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18th Mar 2020, 11:35 PM #16Most Valued Member
- Join Date
- Jul 2016
- Location
- Melbourne
- Age
- 35
- Posts
- 1,522
I would definitely look at an al960b if I needed to buy a small lathe that had to be new, they don't have any goofy omission like strange thread pitches missing that I know of and have an acceptably wide carriage.
The one real benefit of newer lathes is having big spindle bores 40Mm is pretty damn good In a home shop machine.
In terms of mills that H and F stock I would really only look at the bridgport clones, bm23a and above.
Otherwise I would wait for a good used machine. In my opinion small imported mills need a lot of work to make them usable.
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
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19th Mar 2020, 08:47 AM #17Most Valued Member
- Join Date
- Mar 2011
- Location
- Southern Flinders Ranges
- Posts
- 1,536
I have a 2008 model RF45 from HAFCO. It’s a good little machine for what it is. It does mark it’s territory from the quill seal, but that has as much to do with it being 12years old than anything else. Would I like a bigger machine, sure, but I don’t have the space at this point. It gets through the work I feed into it, only time it complains is doing something that’s well beyond its capabilities. For what they are, they do ok in my opinion.
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19th Mar 2020, 10:28 AM #18Member
- Join Date
- Feb 2020
- Location
- Albury
- Age
- 58
- Posts
- 90
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19th Mar 2020, 10:54 AM #19Senior Member
- Join Date
- Feb 2012
- Location
- Tamworth, NSW
- Posts
- 202
I would seriously consider giving this guy a call.....
https://metalworkforums.com/f282/t204718-setup-getting
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19th Mar 2020, 02:35 PM #20Member
- Join Date
- May 2009
- Location
- Sydney
- Posts
- 75
And they have a great looking Colchester Student for sale at the moment for just a touch more than that Optimum. I'd at least go and have a look. Ask for a discount due to the missing gap piece, but what a starter machine that would make. It's also three phase, but they might give you enough discount to pay for a VFD.
If you buy new, buy good. I spent a lot of time looking at the Hafco and other machines (including flying to Melbourne and Adelaide to look at machines), and decided to get the H&F AL-960B. Modern Machines sell the same lathe under the originating "Liang-Dei" brand, and it's been a very well made Taiwanese machine to date.
Phil
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19th Mar 2020, 04:12 PM #21New Member
- Join Date
- Nov 2014
- Location
- ACT, Australia
- Posts
- 8
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19th Mar 2020, 07:01 PM #22Banned
- Join Date
- Mar 2020
- Location
- Sa
- Posts
- 24
I was talking to a chap at General Tools in Adelaide last week, they will not stock Optiturn lathes anymore as they have had too many problems with them. Having said that, I have one with a 6 speed pulley system. The quality and finish are excellent, better than other Chinese lathes at least and I've never had a problem with it over the years I've had it. The problems appear to be with the variable speed units. I've heard Sieg suffer the same problems.
I've found Hafco excellent to deal with as far as buying parts and machines, don't know about warranty service as I never bother with warranties, I simply fixed any problems with machines I got from them myself.
My machine was bought from a local machinery distributor rather than Hafco. Previous machines have always come from Hafco with no problems.
If Hafco are a problem with warranty service at least they are good for parts and lathes are easy to repair when you have access to parts.
Optiturn are made by Optimum Maschinen. They are a German company with factories in China who manufacture machines to German specifications so they are better made than the other Chinese made machines. They stick logos/brands on them according to the requirements of the machinery shop ordering them: Turn and Optium being a couple.
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20th Mar 2020, 04:21 PM #23Senior Member
- Join Date
- Mar 2014
- Location
- Sydney
- Age
- 46
- Posts
- 121
Hi there, my 2 cents is I have a Al 960B and HM46. The lathe is nice and simple to use with no bells and whistles. It doesn't have 1.75mm pitch and some others. This can be rectified with a 30 tooth gear(kindly made for me by a gentleman on this forum) and use according threading gearbox change to adapt. 40/30 x 2.25(B7) gear will give you 1.75mm pitch. I probably would have wanted a heavier more rigid machine, maybe next size up however that would have meant a Chinese machine or stretch to its big brother the AL1000C/D however at $9K its a big gap.
My HM-46 Mill has around 0.1mm front to back slope across the bed(Y axis) so not terribly accurate. Maybe one day I will adjust the column. I don't see the value in the HM 48 over the HM 46 for DRO, power feed and coolant. However maybe for you its good value. I fit a DRO myself which was a fun project in itself. I have yet to fit power feed which would be nice. There are lots of good option made on youtube by creative guys.
Best of luck and enjoy your new machines
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2nd Apr 2020, 11:08 PM #24New Member
- Join Date
- Feb 2020
- Location
- Australia
- Age
- 51
- Posts
- 8
If youve got the money i say go for it, if on a budget buy used ebay put up with faults.
MAKE SURE, to personally inspect lathe beds and mill tables for damage on ebay stuff before payment, it could become a very bad experience.
7000k worth of virgin metal vs 2500k of damaged goods.
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8th Apr 2020, 11:04 PM #25New Member
- Join Date
- Nov 2014
- Location
- ACT, Australia
- Posts
- 8
Picked up some new toys
Thanks everyone for your input!
I ended up going with a local supplier of MachineryHouse, as recommended by a post. I got the HM-48 and AL-336D. Ended up being a bit bigger than I had initially intended, but I believe I will grow into them. Easier to buy bigger and not need it than buy smaller and need bigger!
I have had a bit of fun learning about the machines. And there's a lot to learn! I will be posting some newbie requests for help at some point soon, but at the moment my time has been limited thanks to the COVID lockdown - working from home with kids = no shed time!
Thanks again
Andrew
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9th Apr 2020, 09:15 PM #26Member
- Join Date
- Sep 2010
- Location
- Port Sorell, Tasmania
- Posts
- 74
I also have a 336d from H&F. I stripped the chuck down, de-burred and washed it then repacked it with grease. There was a significant amount of grit in the chuck. What I did was based on one of Sgtefan Gotteswinter's vids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKnvZnxXRaY and while our chucks arent exactly the same this should give you enough info if you haven't stripped one down before. My chuck was smoother after this and it's good to know how this stuff works, not daunting to do this again.
Also took the compound and cross slide off and gave them a wash and deburr.
As a matter if interest if you are looking for a good manual for the lathe look for the equivalent JET model and get theirs. JET write good operating manuals with clear diagrams.
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10th Apr 2020, 12:02 AM #27Most Valued Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2012
- Location
- Healesville
- Posts
- 2,129
I had an al336, it is a good idea to check the headstock for casting sand.
I changed all the oils on mine when i got it, there was no sand in my al336 but i did find sand in my cl410.
See pic below, you need to seal this plate or else your saddle apron will fill with coolant.
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