Thread: Metalmaster AL330A Owners

It's what I regard as solid, although I guess compared to a big industrial lathe it is still a baby.

The geared head is noisier than a belt drive, but if you've been using a geared head lathe then you know that.

The other issue for me is that I have found it very difficult to completely seal the plug at the bottom of the gearbox despite using a copper oil-plug washer, so there's been a slow leak into the tray that is annoying. But I never asked anyone here what the best approach is.

I had cleaned mine right up, took it to bits and repainted it, even sandblasted all the bog off the bed. Only cosmetic I know but it did come up a lot better than the factory finish which was not too good.

Here it is a few years ago, after all the detailing, fresh painted painted in Killrust 'Pewter'. I made the stand because I'm tall and the Hafco stand was way too low.

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That looks bloody nice!

I was lucky, I'm tall and the bloke I'm buying the lathe off is about 6'13" so it's on a nice tall stand, the AL336 at the men's shed is a bit of a back ache after a while, too low for me.

Nice to see what my machine could look like if I put in the time and effort like you have.

Cheers

Originally Posted by NedsHead

I bought a D1-4 ER40 collet chuck

Care to share the source where you got it from ?
I bought one a while ago but the taper was off, was just too shallow, got another lathe sitting in the shed waiting repairs with a D1-4 also and it fits well on there but might be because it's an older lathe and probably has a bit more wear on the spindle nose.

I have found that to make the chucks more accurate you need to adjust the fit of the chuck to the spindle nose taper. If the chuck taper is too shallow the back of the chuck doesn't pull up against the flat front of the spindle nose and instead just sits on the taper. If it's too loose then it doesn't locate on the taper. With a bit of net searching you can find the specs but I can't remember them at the moment. I have had to touch up a few chucks and just use a chunk of tool steel, cut the taper on it then use automotive valve grinding paste and lap the chuck to the tool and keep checking it on the spindle nose. You don't have to adjust much on the taper to have the chuck sit on the spindle nose properly.

This is the one I purchased https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ER40-Col...72.m2749.l2649

I haven't tested it properly yet so I can't vouch for it, but the finish does look good, if anything lets me down it'll probably be the collets I purchased from ePay

Hi Gunnaduit,

Wrap a few turns of PTFE (Plumbers Tape) around the threads of the plug. Don't forget to wrap the tape clockwise looking at the threaded end.

Originally Posted by BaronJ

Wrap a few turns of PTFE (Plumbers Tape) around the threads of the plug. Don't forget to wrap the tape clockwise looking at the threaded end.

Oh gosh, of course. That simple. I've been enduring years of needless pain. PTFE tape sitting there all that time on a shelf 6 feet away from the lathe!

Originally Posted by NedsHead

I could also do with a pic of the spindle speed chart, the one on this lathe has rubbed off
Attachment 373983

Page 23 of the manual Gunnaduit posted in post #13

My chart was out by 400 rpm at top speed- being 1810 rpm while the manual says 1400 RPM.

Grahame

Was a productive morning today, A friend and I picked up the AL 330A and got it into position at my place, next job will be stripping it down and cleaning it up

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Hi Nedshead,

Congratulations on becoming a member of the 12 x 36 club.

Grahame

Would I be correct in thinking the tool post should float freely in the large T slot in this AL330A compound? I want to pull the compound rest apart and give it a good clean and oil, I gave it a few light taps with a brass drift but it didn't budge and I'm reluctant to give it some good blows in case it's not suppose to move.

Q: How do I remove the tool post stem and do I need to remove the compound hand wheel to disassemble the compound rest?

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Cheers

Never-mind Q1, I just spotted the flats on the stem in the photograph

Hi NedsHead,

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G'day BaronJ,

Yeah it lifts out, it's a tight fit, I had to grip it with a pair of needle nose pliers and lift and twist it out.

I was going to completely strip the compound but I think I'll leave it as it is and work on removing the carriage, I removed the lead screw/feed rod assembly this arvo and tomorrow I'll remove the carriage.

Slipped the carriage off today, cleaned it up and put it back on, I might have the lathe up and running later tonight!

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Is the quick change feedbox oil bath separate from the headstock in the AL330A?

I drained the oil from the feedbox via the drain plug under it but now I'm wondering if the two are separate, according to the manual, the headstock drain plug is near the oil sight glass but that doesn't seem right, it looks more like a filler plug for the feedbox gears,

I put a little bit of fresh oil in the headstock while I had the drain plug under the feedbox removed but nothing flowed out the plug