Lathe what size/kind 4 accuratizing REM 700's?

[Godzuki]

Hey guys i want to do accuratizing on remington 700's. I would like to build target rifles . I need to buy a lathe and since I'm new at smithing I need to know what kinda lathe to buy for rebarreling,turing actions,setting chambers back,cutting crowns,lapping, cutting the bolt face. Also keep in mind threading is very important part of the lathe also. I need a lathe that will give me the right speeds also.
1 what size bed does it need to be? distance between centers?
2 speeds, what speeds will i need to turn actions, barrels
3 hole through spindle what diameter?
4 theading and boring ,reamers
5 greared lathe or belt driving
6 metric and std thread pitches
i know some will say get a book and videos and go to school , i know that already . But i need to tool up a little and dont want to end up someones preWWII lathe . That great for building p-51's but that not what i want to do. I'm looking to spend around1000.00- 2100.00 and what lathe would work for accuratizing remington 700's
What else comes to mind that is needed , thanks for the help and email me please at [email protected] Cal

 

[shane45]

Not sure whats needed for what you want to do but I can tell you that you probably need to warm up to the ww2 era lathe idea for that price range. A used hardinge HLV-H can run about 7000. I paid 1100 for a 1946 Logan in great condition. The real conflict you will probably come to know and love is the old American Iron vs New Chinease/Taiwan choice. After many unfavorable reviews of new asian, I went with old American. There is one company that from what I can tell retrofits an asian lathe and got favorable reviews. WWW.LATHEMASTER.COM. Good luck.

Shane

 

[Jim K]

Quick tip. Get one with a hollow headstock. Makes many jobs a lot easier.

Jim

 

[DnPRK]

Your budget is the limiting factor. Also realize that the tooling will cost as much as the lathe. You have priced yourself into the used lathe market. Pickings will be slim.

I'd recommend a lathe with 1.5 inch spindle bore and short spindle bore depth. This will allow you to chamber through the headstock with a chuck on one end and spider on the other.

 

[Godzuki]

Lathe spindle question

Could i do any chambering with a lathe that has a 3/4 inch spindle bore. I know that 1 1/2 would be ideal, but would i be short changing myself with a 3/4 spindle bore ??What wouldnt i be able to do with a 30'' lathe with a 3/4 spindle bore , LATHEMASTER has A 30 '' lathe for 1100.00 http://www.lathemaster.com . Check it out for me please and get back to me .thanks cal

 

[Mad Hatter]

I've got a lathe almost exactly like that. I wouldn't reccomend it. Setting up for threading is a pain (Have to swap gears), It's too small overall, and way too light. It can work, But it's size will limit what you can do with it and how much work that will be. 3/4" will limit you to skinny little barrels.

School would be useful simply to get your hands on a range of machines for a test-drive. WWII era stuff is perfectly good if not too badly worn. $2000 bought me a 16X36 South bend. (A dollar a pound!) Cheap, because nobody wants one that big. A good deal if you can find it. And yes, You will spend as much on tooling.

 

[Sunray]

There are lots of accurizing jobs that don't require a lathe at all. However, before you spend a pile of money, what kind of electrical service is in the place you intend using a lathe? You don't just plug a lathe into the wall. And what's the floor like? Lathe's aren't light either. Nor do they come with chucks. You're looking at some big money for a decent lathe and more for the tooling. You'll also need to get some training and experience before anybody will pay you to do anything to their rifle.
The LATHEMASTER is too small. Any barrel blank will be bigger in diameter than 3/4". There are used machine retailers around though.

 

[Backwoods]

Godzuki,
The "Large headstock hole" vs "small headstock hole" is the lathe users verson of the old Ford vs Chevy or 9mm vs .45 argument.

The current "hot" set up is with the large hole and a spider on the back of the spindle. It allows you to be very finicky during set up. And also requires you be finicky during set up. Some people get off on that type of thing, others genuinely believe it's a better technique.

The older between centers method is easier to do for most folks, especially newbies. It's also still used by many benchrest rifle builders and they get results comparable to the large hole builders. Attention to detail is required by either method.

You might want to check out "The Complete Illustrated Guide to Precision Rifle Barrel Fitting" by John Hinnant. He favors a variation of the between centers method, but also covers through the headstock, blurprinting actions and a lot more.

You also might be interested in an article on the website www.bryantcustom.com
There is a good article on barreling that I found quite interesting and used some of the tips from it on my first rebarreling projects.

Bottom line is that either way works, just remember that you will still need enough bed length to profile your barrels. I'd go for a little more length than I thought I'd need 'cause "you never know!"

Don in Ohio