Which new lathe?

[bigngreen]

The Precision Matthews is a very, very good lathe for the gunsmith, I have one of the first ones in the 1340GT and it's been an excellent investment. I ordered it three phase motor with a VFD and I can dial in my threading speed right where it needs to be as well as make changes on the fly as I'm reaming to hit the sweet spot where reamers literally drop into the steel.
Strongest warranty, can be had with the DRO set up as well which I value every time I turn my lathe on. Short head stock and easily takes a spider on the outboard. There is little tooling for gunsmithing needed, the most basic will do, I spend more money on work holding and set up tools.
My only experience with Grizzly gunsmith lathe and customer service left me a little disappointed, the lathe went to recycling center.

 

[CUTTER1]

I have Southbend, an older Clause and a Grizzly and we have the best luck with the Grizzly

 

[sable tireur]

then the next one is twice the price as they others? what am I missing.

You have to read what is included with each lathe and what the electrical operation is to answer your question. All this information is listed with each lathe. The expensive one has twice as much horsepower, runs on 3-phase and larger chucks with more tooling included.

 

[shortgrass]

The 16x40 is an all 'round heavier, and beefier machine. Weighs twice as much as the 14x40. Has next size up spindle nose. Many other "up-grades" over the 14".

 

[sable tireur]

Because we create more than rifles or barreled actions we have to have other types of lathes. This is a smaller version of the lathe we use for contouring without the custom hydraulic tracer attachment and the pattern spindle. Ours is 18"x72":
Dean, Smith & Grace

Hardinge HLV-H

HAAS TL-1 CNC lathe

Plus we have a couple of other small tool room lathes for small parts or first operations.

 

[bigngreen]

Precision Matthews 1440GT 5 year warranty, Grizzly anything 1 year warranty!!

 

[corsair4360]

Just remember that tooling for the lathe is often as much as the cost of the lathe itself quoting a machinist I know well who is retired.

 

[yoteslayer]

For the money I think you get more with the pm I like mine I also have a clausing I was lucky and found one that was hardly used at all my pm was one that quality machine doesn't advertise that is made just for gun smithing also made in Taiwan like said before tooling will cost as much as lathe so if your budget is 16000 I would buy a cheaper lathe and use the rest on tooling good luck

 

[asa]

i have the Grizzly 14'x40 gunsmith lathe.
It is a good machine for gunsmith work. I own a heavy truck and trailer repair business which requires me to fabricate parts from time to time.
I can tell you this machine is pretty light for the work that i have come across.

 

[ar10ar15man]

Mathews Precision

Monarch

and i will add what i have
14x40 3p 3hp plus metric threads in the gearbox
cp tools in calif birmingham 1440 with dro, LITE, OIL SYSTEM,
THE BIG thing to me is weight..2000 lbs..it aint no toy
https://www.southern-tool.com/store/birmingham_ycl-1440gh_lathe.php

 

[Daveog]

I'm just looking for honest opinions from the guys who work with lathes on a daily or have been for years. Question is...if you had a budget of $16k for a new lathe only in a 14"X40" size which would you choose out of these brands and why/what would be your determined factors as to why?

Brands looking at:

Jet
Mathews Precision
Lagun
Southbend
Sharp
Monarch

I've owned an old South Bend, a Clausing, and currently have a Logan. Most people will tell you old American steel is better than new Chinese any day, and for the most part I agree. The biggest issue with old American is you don't always know what you're getting in to. Unless you have a lot of experience working on machines, not just working with them, you may not know what to look for in a well-used 40 year old machine. That means you may spend a lot of money making it work right again. However, the Chinese stuff can be pretty bad even new. Different resellers have different standards that they hold the Chinese manufacturers to, so they may look similar, but may not be the same quality. For instance, I believe a lot of the Grizzly machines use metric lead screws which don't equate to standard graduations on the dials. I believe Precision Matthews machines all have standard pitch lead screws. It's little stuff like that. People either seem to love or hate their Grizzly machines and they also seem to be on the lower end of the quality control spectrum, which means you may get a great one, or you may get a junk one. If I were going to buy a new lathe, I'd buy one made 100% in Taiwan and would probably get it from Precision Matthews. If I had your budget, I'd get either of these machines and lots of high quality tooling: https://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-1340gt/ or https://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-1440gt/. If space is not an issue, get the bigger one. Good luck!!

 

[Terry Balding]

I have a PM 1440GT.

It is excellent.

 

[JSTAR3006]

Thanks guys for all the replies, I really do appreciate everyone's opinion and knowledge. I do like the old machines because I've worked with them as a boy with a great uncle who was a master gunsmith for 30+ years but that route I'm afraid could put me out of budget depending on how much it may need to make precise again, working properly that also equates to time spent down if waiting for parts. I have a budget for a lathe only and have another budget for everything else that is needed along the way. I've read many a horrible reviews on the Chinese machines, will probably take the Taiwan route or German route if possible. Again thanks for everyone's help, still would like to hear more!!!!

 

[JSTAR3006]

The PM 1440gt with the dro setup looks like a great machine! Anyone tell me more in detail of your experience with it?