Finally got my lathe

[GrapeApe]

Make that cat's head for alignment. It's a great project and is relatively easy.

[txfireguy2003]

Make that cat's head for alignment. It's a great project and is relatively easy.

Yeah that's my plan. I need to find a good source for metal stock. I I outta where to get some smaller stuff, but not stuff like 3" diameter stuff.

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[GrapeApe]

Yeah that's my plan. I need to find a good source for metal stock. I I outta where to get some smaller stuff, but not stuff like 3" diameter stuff.

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3" is when stuff starts getting expensive, I hate having to source small quantities.

[txfireguy2003]

3" is when stuff starts getting expensive, I hate having to source small quantities.

Yeah, all I can find so far is online sources, nothing local, and a 12" piece is pretty spendy, depending on your choice of material. I'm thinking I'll be using mostly aluminum, maybe some regular steel, very little stainless, even though I would rather use stainless for strength without worrying about rust.... it's expensive! I think a 3" chunk of aluminum with a 1.5-1.75" hole bored through it should be rigid enough for a cats head, and my leftover should be enough to make an outboard spider.

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[Gunnyart]

Sweet. I wish I had one. What diameter is the through tenon?

[Cajun Blake]

Luke,

Congrats on the new toy . Call around to local gunsmiths as they sometimes have a bunch of take-off or trash rifle barrels squirrelled away in a corner. You should be able to pick them up in bulk for $25-30 each. Also, watch videos by Greg Tannel as his tooling is what many top GS's use.
https://www.gretanrifles.com/tooling

Personally, I would call Pete Pieper in Hempstead. Introduce yourself, you can use my name as a referral if necessary. Inquire if he has any factory take-off barrels for sale. First class GS who loves bowhunting http://www.precisionbarrelwork.com/

I have several other GS friends I can refer you to, I just have to remember them as I have CRS .. Can't Remember Schlitz

[txfireguy2003]

Schlitz will give you the can't remember for sure. Thanks for the advice, I never thought about practicing on factory take offs. Good stuff.

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[M16]

Yeah, all I can find so far is online sources, nothing local, and a 12" piece is pretty spendy, depending on your choice of material. I'm thinking I'll be using mostly aluminum, maybe some regular steel, very little stainless, even though I would rather use stainless for strength without worrying about rust.... it's expensive! I think a 3" chunk of aluminum with a 1.5-1.75" hole bored through it should be rigid enough for a cats head, and my leftover should be enough to make an outboard spider.

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eBay for small quantity stuff.

[GrapeApe]

Ebay is a really good place to find short lengths at larger diameters.

[txfireguy2003]

As promised, a few more pictures now that she's in place. I owe my three buddies rifles for helping get it inside, but it's worth it.


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[oneeye]

Congrats. I recently purchased an old South Bend in great shape. Relearning how to use it has been a project! I made a deal on a Bridgeport mill last weekend. Really looking forward to having them both set up.

For practice metal I went to a metal supply company and dug through their drops that they sell at a discounted price.

[Setxbowhunter58]

man those things are neat. got to work with one in school this semester. made a hammer for my first project.

[Stick1]

Oooh yeah, I've been looking at tooling costs, but at least I can do that a little at a time. Lucky for me, the machine came with lots of insert tooling and extra inserts, so I can at least get started on some small learner projects. I'm thinking of making shot glasses to start out. It also cane with a handful of reamers for chambers like 6mmPPC, 6BR, 6X250 Savage, 223AI etc, but those will be tossed in the tool box and not come out of their protective sleeves for quite a while.

The real expense is in fixtures like the cats head to hold an action square and true, the arbor to verify that is running true on the bore centerline, range rods with enough bushings to fit all the barrels so I can get them running true, floating reamer holders and so on. But again, asst least I can buy that stuff a little at a time.

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Save your money on the range rods and invest in a GOOD long stem indicator. Your results will be much more accurate and repeatable.

[txfireguy2003]

Save your money on the range rods and invest in a GOOD long stem indicator. Your results will be much more accurate and repeatable.

So I've read about this, but I'm confused. How do you check runout on the ID of a tube with grooves? Seems like the indicator tip would be bouncing off each land and falling into each groove as you rotate the spindle. I jyst don't get it.

The range rods just make more sense to me, but I do see where there could be some inconsistency. I was looking at the Grizzly rods from PTG that cover a range of calibers with one rod, all you have to do is buy the correct bushings. That should be cheaper than a caliber specific rod for each bore diameter.

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[Goldeneagle]

So I've read about this, but I'm confused. How do you check runout on the ID of a tube with grooves? Seems like the indicator tip would be bouncing off each land and falling into each groove as you rotate the spindle. I jyst don't get it.

The range rods just make more sense to me, but I do see where there could be some inconsistency. I was looking at the Grizzly rods from PTG that cover a range of calibers with one rod, all you have to do is buy the correct bushings. That should be cheaper than a caliber specific rod for each bore diameter.

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Just set the indicator to where it doesn't fall too deep into the grooves. Turn barrel slowly and take your reading on the lands. Just like indicating a reamer in.