Originally Posted by
toastydeath
A turret lathe is not in the same "category" as a mini lathe, but it can be a similar size. Turret lathes are far more rigid and are meant to be used as production tools (for your production job). They're handy when you need to make just enough of something for it to be aggravating to do on an engine lathe (or mini-lathe).
A turret lathe can be as big as a Warner & Swasey #5A, or a midsized W&S #3. The #3 is comparable to a bigger 15x50" engine lathe in form factor, but much heavier, with waaaay more horsepower, and a lot more rigidity.
They can also be small, taking up the same space as a hobbyist mini-lathe. The Hardinge HC and DV-59 come to mind. The DV-59 is what I would use for your job. The HC has more capacity in general machining tasks, but the DV-59 would suit your specific task better. It has a turret tailstock, for you to set up a part stop, and a hand-operated cross slide with a stop on that as well. This way, you can dial in the specific cutting depth of the groove and distance from the end of the bar, and run them very quickly with just a few lever pulls.
The best part is all these lathes can be found used, tooled, and in fairly good condition for about 1500 USD.