Mill & Lathe Question
I am considering putting together a small collection of tools to do some gunsmithing work. Mostly customizing/restoring old gun but I might also get into doing some custom 1911 work down the road. I am a woodworking gun and definitely not a metal working guy so I have a ton of questions. I will try to make this one short and easy.
I have about $5k to spend on the first couple of machines I want to get. I am thinking the first thing I should buy is a mill and maybe a lathe. My question is what size do you think I would need for a small shop? Should I get a table top or freestanding? What minimum horsepower would you recommend? Should I buy separate machines or a combo machine? Do I need a drill style milling machine or vertical? Is it more important to have your lathe be top notch or your milling machine?
I notice some of the table top mills have better specs than the freestanding ones as far as speed and HP are concerned.
THIS ONE is along the lines of what I am thinking for the mill as far as table tops are concerned. or should I get something more like
THIS ONE? Than again, maybe I need a vertical mill like
THIS ONE.
Or should I get a combo setup like
THIS ONE. It sure would save room in a small shop.
If I do not get the combo I was thinking of getting a lathe similar to
THIS ONE.
Feel free to tell me I am completely wrong with any of the above choice. I want to hear the positive and negatives and all the opinions on what direction i should go. I am good at the actual restorations, but I am a complete newb when it comes to the tools. Until now I have done everything the slow and old fashioned way...by hand. Keep in mind this s not going to be a big commercial production shop. Just a small shop were I can restore a few firearms and maybe build a gun or two a week/month.
***EDIT: The initial $5k is for machinery only (mill & lathe). I intend to buying tooling as I go over the next year. I have budgeted spending about $500 a month for at least twelve months to get a pretty good starting set up. Also, the machines shown are just an example. I have not decided on any brand ***Your links don't work.
That being said I suggest you choose one and get the other one later. If you are serious about this getting a good machine plus the tooling will eat that $5000 on just the one machine. You will be much happier with one good machine instead of a half a$$ one that gives you less then an ideal finished product you should be striving for.
Originally Posted By PlayboyPenguin:
I am considering putting together a small collection of tools to do some gunsmithing work.
There is no such thing as a "small collection" of metalworking tools, and as noted, the machines are the cheap part, all of the tooling adds up big time, be it end mills, drills, reamers, vises, angle plates, clamps, parallels, test indicators, sine bars, gauge block sets, boring heads, lathe bits, taps, dies, micrometers, calipers, thread gauges, clamp sets, 123 blocks, V-blocks, surface plates, edge finders, tapping guides... Getting the picture? $3k worth of used mill and lathe rapidly becomes $30k in short order.
You have a lot of things to think about. Just to let you know I have done it. Before you think about what you will buy _ can you power it or how are you going to power it. The machines that are combo units and small HP will not do what you want in the end. You have to think about how much you will spend, what you will do, power requirements, tooling, other machines or tools and if you can get parts or attachments if needed.
I have a nice little shop set up with a 13 by 40 lathe with all types of attachments and my mill is 10" by 50" with power feeds on the X and Y with a DRO. I have a few machines to go with them all running on 3 phase with a converter. If you want to know more IM me and let me know.
Spend about $1000 on these two courses first:
Basic Machine Shop - Summer 2012 - TSJC
and the Advanced Machine Shop class the following week (all of the links aren't set for now).
http://nra.trinidadstate.edu/images/stories/pdf/2012NRA.pdf
http://nra.trinidadstate.edu/index.php/courses
Take the first one if that is all that is possible.
Each class is $350 and the dorm is $100 per week. The cafeteria was $5 per meal in 2010 and is a good value, the cafeteria does not suck. (It was closed last year.)
I can almost guarantee this will help you understand the kind of equipment you really need, despite our fondest desires to buy 9X20 lathes and tiny table top mills.
If you buy one machine, get a lathe, a 12X36 minimum with the largest spindle bore and lowest spindle speed you can find. You might luck out and find a great Southbend Heavy 10 with a long bed and a complete set of accessories that is in like new condition. With a lathe, a milling attachment can be added that will allow some small jobs.
Other summer courses; keep checking for availability of the schedules at the other three schools:
http://www.nragunsmithing.com/
One other thing I want to add: a ginormous pile of gunsmithing work is done without a lathe or a mill, especially if you're interested in restoration work.
Thanks for the info so far. I have edited my initial post to include the following info (which I should have put in it in the first place but spaced...:)
***EDIT: The initial $5k is for machinery only (mill & lathe). I intend to buying tooling as I go over the next year. I have budgeted spending about $500 a month for at least twelve months to get a pretty good starting set up. Also, the machines shown are just an example. I have not decided on any brand ***
There are no links in your first post.
Don't buy a combination machine.
I edited your thread title, too, I don't care much for that last part.
Ebay is your friend. Figure out what you want to do, and look for machines that might do the trick for what you want to do.
Tooling can be had CHEAP on Ebay.
Get a dead tree catalog from Enco and browse it to find what will work for what you want to make. There are many many options. Don't start buying tools out of catalogs like MSC unless you want to pay Deep Pocket prices.
I have a sweet 3phase converter for sale if you head in that direction. Since you are in OR freight might not be so bad.....
