Thread: AL340 (maybe) with broken saddle

So I may have the chance to get my hands on a lathe that has been knocked over. There is a few broken bits that could be easily fabricated on my fathers mill and lathe, but the saddle is cracked where it sits on the bed. The cost for it - $0.

I am not sure if its an AL340, and wont know till I get a chance to get a look at it. Does anyone know if its possible to get a new saddle for these chinese lathes? Where would I even start looking for one?

If it cant be fixed, I will rat it for parts and send the rest off to the scrap merchants, so all that is lost is a little time and effort.

Talk to Hare & Forbes as the importers (if it is an AL340)

Perhaps post pictures once you get to see it and the collective wisdom on the forum may come up with a "cunning plan"

As you have access to a mill and lathe, if you can't get one, why not fabricate it or get a lump of cast and machine it!
Kryn

I just had a good look at the photo's, and I dont think its an AL340 as suggested. Here are the pics, the first one is not very good.

Hello

The TLC340A lathe was originally sold by Heerless, before being consumed by H&F. I have such a lathe. Will take pics of the area that is damaged on your machine. I bought mine back in 2003 at a reduced cost from $6000 down to $4000. H&F dont carry that model now.

DD

Would it be possible to bolt the 2 parts together, using a bolt on each side where there is a section on the V, I know it will be close to the other bolts, but it could be a save????
Kryn

Originally Posted by Dingo Dog

Hello

The TLC340A lathe was originally sold by Heerless, before being consumed by H&F. I have such a lathe. Will take pics of the area that is damaged on your machine. I bought mine back in 2003 at a reduced cost from $6000 down to $4000. H&F dont carry that model now.

DD

Ahh thanks for that. I wonder if there is a similar model. If i get it, I guess i can pull it down and measure it all up and see if one of the current H&F machines has a similar part.

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

Would it be possible to bolt the 2 parts together, using a bolt on each side where there is a section on the V, I know it will be close to the other bolts, but it could be a save????
Kryn

Not sure. Still waiting to hear back to see if its still available. If it is, I will grab it and pull it down and see if it can be salvaged.

How badly do you want a lathe and how much do you want to spend/learn along the way?
Even if you can buy a spare there will be some work fitting it.
I've seen a guy on the net weld up a badly broken apron with silicon bronze MIG
I guess anything is possible

Stuart

Originally Posted by Stustoys

How badly do you want a lathe and how much do you want to spend/learn along the way?
Even if you can buy a spare there will be some work fitting it.
I've seen a guy on the net weld up a badly broken apron with silicon bronze MIG
I guess anything is possible

Stuart

Considering its going to cost nothing, its probably worth at least having a crack at fixing it. Like I said, if its going to be too hard/cost to much then I will strip it down for any useful parts that my father can use and send the rest to the metal recyclers.

Cant be that hard to repair, its free for starters, that has to be a good thing. In your photos, I see that there are a few knobs missing, I can supply you pics of what goes where, knobs can be bought from H&F. My lathe is single phase model, they also came out as a 3 phase model, identical looks.

DD

Mate, it's free! Don't look a gift horse….

Knobs are on ebay for $2 including delivery. As for the saddle, strip it down and go from there. Whats the worst that can happen? Decide you can't repair it, strip down useful parts to give away/sell and send the rest to scrap. You will at least recoup your money. When things like this are free, I generally grab it AND then decide what to do with it!

If you do find a replacement saddle, it may still need to be tweaked to get it to fit nice.

Simon

Originally Posted by Dingo Dog

Cant be that hard to repair,

Define hard?

Pearo
Whether you get a new part* or weld** up the old one, you'll then need to scrape the carriage ways to the bed and likely the cross-silde ways. After that the rest will be easy.
Nothing wrong with having a crack at it(I'm pretty sure I would, but I can be a little pig headed), not like you can make it any worse. I'm just trying to let you know that*** there will most likely be a lot of time involved and possibly a large expense with no guarantee of success. Though a free lathe would be a great result(and you'd learn a lot along the way. Hey even if you fail you'll have learnt something).

So good luck!

Stuart

*I dont like your chances
**an interesting project in itself, which would be my biggest worry
***depending on the skills you'll need to pick up and the tool you have. I assume you have neither.(again not saying thats a bad thing)

p.s. a keep look at your threads would seem to say you are more a woodie? Do you have a wood turning lathe? Maybe if the carriage repair doesn't work out you have the makings of a heavy duty wood lathe

Originally Posted by Stustoys

Define hard?

***depending on the skills you'll need to pick up and the tool you have. I assume you have neither.(again not saying thats a bad thing)

p.s. a keep look at your threads would seem to say you are more a woodie? Do you have a wood turning lathe? Maybe if the carriage repair doesn't work out you have the makings of a heavy duty wood lathe

My old man is a retired tool maker / engineer and has the skills. I also have 2 good friends, one who owns a machine shop and the other works in a machine shop, so I will be relying heavily on them. Funny you should mention turning it into a wood lathe if it cant be fixed, as my father said the exact same thing!!

FWIW, I do have some skills in metal fab, done a bit of it over the years. To be honest, I am probably more competent working with metal than I am with wood. I have been chasing a lathe (was going to purchase a new AL320) for various jobs I do all the time. Scoring one for free would just be a bonus.

So when do you get it home?

Stuart

Originally Posted by Stustoys

So when do you get it home?

Stuart

Still waiting to here back from the current owner. I am going to give him a call today because he is not answering email. It is school holidays, so chance he is not around at the moment.