lathe size, will a 14x40 actually hold 40" workpiece

L

LEEQ

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H-M Supporter Gold Member
I will be looking for a lathe in the future. I would like it to be able to hold a .50 caliber Browning M2 barrel so I can turn it end to end (recontour the taper). I don't want it to be much longer than necessary. I will have to move it down stairs and don't want more lathe than I need while I'm in that shop. My question is this; when a lathe is designated 40", will it actually hold a 40" workpiece between the tail piece and chuck? I'm also curious if any older brands or models tended to have large spindle bores for chucking a barrel with most of it poking out the spindle bore for chamber work.
 
The size listed sometimes depends on the manufacturer. Most modern machines are labeled with the swing and length between centers but some past manufacturers like South Bend listed them as swing and total bed length. As an example my 16" South Bend is listed as a 16" x 8' machine but will only machine 57" between centers. Also european manufacturers list swing as the distance from the center of the spindle to the nearest way, the american way of measuring is the largest diameter that the lathe will swing over the ways. So a european lathe listed as 4" swing will swing a 8" diameter. Again as an example my 16" will swing 16 1/4" diameter over the ways but will only swing 9 5/8" diameter over the compound.
 
My Jet clone BDB-1340A does measure over 40" c - c. The spindle bore is 1.470". As for the older units, you will have to do some research on the available makes and models in your area.
Pierre

new-1440.jpg
 
You won't be able to get a 40" peice in a 40 inch lathe to machine the whole lenght. The reasoning is you wil need a live center on the tailstock and this will eat up 2 inches. A modern lathe is measured between centers, A dead canter at each end to get the 40 inches. This barrel can fit but will go in the headstock a bit, making it so you can"t access the last 5 inches of said barrel.
 
Depending on the quality of the revolving center, you will likely be better off using a dead center. Don't forget that you will have a lathe dog to turn the barrel, it might be in the way on the very end of the barrel.
Pierre
 
Jet clone with large spindle bore looks very promising. What I'm getting from all your responses is that it varies machine to machine as far as measurements. what a stinker, oh well.
 
Also remember, you can do it in sections. Between going through the spindle and using a steady rest, you can work on pieces much larger than the length of the bed. A lot fussier setup but I don't imagine you will be doing production runs of them. :)

So far, the longest piece I have turned was 6ft. in a 7x10 lathe.
 
David Kirtley said:
Also remember, you can do it in sections. Between going through the spindle and using a steady rest, you can work on pieces much larger than the length of the bed. A lot fussier setup but I don't imagine you will be doing production runs of them. :)

So far, the longest piece I have turned was 6ft. in a 7x10 lathe.
Click to expand...

I don't want to think about turning a taper in sections. What did you turn 6' long through the spindle on a 7x10 out of curiousity?
 
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