Which new lathe?

[nvbowhunter]

Purchased a new Grizzly G0709 with DRO last year as a second lathe. I've had no problems with the lathe at all and is very accurate and repeatable, but if I were ordering a new lathe today it would be a Mathews Precision with VS and DRO. What you want and what you need aren't always the same!

 

[JSTAR3006]

I do want variable speed and dro for sure! I can always upgrade things as I go though if needs be lol. Love this site! Yall have great knowledge and appreciation for it!

 

[Nitroman]

I was going to buy a Monarch 21x78" CBB but I agonized for six months on the tiny spindle bore. And the fact that the spindle is nearly 36" long. I REALLY wanted that lathe. $22,000 plus $8,000 shipping.
After doing a couple of years of research, spent lots of time talking on the phone with machine tool rebuilders, I bought a Precision Matthews PM1440GT lathe and PM1054 mill. Total cost including shipping to Seattle was $22,400.00. Add $2400.00 shipping from Seattle to here. Now add an additional $5,000.00 in tooling. Want to grind your own HSS tools? Add $1250.00 for a decent grinder. Yeah. The buy-in can be eye-opening, but once your in, your good.
Should be here in Southwest Alaska in about 45 days.

 

[kmilner65]

I am confused they have 4 lathes within a few hundred dollars of each other,
then the next one is twice the price as they others? what am I missing.

https://www.grizzly.com/search?q=((category:"Metal+Lathes"))+AND+(category:"Gunsmithing+Lathes")

Dean

Three phase

 

[john_m44]

I just purchased a grizzly 0824 a few weeks ago, as someone who has never run a lathe much before, I'm happy.

It took some practice but I'm ready to try threading a barrel, and not too far from chambering.

 

[kmilner65]

I run my own gunsmithing shop, use the grizzly gunsmith 14X14 every day, I have for 9 years now. It still holds tolerance like brand new, it is still straight and true I couldn't be happier with my purchase. Save the money by the tooling and oil trust me.

 

[PhilMW]

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

Grizzly Tools offers several gunsmith lathes that are within your budget.
The owner has an impressive background in long range shooting.

 

[Blazenet]

+1 for the grizzly G0709. I've had mine about 8 years with no issues. I bought it for home Gunsmithing, but it has turned into a general purpose lathe. Still accurate and repeatable.

 

[John Klingenberg]

I've owned a bunch. I can say the grizzley is good. You'll deal with backlash on every axis so your setup time is longer and you have to pay more attention with a loose lathe. Their thread cutting I find to be sloppy. A cross slide that walks will make you crazy and the half nuts are always soft. Read the fine print closely. A lot of them have a PLASTIC internal gear. The initial outboard gear for threading on the banjo is plastic so you'll have to replace that right off the bat. They wear pretty fast overall. If you're just doing your own work with spare time go grizzley or a step up with Jet. For the savings you can get a milling machine too. My favorite is the monarch 10EE. It's a tight machine and very precise. The backlash is minimal on the several I've owned. They also make a compound slide that is golden for threading. It backs the tool out with a flip of a lever and makes threading a dream. Two flips and you shut off the feed and back off the tool. Takes literally minutes to cut a barrel shank. The half nuts on the monarch are long which makes for a smother feed. The cross slides are a deep dovetail and no lateral slop. The carriage is also fitted inside and out instead of just pinned to the outside frame. Even if you bought an older one and rebuilt it you would have several lifetimes of gunsmithing services out of it. Resale value is also way better. A grizzley depreciates to half the minute it leaves the warehouse. Buy once cry once. In my 40 years cranking on guns I can say quality tools will give you satisfaction, value, a better product, a precise product that YOU will have confidence in and if you have customers you can have confidence your work was as precise as your skills. Working with a good machine is also a joy. When your cuts are clean, precise and smooth you'll gain pride. Trust me on this, if you go the lower end you'll outgrow it in a year and you'll be telling yourself you could've done better with a better machine. Now I'll get some hits from guys on here turning out work on the lower budget machines. They could be doing better work equal to their skills with better equipment. Just my 2c.

 

[jarnold37]

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

A thing to consider would be a machine that is single phase or 3 phase. It seems that the 14-40 size is the breaking point for that. Then the reply you get is no problem to get 3 ph electric. However, I was told from the manufacturer to only use Arco rotary phase. by the time up and running about 4000 more dollars. Now I think someday will have to fix or repair and "search" for another electrician and purchase another phase converter. I wanted a lathe that had a headstock that would allow 1.5" barrels through headstock. That is another "breaking point" if you want that size spindle. Also, with a larger headstock most barrels will not be long enough to reach a spider at end of spindle. I like the lathe- Nardini 14-40-but might have purchased smaller if would have known about these things. Don't know but maybe a VFD would be better and easier than a phase converter

 

[257X50]

I was going to buy a Monarch 21x78" CBB but I agonized for six months on the tiny spindle bore. And the fact that the spindle is nearly 36" long. I REALLY wanted that lathe. $22,000 plus $8,000 shipping.
After doing a couple of years of research, spent lots of time talking on the phone with machine tool rebuilders, I bought a Precision Matthews PM1440GT lathe and PM1054 mill. Total cost including shipping to Seattle was $22,400.00. Add $2400.00 shipping from Seattle to here. Now add an additional $5,000.00 in tooling. Want to grind your own HSS tools? Add $1250.00 for a decent grinder. Yeah. The buy-in can be eye-opening, but once your in, your good.
Should be here in Southwest Alaska in about 45 days.

Hey Nitroman!!!!!!!
Stihl 041S on another forum.
Glad you got your machines.
Grizzly can work. But drain the oil in the head thru a coffee filter. Do it a couple times till no more dirt.
To the OP.......there are lathes and their lathes.
We just had the cross slide on our turret. First time since new in 1966. 2 shifts a day. Well made.
Good old iron is good. South Bend was never a production lathe. They can be made better. They had government bulletin on how to improve them.

If buying used.......find a good machine rebuilder and pay the $75 or so an hour to have him look at it.
He can tell you what is wrong, what can be fixed and how much it will cost to fix.
Or what to turn and run.

 

[Germannator]

I am an engineer and have sold machinery for the last 26 years. If I were going to get a lathe for fine work and have flexibility other work I would search for a used Monarch EE Tool Room Lathe. The federal government bought a lot of these and you ought to be able to buy one with little or no use. There are many labs and research facilities that bought these lathes under a government bid process. Where they are 30 or 40 years old, you cannot go wrong with one. If you don't know where to look, try googling surplus equipment. US Ship Stores in Camp Hill or Mechanicsburg, PA, use to have auctions. I have a friend that got one out of John Hopkins Hospital about 10 years ago.

But on the other hand, I have a gunsmith friend that has a Grizzly and is happy with it.

 

[JSTAR3006]

I have worked in the ag, commercial pump industry and have created custom turn key systems and do understand power, motors, VFD'S, etc. I have played with machines for a little while, have the ability to change, customize to my needs if needs be and my shop has the power availability since it's on a really big family farm and can source what I need for relatively cheap lol. I have family that are **** good electricians so that helps!

 

[bamban]

Purchased a new Grizzly G0709 with DRO last year as a second lathe. I've had no problems with the lathe at all and is very accurate and repeatable, but if I were ordering a new lathe today it would be a Mathews Precision with VS and DRO. What you want and what you need aren't always the same!

What model PM offers with variable speed?