Thread: Opinions please Gentlemen

Hard to tell without seeing them in person.

If they were in the same condition or there about I would tend to go towards the geared head machine ( I don't like having to change belts for speed changes, especially when there is provision for storage on the headstock.)

It has a closed Quick Change Feed box ( no oil escaping ).

It has the Carriage hand wheel on the right.

It has a Camlock spindle nose.

It shows a slot in the Tailstock spindle for a drift if needed.

Although it looks as if someone has had a play and screwed it off the spindle thread.

You will more than likely have more noise from this machine over the other due to the Geared Headstock.

If you were going to machine a majority of small diameter parts at the top of the speed range then the other machine maybe more suited if environment plays any part.

Seeing they are both 240 you should at least be able to plug and play to see for your self.

I have not taken into consideration the extra time and expense of fitting a VFD or similar to allow for varied speed.

G'Day,
At one stage I owned an identical lathe to the Pacific, it was one of the worst mistakes of my life, the speed change gears inside the headstock looked like they were cut by an orangutan with an angle grinder, the noise level had to be heard to be believed, and the rumble transmitted to the spindle made decent finishes impossible. The lubrication system at the screwcutting gearbox was totally inadequate so the gearbox needed a complete re bushing job after 5 years. And just to make things interesting it had a metric pitch cross slide leadscrew fitted with an imperial pitch dial. I have no problems with decent quality geared head lathes and have used quite a few over the years but machines like the Pacific are god awful monstrosities.
Regards,
Martin

I am thinking that toolman49 might of had a Herless geared head lathe, I could be wrong I bought my Herless in 1989 new
but not a geared head a Buk II, have not had reason to complain and gets used regular, I don't find it particularly noisy, but would think a geared head would be churning a few more gears around, two of my mates had the same models one was a tool maker, and the other was a engineer in Melbourne, one retired and one deceased , they did work that I only dream about, I have altered the method of having to open the lid to change the belts by exterior lever, it is metric and has dials showing metric and imperial which ever you fancy, it does look the same as the one you are interested in, and of course it all depends what you want to use it for , cost then was $3234-00, I realize that the Pacific lathe has further additions than the one I have,

Eddie

Hi Shane,
If it were me and it had to be one of those 2, i's buy the hafco and 3ph + VFD it straight away. Nice and quiet, variable speed, ok the QCGB will leak a bit but put a tray under it. I like my belt drive machines, of not for the smoothness then the shear lack of noise.

Cheers,
ew

It has been mentioned that one has a Norton style (total lose) QCBG and the other has a totally sealed QCGB. They both look like they have the Norton Style QCGB as they both have the levers that engage/disengage the tumbler gears. Am I missing something here?

If they were both in same condition and roughly same price, I'd probably go with the Hafco.

Simon

G'Day Fellas,
Yep, it was a Herless, I forgot to mention that it also came with misaligned, soft cast iron half nuts which required machining before they self destructed. I currently use a bloody good belt drive Honden and its hard to believe the two machines came out of the same country.
Regards,
Martin

Hi Martin,
Isn't that hafco just another badge engineered honden/lam/lantaine/McMillan etc?

Looks like I have picked up the AL300 for $1350, the Pacific's geared head was rattling and grinding it's head of in high range. The AL300 needs a couple of knobs and a bit of TLC , but all in all is in fairly good condition and looks like a bargain.

Anyone have any idea on what the belt speeds are on the AL300.

G'Day,
Speeds should be pretty close to my Honden, chart attached, PM me if you need a manual.
Regards,
Martin

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Thanks Martin, much appreciated.

Looks like the Pacific has gone to a new home too. Gone when I looked this morning.

Yep, changed my mind and bought the Pacific instead of the AL300, the noises I thought were in the geared head turned out to be the gearing on the side adjusted wrong, when the head is not driving the gears on the side it is nice and quiet.

Originally Posted by Auskart

Yep, changed my mind and bought the Pacific instead of the AL300, the noises I thought were in the geared head turned out to be the gearing on the side adjusted wrong, when the head is not driving the gears on the side it is nice and quiet.

Good choice there is one here. does a good job and is not noisy. thought would let the dull roar die down . lot of life in those machines mainly were bought by schools nsw is where this came from.only thing is the limitations no gap bed but makes a steadier machine . good range feeds and speeds and cam lock chucking attachment. is a handy machine here for left hand turning and leave it set up that way. John.

Originally Posted by j.ashburn

Good choice there is one here. does a good job and is not noisy. thought would let the dull roar die down . lot of life in those machines mainly were bought by schools nsw is where this came from.only thing is the limitations no gap bed but makes a steadier machine . good range feeds and speeds and cam lock chucking attachment. is a handy machine here for left hand turning and leave it set up that way. John.

This one is ex School as well and is in good condition, cam lock chuck certainly an advantage over screw on.

Do you know if manuals are still available somewhere for them.

Thanks Shane.