Mattison 66 Autocopy Lathe & Suggestions

[Chris Stormer]

Hi guys,

I'm looking to find out some more information about a Mattison 66 Lathe. Does anybody know where I could see a video of one running? I'm looking for a heavy duty lathe that can turn a lot of simple legs a day. (around 500 a day).
Suggestions?

[Doug Rasmussen]

Hi guys,

I'm looking to find out some more information about a Mattison 66 Lathe. Does anybody know where I could see a video of one running? I'm looking for a heavy duty lathe that can turn a lot of simple legs a day. (around 500 a day).
Suggestions?

Google on Mattison lathes for videos and other information.

My suggestion is forget getting a Mattison unless you have someone nearby with years of experience. The cutterheads are difficult to grind and setup. There's a reason you'll sometimes see them advertised for low prices. I see there's one currently being advertised for $3500 (you could easily spend twice that getting a cutterhead built).

Years ago a friend in California had one. It took him a year's trial and error to set up his first part (and he's a pretty smart guy with machinery).

[ALAN HOLLAR]

The last work I had done by a commercial turning shop with the Mattison 66 the head was $150.00/inch to build. The man doing the knife grinding had decades of experience and hundreds of little elliptical bits of blade stock.