot of tooling based on his ideas).
Rather than complicated drilling/boring to get it to fit the live center, I put release agent on the center, filled the bored "sleeve" with Devcon 10110, and fitted it to the center- more "accurate" and tight a fit than I could ever get by machining it.

 

[brian11]

Just have an old Southbend gearbox 10x36 for my turning duties. Side note regarding teaching yourself. I bought the American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) DVD courses on Machine shop (16 DVDs), Welding (maybe 10-12 DVDs...loaned out at present), and Reloading (4 DVDs). Found them very beneficial. I started out as a Mechanical Engineer so understand machining practices, but virtually zero hands on experience.....keyboard/armchair machinist... (Really didn't even practice engineering for very long as I recognized my max value-added was driving/conjuring/setting the vision of what the engineers needed to engineer to drive corporate success.) The courses are expensive at MSRP......full Machine Shop (16 DVDs) and Welding (10-12 DVDs) courses about $1400 each; individually (6 DVDs each) Lath and Mill ($480 each often offered at 30% off...check for code like CMAS2021 at year end); Reloading maybe $500, as I recall.......possibility not worth the cost at MSRP. However, when AGI moved their inventory and fulfillment from CA to East coast, I bought all three at around $1000, as I recall, including Darrel Holland Precision Long Range Reloading DVD bonus. Student gunsmiths in the AGI program get these DVD courses in their training. You might search for a graduate AGI gunsmith that might no longer need those DVD courses, making available for a great price. One AGI graduate gunsmith (Jeb or Jed) at First Gunsmithing, Valley Park, MO. 63088...(636) 825-6606 [email protected].

All good advice regarding the AGI DVDs. However, be aware that there are a bunch of people in Macedonia making illegal bootleg copies of AGI courses and selling them on FleaBay, mostly using shell sellers who claim a US address, but who are actually in Lithuania. I've complained to ebay about the scam, but they know about it and don't care as long as they are making commissions from the sales. With the Lithuania sellers, the ad header says they are in various USA places, but if you click on their feedback number, it will tell you "member since xx/xx/xxxx in Lithuania". So ebay's own data shows the discrepancy and scam, but ebay management ignores it. So buyer beware when buying AGI (and probably other) DVDs on the wretched ebay.

 

[Kmccord]

@Kmccord you are in Spring, when the time comes for you to start using your lathe trying to figure out speed and feed and threading, let me know. I have a bucket full of barrel drops I can give you, some are long enough that you can even use them for chambering practices.

I spin up 12-14 barrels a year for the TX Juniors High Power Team from donated blanks from Shilen (have to plug in for them for their generosity to the juniors). I specified the barrels 1.00x straight and 26 though we only use 20 inches for the kids' AR15 service rifle barrels.

I am in NW side of Austin in Williamson County (to differentiate from Travis County) you are welcome to visit my shop when I am done rearranging. I can show you all the jigs and tooling I accumulated over the last 6 years.

You can even run my 1024 belt drive lathe. Don't worry about crashing it. It is set up to where the belt will slip and the proximity sensor will stop everything before the operator will crash the carriage into the chuck.

I am not in the business, most of my friends who need barrels spun up I have shown them how to run the lathes. Under my watchful eyes they chambered their own. Some of them I wont trust with a hammer or a screw driver...lol.

Thank you for the invite, but I am in Reilly Springs, TX which is 10 miles south of Sulphur Springs, TX which is about 90 miles Northeast of Dallas.

 

[bamban]

Thank you for the invite, but I am in Reilly Springs, TX which is 10 miles south of Sulphur Springs, TX which is about 90 miles Northeast of Dallas.

My bad, I missed the location. You are still welcome to come down.

 

[xr650rRider]

Truing bolt lugs, of course

I made mine modeled after the one in Hinnant's book (I've made a lot of tooling based on his ideas).
Rather than complicated drilling/boring to get it to fit the live center, I put release agent on the center, filled the bored "sleeve" with Devcon 10110, and fitted it to the center- more "accurate" and tight a fit than I could ever get by machining it.

I've got the book and never even noticed that jig. I put bolt in other end of lathe.

To the OP, I have a Precision Matthews -1340GT and haven't ran into anything it can't handle for gun work. Checking runout on headstock bearings and a 0.0001" dial test indicator running on spindle taper and needle doesn't even wiggle. I ordered it 3 phase and added Hitachi VFD to power off of 230 volt single phase. I can run from 20 to 1800 RPM. Forward/Reverse joystick and will run 14 RPM at lowest setting. I bought all the stuff to add the proximity stop for threading but after threading away from the headstock (outside/inside), I've never had a need to use it. I added Clough42 electronic lead screw and can cut any imperial or metric thread by just pushing a few buttons. Works absolutely flawless. With metric, you still have to either leave half-nut engaged or at least release and engage in same position every time.

Now if money were no issue, the 1440 should never leave you wanting more.

 

[bamban]

Thank you for the invite, but I am in Reilly Springs, TX which is 10 miles south of Sulphur Springs, TX which is about 90 miles Northeast of Dallas.

Here is a link to download 130 pages of chambering discussions.

You are being redirected...

 

[Kck]

I've got the book and never even noticed that jig. I put bolt in other end of lathe.

To the OP, I have a Precision Matthews -1340GT and haven't ran into anything it can't handle for gun work. Checking runout on headstock bearings and a 0.0001" dial test indicator running on spindle taper and needle doesn't even wiggle. I ordered it 3 phase and added Hitachi VFD to power off of 230 volt single phase. I can run from 20 to 1800 RPM. Forward/Reverse joystick and will run 14 RPM at lowest setting. I bought all the stuff to add the proximity stop for threading but after threading away from the headstock (outside/inside), I've never had a need to use it. I added Clough42 electronic lead screw and can cut any imperial or metric thread by just pushing a few buttons. Works absolutely flawless. With metric, you still have to either leave half-nut engaged or at least release and engage in same position every time.

Now if money were no issue, the 1440 should never leave you wanting more.

View attachment 323840

Good to hear on the 1340. I ordered mine in January and I'm finally supposed to take delivery this January…haha They have been very good at replying to emails, though.

 

[xr650rRider]

With all the turmoil in Taiwan and shipping nightmares, I've noticed they don't even have an ETA for new orders. Between the 1236T, 1340GT and 1440GT, they've sold 1000's of lathes. Evidently the orders now are near overwhelming. At least 90% are new custom rifle builders.