Thread: Lathe Upgrade

for what it is worth, a al960b is made in Taiwan.
Ted

Go for the AL-960B this from an AL-960B owner from new. Obviously the AL-330 is second hand that you are looking at, but what about the AL-960B is it new or second hand?.

Hi there,
I have an AL-960b so I may be subjective but I think it's great. Have owned it from new for 6 months and can't fault it. I dont have much experience however it is easy to use. Thread cutting is a brezze with gear changes. Only thread that can't be cut is 1.75mm.
The guy at work uses one. Its used daily for 7 years and going strong.
It doesn't have all the bells and whistle like foot brake etc but for me simple is better. Not sure what else to say cos all the specs are online. I just installed a BXA QCTP, Now wondering why I stuffed around so long with shimming.

Further to Maxi's thread, and on that pun, I'd say to watch whether it's a native metric or imperial machine, and what system you normally work in. I was surprised to see Max's machine was actually an imperial machine, presumably made for the US market by the Chinese. Whether the dials say imperial or metric is immaterial, what you need to look at is the leadscrew. It will typically either be 3 mm or 8 tpi pitch. If you cross over, you'll always need to work through transposing gears, ie if you work in metric and your lathe has an imperial leadscrew, then you'll be using the transposing gear, and visa versa. Being able to wind the carriage back and pick up the thread on the dial is MUCH faster when threading, whereas working through a transposing gear you'll normally need to reverse the lathe on a machine like this. It may not sound like a big deal, and for many it isn't, but I have both imperial and metric machines, and it drives me nuts. i work almost exclusively in metric, and the only way I'd ever buy an imperial lathe again would be if it had a leadscrew clutch (which none of these do).

FWIW I thought Max's machine was a good machine, very solid and the tests we did on it checked out well.

Originally Posted by justron

I currently own a Hafco AL150 and want to upgrade to something larger. with a quick change gearbox.
I am considering a Hafco AL330 or a Hafco AL 960B. I would appreciate any feedback as I have heard that the Chinese machines have a lot of problems.

Thanks very much for your replies.

450mm between centres
105 centre height
Tool post riser was my addition. It has increased rigidity, when I want to use the compound I just swap it over.
I purchased the machine 20 years ago second hand however I do not know how old it is.

Originally Posted by Pete F

Further to Maxi's thread, and on that pun, I'd say to watch whether it's a native metric or imperial machine, and what system you normally work in. I was surprised to see Max's machine was actually an imperial machine, presumably made for the US market by the Chinese. Whether the dials say imperial or metric is immaterial, what you need to look at is the leadscrew. It will typically either be 3 mm or 8 tpi pitch. If you cross over, you'll always need to work through transposing gears, ie if you work in metric and your lathe has an imperial leadscrew, then you'll be using the transposing gear, and visa versa. Being able to wind the carriage back and pick up the thread on the dial is MUCH faster when threading, whereas working through a transposing gear you'll normally need to reverse the lathe on a machine like this. It may not sound like a big deal, and for many it isn't, but I have both imperial and metric machines, and it drives me nuts. i work almost exclusively in metric, and the only way I'd ever buy an imperial lathe again would be if it had a leadscrew clutch (which none of these do).

FWIW I thought Max's machine was a good machine, very solid and the tests we did on it checked out well.

Hi
The AL-960B has an Imperial Lead Screw of 8 tpi. To simplify what Pete has said or another way of saying it. When Cutting an Imperial thread on the AL-960B you use the Thread Chasing Dial and the Lead Screw is engaged when Cutting the Thread and then the Lead Screw is disengaged when reversing or going back to the start of the Thread cut. The Lead Screw is then engaged again at the Number relative to the Thread pitch being cut.
When Cutting a Metric Thread on the AL-960B you don't use the Thread Chasing Dial at all. The Lead Screw is left engaged for the whole of the Thread Cutting operation. So you simply reverse the Machine with the Lead Screw engaged.

I am assuming that what I have said would be the other way around if the Lathe had a Metric Lead Screw. Pete may be able to correct me if I'm wrong as he has both Imperial and Metric machines.

Yes that's correct, on most machines, if cutting imperial threads on a lathe with a metric leadscrew you must leave the half nuts engaged, and visa versa.

The important thing to look at is what the leadscrew is, not what the dials say.

Now whether that's important to an individual is not for me to say, but it's definitely something to keep in mind. Personally I hate working through transposing gears, but that may just be me, others may find reversing the lathe no big deal at all.