i think its something i might try. just wondering what kind of tools i need? what do i need to look for when purchasing a lathe? where r you getting inserts and blanks from?

ECHO!!!

..fuck

Any mini lathe will work to do the turning, just remember you get what you pay for, and you will figure out what tooling you will need as you go. Buck Gardner sells inserts that blow pretty good. (Just not nearly as good as the echo's)

i guess if u cant beat em join em, but i have had 2 of the cheaper echo calls and i gave on to my brother n law, and threw the other one in the air while my buddy "attempted" to shoot it

You can buy acrylic rod online, make the inserts yourself so you can call them your own. You need a lathe, basic lathe tools, a good set of forstner bits and some ball end mills in different sizes. A mini torch wouldn't hurt if you wanna get into flame polishing.

I've dicked around with it a little bit, but I got too many projects going on, I ain't had the time for it. Youtube has some guys you can get ideas on some jigs and slip chucks from to make it easier and repeatable.

There are a lot of people who buy the inserts, so in the end all they are doing is making barrels. Ain't as much credibility in that to me.