Davy,
I've been looking at adding a few more full size lathes to are arsenal at the University and I have been very happy with Grizzlys customer support. There are a few things that I would want in a lathe for barrel work. Ideally the lathe would be heavy enough to limit vibration, the 15" Enterprise we have in our lab is 2700 lbs, plenty beefy for this kind of work. You could get by with less than half of that weight though. The next would be a decent size bore through the headstock 1 1/2" would be nice. Next you would want enough distance between the centers to turn the whole length of whatever barrel you are working on (if you are comfortable putting the barrel through the headstock you can get by with less) Our 15" has 40" between centers, the Clausing only has 24" both would work for most barrel work. Lastily, accessories, accessories, and more accessories. On the top of the list would be a good 4 jaw chuck and both a dial and test indicator to center the barrel in the chuck. Grizzly has a couple of good 12" belt drive lathes that would work well for under $2500. You can probably find an older American made used lathe for much less, but old lathes can get you into trouble rather quickly if you don't know what to watch out for. Accessories can be hard to find and expensive, and the same goes with spare parts if you should ever need them. If you buy from a reputable importer like Grizzly your spare parts problem and accessories supply becomes a lot more convenient.
I've been looking at adding a few more full size lathes to are arsenal at the University and I have been very happy with Grizzlys customer support. There are a few things that I would want in a lathe for barrel work. Ideally the lathe would be heavy enough to limit vibration, the 15" Enterprise we have in our lab is 2700 lbs, plenty beefy for this kind of work. You could get by with less than half of that weight though. The next would be a decent size bore through the headstock 1 1/2" would be nice. Next you would want enough distance between the centers to turn the whole length of whatever barrel you are working on (if you are comfortable putting the barrel through the headstock you can get by with less) Our 15" has 40" between centers, the Clausing only has 24" both would work for most barrel work. Lastily, accessories, accessories, and more accessories. On the top of the list would be a good 4 jaw chuck and both a dial and test indicator to center the barrel in the chuck. Grizzly has a couple of good 12" belt drive lathes that would work well for under $2500. You can probably find an older American made used lathe for much less, but old lathes can get you into trouble rather quickly if you don't know what to watch out for. Accessories can be hard to find and expensive, and the same goes with spare parts if you should ever need them. If you buy from a reputable importer like Grizzly your spare parts problem and accessories supply becomes a lot more convenient.
